Frequently Asked Questions

What is The City Works?

The City Works is an illustration studio started by Sylvia Moritz and Rowan Ottesen in May 2015. Together they draw intricate cityscapes from cities around the world, and manufacture a variety of gifts using the sought-after designs. They like to bring famous landmarks to life, while also shedding light on forgotten places and architectural styles.

Bespoke clients Barbican Centre, National Gallery, Oxford Universities, UAL and Hardie Grant Publishing. Their collections comprise of greetings cards, postcards, notebooks, gift wrap, posters and prints. With a mission statement to simply “draw the world”, their range of products and clientele is constantly expanding. They are currently based in Vienna.

If you have a little more time and would like to read the full story, please visit our about page.

Do you visit every city you draw?

Every city that we create a collection around, has been visited beforehand. This allows us to truly capture the spirit of the place. Search engines only drive you so far.

The only exception to this is Bethlehem. We made this collection when we had just started The City Works, and weren’t able to visit in person. We hope to visit Bethlehem one day.

Where are your products manufactured?

Every product from The City Works is designed in-house. Our entire range is entirely manufactured in the European Union.

What's your environmental policy?

As a design studio dedicated to showing the beauty of the world, it’s extremely important for us to ascertain that all of our suppliers are doing the right thing when it comes to looking after the planet.

As we sell a lot of paper-based products, it’s vital for us to only work with companies that abide by environmental ethics and laws. All of our products are completely recyclable, and are made of paper that have either an, EU Ecolabl, or FSC certification ( in most cases, both).

Is it possible to place wholesale orders?

The City Works has many stockists in multiple countries. We’re always happy to hear from new shops to work with. You can apply for a trade account here. Alternatively, you can email trade@thecity.works to place a wholesale order.

How high is the Eiffel Tower?

The Eiffel Tower is 300m high.

Do you work on bespoke commissions?

We’ve partnered with great organisations to create bespoke stationery collections, custom branding, and wall murals. Collaborators include the Barbican Centre, National Gallery, University of the Arts London, We Built this City and Hardie Grant Publishing.

Please contact us if you’d like to discuss a project you had in mind.

What are your shipping costs and times?

Please visit our designated page explaining our Shipping & Returns in more detail.

When was Big Ben built?

Big Ben was built in 1859!

Are you hiring?

The City Works is not currently looking for any full-time staff. However we’re always looking for talented design assistants and enthusiastic stand-holders to represent our brand. If you would like to work for us on a freelance basis please visit our Jobsboard.

I have a different question...

Please carry your curiosity over to our contact form with the details of your enquiry.