Ellen Giggenbach was born in Augsburg, Southern Germany. At five years old she immigrated to New Zealand where she now lives in Eastbourne, Wellington with her husband and two young boys.

Having completed 2 years Graphic Design at the School of Design in Vienna, Austria, Ellen went on to complete a 3 years course in Graphic Design graduating with a Diploma with Distinction at Wellington Polytechnic.

During her career as a freelance graphic designer, she has licensed her art works on an extensive variety of products from fabrics and clothing, stationery items, books and packaging, bags and home wares for such companies as Air New Zealand, Gainsborough, Lagom, Random House, Shortland Publications, Welon Owen, Galison, Lantern Studios and Moontide. She has licensed her work internationally in Britain, Germany, America, Australia and New Zealand.

Ellen begins each piece by cutting, placing, moving and often exchanging graphic shapes, meticulously cut from art paper that she has previously painted with acrylics in a large selection of colours and hues.

Ellen’s love of traditional European folk art and her innate affinity with the fluid forms of mid-century abstract modernism; illustration and design are fused to create her distinctive style. Ellen’s art works are unashamedly decorative, designed to be pleasing to the eye. Her creations are a combination of art, design and handmade craft.