The Dandy Day of Illustrator Jess Rotter
Meet Dandy Day: our new series featuring Dandy women scribing the highs, lows, and in-betweens of their day. This feature was born out of our love for journaling, observing people, and getting solid recommendations from women with great taste.
We’re kicking things off with one of the Dandiest women on the internets: illustrator Jess Rotter. Jess’s artistic sensibilities are inspired by our favorite decades of all time: the ‘60s and ‘70s—so we’d best sum up her signature style as clean, chromatic and Grateful Dead-forward.
Check out some of her incredible work for some brands and musicians we love like Real Estate and Rodarte here.
And now, let’s walk through a day with Jess!
Monday, February 15
7:00 am:
My husband and I have a 1-year-old who was born a few weeks before the world completely went bazonkers. Adjusting to being a new mom and dealing with the wilds of Covid all under lockdown has been a psychedelic trip in itself. No need for an alarm clock anymore! Our daughter Stevie likes to babble to herself every morning starting around this time, so eventually I pop out of bed and make her a bottle while simultaneously hitting the Nespresso button for coffee and steamed oat milk asap. For decades I used to do the whole Chemex, grind coffee, slow pour action, but now I have no time and can’t function without a sip of caffeine in the system. While she is blissfully feeding, I am catching up on emails and planning my jenga'd workday.
8:00 am:
Stevie and I have breakfast and FaceTime with my mom in NY. It’s a lot of baby love and then Covid conversation. I haven’t been back home to NY in over a year and am beyond homesick. Zabars & Russ and Daughters ephemera adorn the kitchen.
10:00 am:
My husband takes my daughter out for a few hours so I hop on the Peloton and take a Grateful Dead ride.
11:00 am:
Usually the first half of my work day starts now and the drawing can begin. I make another coffee and play a record. When everyone is out of the house this is my time to blast the stereo. Today, I’m working on illustrating a few album cover revisions and a fun commissioned project. It’s gray and cozy out, so I play some John Martyn.
12:00 pm:
Lunchtime! I make an omelette and salad while listening to KJAZZ 88.1 on our little kitchen radio. We usually leave KJAZZ on from now until the evening every day—it’s our comfort zone radio station.
2:00 pm:
Today’s workload is forgiving, so we take a drive to Sherman Oaks for a walk. I need a little “field trip” to break up the time so it doesn’t feel like Groundhog Day. California had a tough year, but this winter has been amazing to be able to walk outside daily around nature.
6:00 pm:
It’s bath and dinner time for Stevie. I play her the "Rockabye Baby Series" and pick a different band every night while she has her last bottle of the day. Tonight: Led Zeppelin. “Going to California” lullaby style is a real winner.
7:00 pm:
We take out pizzas, wine, and veggies from Hail Mary, a local LA joint. KJAZZ is still on.
7:45 pm:
Back to work. I play an old archived 1970s radio show from NYC’s Alison Steele, the Nightbird and pour a glass of red.
10:30 pm:
Ready to pass out and do it all over again tomorrow.
