The Rosie Flo colouring books evolved through hours of sitting and drawing with our daughters when they were small. They gave me instructions as to what I must draw and each time I promptly obeyed.

Dresses were the most popular items demanded of me and Sophie (now 14) would then do the faces, arms and legs. We drew all different kinds of people; rich, poor, fat, thin, tall, short, old and young. Sasha (now 11) became obsessed with simply colouring-in.
The book ended up as a collection of dresses, some eccentric, some with a vague narrative but all of them lacked the head and limbs required to give them the character of Rosie Flo (a name made up from Sasha and Sophie's middle names). I was fascinated with how they both maintained such prolonged interest with this way of drawing and felt there must be other like minded girls around.

In designing the books, I have paid attention to all things which irritated me as a child, and then as a parent. The paper quality is thick enough to avoid showing through or damaging the picture on the next page.    

It is sturdy enough to withstand a few journeys without falling apart and small enough to fit in a child's hand luggage. The lines are intentionally not too thick, as this makes it look like it is only for preschool children.             
The age range is between around 4 to 12 and beyond. We were encouraged to bring out Johhny Joe's colouring book which appeals more to boys. The Johnny Joe books are collections of action-led scenes where heads, legs and arms are still required.

With twelve colouring books now in the range, all on different themes and some with unusual paper stock, we have also introduced postcards, posters and a beautiful colouring fashion show to construct. We remain true to the initial interest in the encouragement of drawing and colouring and often hear that Rosie Flo isn’t just enjoyed by children, adults can’t resist joining in too.

With my husband Steve Kamlish, fellow graphic designer, we design and publish everything in-house and all our products are printed in the UK.

Roz Streeten