A studio visit with Nina Wehrle
Swiss illustrator Nina Wehrle has won numerous international awards as part of the illustration duo “It’s Raining Elephants.” Today, she is a co-founder of The Bolo Klub and shares her enthusiasm for the language of images in numerous workshops with students, children, and other professionals. After spending several years in Berlin and Hamburg, Nina Wehrle now lives and works with her family in Lucerne. Anna Freytag, social media manager of NordSüd, had the opportunity to visit her there, take a look inside her studio, “Studio Streife,” and talk with her about her picture book Come Out and Play!, which, by the way, was named one of the Most Beautiful German Books of 2026 by the Stiftung Buchkunst, a German design foundation.
Nina Wehrle’s studio is just a few train stops away from Lucerne, Switzerland. The entrance is next to a police station hidden behind a wild and colorful garden, and waiting there to give Anna a warm welcome was Nina herself. Nina shares this studio with other artists, and their rooms–together with a communal kitchen–branch off from a single corridor. There are very few empty spaces on the walls, from which hang artworks in different styles, created by all kinds of artists, endowing each room with its own special character. In Nina’s room, there is a large table in the middle, next to which is a bookcase containing her own favorite works–a source of inspiration, as she puts it. The room leads onto a large balcony enclosed within a white balustrade, and this is where Anna and Nina sit and talk about Nina’s new picture book Come out and Play!
The book starts off at a wild pace, dashing from one scene to another, clashing either with this or with that, and every new page bringing a new surprise. Scenes jump from one experience to the next, and this chaotic, childish playfulness is conveyed with all the power of pictorial language. The color palette is special too, and the vertical format also helps to make this book an unusual experience for all the senses: it barks and farts and pops and cracks, and needs to be read aloud for the full effect.
What gave you the idea for this book?
It came to me from a variety of sources. I mixed different “ingredients” together which initially didn’t have a great deal in common, but which suddenly, somehow, took on some sort of meaning. But what also underlay the story was an attempt to understand the rough and sometimes even threatening situations children create for themselves, and to turn these into a kind of comic, comprehensible story, though this would ask more questions than it would answer.
[My children] really set the pace [for this story], and my partner and I both tried to capture their experiences with illustrated stories
This project took root when you were given a residency permit enabling you and your family to live in Berlin for six months. What was it about this city that inspired you?
The residence itself was in the middle of Frohnau Forest. There were lots and lots of dogs and squirrels, and also a trampoline, and initially our children went way over the top with their reactions to the new surroundings. They really set the pace, and my partner and I both tried to capture their experiences with illustrated stories.
How have you come to create a picture book out of your ideas? What are the different stages of the process?
It begins with a collection of loose fragments of drawings and writings. Then the ideas gradually form small storyboards. As you go on, these merge into a single storyboard until finally the rhythms and ideas all blend together. Then it’s a question of finding the right pictorial language, putting the finishing touches to the illustrations, and finally focusing on the typography and the details of the actual design of the book.
Your picture book has an unusual format. At 5.31 x 12.6 inches, it’s very narrow but also very tall. Why did you choose to make it like that?
The book is narrow and tall because I wanted to emphasize the distance between the dogs on the ground and the squirrels at the tops of the trees. I was also attracted by the chance to break the vertical perspective as the interaction between the characters became more and more dynamic. In general, I love books and formats that go against the conventions of their genre.
I love books and formats that go against the conventions of their genre.
What were the biggest challenges you faced with this project?
For a long time I wasn’t sure that it was right to stick with the simple style of drawing, with clear outlines and surfaces. But eventually I found it liberating and even bold to stay with this uncomplicated approach and leave the show entirely to the characters themselves.
You work in this gorgeous studio near Lucerne, together with other illustrators. What does it mean to you to be working in such a community?
It helps me to cope with everyday life. When Balz is playing his guitar next door, Beni’s working on some major commission, Helena’s drawing, and the entomologist Manuel is busy identifying species of wild bees, I feel that the whole world is beautiful and in good order! The professional, personal and friendly exchanges between like-minded people are essential for me.
If you had to choose a single tool to work with for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pencil. But please may I have pencils with different degrees of hardness?
