Ones to Watch: Abby Mundell

Abby told us all about developing Fried Sundays and how her Illustration degree equipped her to work towards becoming a young, thriving entrepreneur in Cornwall. 

"Taking inspiration from Cornwall and it’s natural beauty, Fried Sundays is embarking on a journey to bring something original back into the surf industry and to bring friends and creators together into a community who thrive on the same things." 

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"Hi, I am Abby. I studied Illustration at Falmouth and I graduated in the summer of 2022. Growing up in Falmouth, I just loved being around the sea. I'd visited Falmouth for some open days in the illustration course and it looked amazing. In the first few years we did a lot of play, we figured out sort of what worked for us in terms of styles and we developed our visual language and learned how to use conceptual strategies to make original ideas. And then through to the third year they gave us the tools that we needed to go out into the creative industry. 

"I take a lot of inspiration from the nature, from the activities I do like cold water, swimming, and surfing. I also really love the slow pace that Cornwall provides. There's also a lot of amazing creators in Cornwall. I'd always had a dream of bringing my designs to life on wearable products. 

"Fried Sundays is all about bringing something unique back into the surf industry. My partner, Zach and I, were just brainstorming some names back and forth. We came up with Fried Sundays together and it really stuck with us. I loved it because the word ‘Fried’ reminded me of those frazzled sort of days out in the sun. And then ‘Sundays’, the slow pace that you get on the Sundays, which I thought was really lovely and matched well with the brand. 

"During a lot of my life. I've had quite an entrepreneurial spirit, even from when I was quite young. I was always making things and trying to sell things. 

"I came up with Fried Sundays during lockdown in 2020. They're unique, one-of-a-kind illustrations on unisex products that everybody can wear. 

"How I start a design is that I start with sketches, get some ideas from my head onto a piece of paper, taking inspiration from the Cornish coast and then also I find some words that really resonate with me and that usually sparks a visual. I then take those sketches and put them on the iPad and develop them further and slowly render them into the final product. So, once I have my final design, I create a spec sheet and put those designs onto T-shirt templates. 

"I usually take a piece of paper and measure it on a real T-shirt and make sure that it sits nicely and then I send that document off to the screen printers to create the final products. 

"Sometimes friends send me pictures or let me know if they've seen someone in town wearing my stuff. It's especially cool when I'm sending packages around the UK to different places and even internationally sometimes. 

"So, my goal with Fried Sundays is to keep being able to bring out those new designs and that people actually really enjoy them and that the words and the drawings resonate with them. 

"I just want to say a big thank you to anyone that's bought one of my products. It was really scary investing so much in myself, so, I just want to say thank you for your support and I hope that you really enjoy the product."