About me
Hello I'm Irena Inumaru.
I was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now called Serbia), lived in London and now based in Tokyo where my mum is from.
I am an illustrator, art director and sometimes designer. I love telling stories through drawings, and to do portraits of people that I find interesting. Currently I am working on my personal project, an illustrated book about Belgrade, where I was born. I am always open for any questions and commissions.
Follow me on Instagram to see my daily doodles.
I also keep a photo diary.
briefly about my history
I started drawing when I was very little. This is me 3 years old, my mum teaching me japanese kanji as an experiment. I used crayons and drew on everything. One day, some people convinced me I cannot draw and I entered a non-creative period.
When I grew up, I met a girl called Jelena on a snowy day, that made me believe in myself again. After that, I never stopped drawing.
I graduated from art college, and learned how to design books, do typography and illustrate. I started as a designer, then evolved to an art director. I started in a small digital agency, followed by Communis DDB in Belgrade then worked at Dentsu, Google UK, Ogilvy Action London, Geometry Global, Nike Japan and McCann in Tokyo.
Irena, 3 years old
Contact me
Irena currently lives and works in Yanaka, a nostalgic part of Tokyo, Japan where people are still talking to each other.
hello@hamlita.com