Yves Geleyn: A Few Of My Favourite Things

Like many creative people today, I don’t have a fixed workspace and move from place to place.

I might spend a week working from home, a couple of days in the office, then go remote from a shooting stage, or even pitch on a new project while visiting family in France.

At the end of the day, all you really need is a good laptop, a reliable internet connection and inspiring surroundings.

Here’s a little glimpse into my New York workspaces, and what inspires me.

The Harry Potter Desk

My home office.

I live in New York City, where every square inch is precious.

The pandemic forced me, along with the rest of the world, to quite literally carve out space for work in an already small space for living.

My wife and I never imagined using our apartment for work and play, yet here we were.

I had a “walk in” closet that wasn’t really being used, so I decided to transform it into a cosy, optimised office space.

It fits everything I need to work, Cintiq, printer, laptop, scanner, sketchbooks, art supplies.

Everything has been customised to make the most of the space.

It may be small, but it fits everything I need... including me (and I’m 6'3").

I also added artwork from inspiring artist friends, Aaron Blaise, Peter Nguyen, Natalie Labarre, Margherita Premuroso, Yukai Du, Julia Pott, Kristin Labriola, Andrea Blasich and Peter de Sève, to name a few.

It’s become my happy place to work.

We’ve nicknamed it our “Harry Potter office.”

The Aviary

I’m a big bird lover, let me be clear, wooden birds exclusively, and over the years I’ve built a collection of carved birds that has slowly taken over my apartment.

Some are gifts from loved ones, others are souvenirs from trips or pieces by artists and designers, each one carries its own story.

I’ve gathered a few of them here, though many more are still tucked away around the apartment.

I love being surrounded by them while I work.

It feels like being in an aviary every day.

I even have an indoor birdhouse for them designed and handmade by an architect friend of mine.

The Library

Here are some inspiring books from my library:

Local Fauna, the art of Peter de Sève

Featuring beloved New Yorker covers, iconic animated characters and more, Local Fauna is the definitive monograph by my friend illustrator and character designer Peter de Sève.

The way he brings characters to life with a stroke of a pencil line has always inspired the way I think about character in animation.

How powerful thinking simply with intent can be.

This book is already a classic.

Danish Tattooing by Jon Nordstrom

This book traces the visual development of tattoo culture in Denmark from 1895 up to the present day.

I was inspired by these grumpy Danish men using tattoos to express their emotions.

Tattooing is the most intimate way to tell your story and is a reminder of how powerful visual storytelling is in our day-to-day lives.

An Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds by Luke Stephenson

Here we are with birds again.

The way birds use colour and pattern to communicate with the world is fascinating to me.

A Dictionary of Color Combinations

A renowned design resource, first published in the 1930s, offering 348 curated, harmonious colour palettes derived from Japanese and Western influences.

Almost every serious designer I know has this book on their shelf.

Kissa by Kissa by Craig Mod

A photo-essay book about walking over 1,000 km of Japan’s ancient Nakasendō highway, focusing on the culture of toast and mid-20th-century Japanese cafés.

In addition to being deeply inspired by Japanese culture, another passion of mine is cooking.

I love where art and food overlap and so this book was an exciting find.

Irving Harper Works in Paper

This book features over 300 images of Harper’s intricate paper sculptures, which include animals, masks and abstract forms.

My background is in graphic design and when I see an artist who can create such complexity through simple form and graphic shape I can’t get enough.

These sculptures achieve remarkable detail through cut paper, echoing my fascination with depth born from simplicity.

The Props

I’ve been directing for over 20 years, working across a wide range of mediums, CGI, 2D, stop motion, live action and mixed media.

On practical projects, I like to keep some of the props as souvenirs.

They’re scattered everywhere, at home, at the Hornet office, in storage, even at my mom’s in France.

I love them.

They remind me of the many talented people I’ve had the chance to work with over the years and push me to keep reinventing myself.

Above are a few:

• Boxes full of 1.5-inch hand-painted 3D printed figurines from different campaigns, including USPS, Frooti and McDonald’s Happy Meal.
• The Bear and The Hare campaign props from John Lewis, featuring Aaron Blaise hand-drawn animation printed on cardboard and laser cut for the practical stop-motion shoot.
• A hand-painted and wood-carved Stegosaurus puppet from a super charming Kellogg’s stop-motion campaign.

The Espresso Office

I love a good Italian coffee.

One of my favourites is Fellini Coffee on the Upper West Side.

A small place but very inspiring.

It brings me back to Firenze every time.

You can just go sit with an espresso, a bombolini and draw, write, dream, chat, procrastinate for hours.

Love their little takeaway window too: “Un caffè, per favore.”