Merry Christmas - Buon Natale

 

If you could choose your perfect kind of Christmas tree what would it be like?

My choice would be this one made of special Gianduiotti chocolates... then after the festivities you can eat it!

Merry Christmas - Buon Natale to you all.

Christmas Rose!

 

You may have noticed that my blog posts have diminished over the last few weeks. 

I have been working very hard in the "posh gift shop" in Turin, it is a hive of lovely gifts for the home so this is our most busy time of year. 

We are coming up to the final few days before Christmas and the clients are becoming more and more demanding and frenetic in their search for the lastest gadget or gift seen in some convincing TV advert. I on the other hand am becoming more and more tired (my patience ran out ages ago) aching feet, sore hands and a brain refusing to work anymore don't help the general situation.

I have stopped doing any normal things like shopping, cleaning, eating, even sleeping.  Any enthusiasm I may have had for the festive season has long ago been forced to the back of my mind and has died under the weight of the "Christmas Marathon" we endure every year.

My design projects have been put a side for a while. I have little time to myself and it is very frustrating (I am in pattern abstinence) even if I try to design something late into the night my brain is numb and the results are not what I hoped for. The pressure of the Christmas delirium has forced me to hang up my pencils and paints for a while (I end up doing this every year) and wait for Christmas Day to come round as quickly as possible.

Yesterday I noticed this beauitful Rose, it is the only colourful thing in my garden at the moment and I think it is a little out of season to say the least. A beautiful red flower which has decided to join in the festive madness. Needless to say it cheered me up lots and I snapped a quick photo of it on my way back into the Christmas afternoon lunacy. :)

EFUTO picture envelopes

Efuto means decorated envelope in Japanese and I have been creating lots of them. 
This came about through a great idea by Gill Eggleston who has set up a surface pattern directory where more than 50 designers show their work on a hand drawn envelope. To take part we had to design two envelopes, one as our directory submission and one to post to another participant. 

Here is where the fun begins, not for Gill who is working hard to complete the design directory, but for all of the other 50 or so participants! Over the last couple of months gorgeous colourful envelopes have been making their way around the world. Infact I received a beautiful one from Carrie Tasman in Oregon U.S.A. and I have posted mine to Dawn Rae Conery in Maine U.S.A.

With a little cutting, sticking and doodling I made quite a few envelopes. I did'nt trust the Italian post, and rightly so, because when I went to the post office they refused to take my first attempts. So I just bought some stamps and trusted luck... and all three came back!

Below you can see the envelope I have posted to Dawn in Maine. It has an Italian/Christmas theme as the Italian flag is green, red and white. The colours reminded me so much of Christmas and, of course, it is also that time of year (if you hadn't already noticed). I also made a little card to pop in with the envelope and I have my fingers crossed that the envelope and card will get to her in one piece... it has a long way to travel and right in the middle of the Christmas rush!

Good Luck to my little EFUTO x

Turin - Luci d'Artista

If you visit Turin at the moment you will be overwhelmed by the beauty of Luci d'Artista. Already in its 15th year, Luci d'Artista transforms the city with stunning light installations designed by both Italian and International artists and it has become a regular event for both locals and tourists alike. 

Monte dei Cappuccini. 

Little Blue Spirits by Rebecca Horn. Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Piazza San Carlo. 

Kingdom of Flowers by Nicola De Maria. Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Every year new lights are added and the existing lights are moved round so that by changing the backdrop the lights gain a new meaning. The fabulous historical centre of Turin is what makes the event so special for me a mixture of history and modern art together to create a unique atmosphere. Majestic buildings and long rows of porticoes, early 20th century arcades and the oldest squares in Turin are all dressed up to their best to create this great "neon" festival.

Via Pietro Micca. 

Planetarium by Carmelo Giammello. Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Via Po. 

Birds by Francesco Casorati. Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Of the 19 installations only a couple have a hint of Christmas in them. The event is designed not to have a Christmas theme but to bring works of contemporary art together and make them more beautiful by their open air settings. Luci d'Artista is a must for the cold months when the true winter personality of Turin shines through.

Palazzo Madama, Piazza Castello. 

Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Piazza Palazzo di Città. 

Tappeto Volante by Daniele Buren. Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Galleria Subalpina. 

Energy that Unites by Marco Gastini. Ph. Fabrizio Zanelli

Luci d'Artista can be enjoyed from November 3rd, 2012 until the January 13th, 2013. You can see a map and the full list of works here.

All the above photographs are by Fabrizio Zanelli © 2009 - 2012, and they can be seen along with many more on his super blog called TorinoDailyPhoto. Fabrizio lives in Turin and likes to take photographs of daily life in Turin. His blog is full of brilliant photographs which depict many interesting and 'quirky' aspects of this beautiful city.

Moyo Magazine 2 - I'm featured in it again!!!!

Well the second issue of the fabulous and unique MOYO Magazine is finally out and you can read it here on issuu.com. Moyo is the very first online magazine dedicated solely to the world of surface pattern design and is brought to you by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicolls. Full of design tips, interviews and inspiration it really is a must for anyone wanting to know more about the exciting world of surface pattern. I can't believe it but my work is featured yet again (page 45), I am so delighted to see my patterns on the pages of this super publication, it has most certainly made my day! 

Daddy('s) long legs (not a serious post of course)

This is not a serious post but an excuse to experiment uploading a short film on my blog as I have never done that before. The title is also a terrible pun but I thought it quite funny so you must forgive me my bad taste. The film is only 17 seconds long and if I had realised that it was going to turn out so good I would have made it much longer!
 

I have just returned from a weeks holiday in England and most my time was spent walking along the beach dodging the rain and blustery weather. I am quite a short person and my Dad too so it was quite fun to find that we had grown to such an incredible height in a matter of seconds. So here is 17 seconds of my Dad and I walking along a Lincolnshire beach and we have SUPER LONG LEGS, enjoy :)

Geometric 'CMYK' patterns

After doing a few geometric designs for the Patternbooth blog feature I have carried on experimenting with shapes and putting them into patterns. I quite like the idea of trying to create a bit of movement within the patterns by changing the 'flow' of the colours in the designs. I chose a bright and very bold colour palette of 'CMYK' which is the 4 colour printing process for print and paper. I also put the designs on my trusty 'Sadler Mugs' which is quite a habit of mine. 

P.S. I am having a weeks holiday in good old 'cold and windy' blighty this week so I don't know how much time I will have to blog and such. What with all the Christmas shopping I have to do and all the walks I have to fit in along the Lincolnshire beaches I think my timetable will be quite full! Happy week to you all. x

Dream Design 15 - Maike Thoma

Today I welcome Maike Thoma to Dream Designs. Maike is a German born surface pattern designer who studied fashion and textile design and now works under the name of Patternjots. She explains for us why she has chosen the pattern below as her Dream Design.

Why I love this design ? I love circles. I like to play with shapes and create new shapes by overlapping them. In this design I used "Scandinavian blue" as the accent colour. During my childhood I regularly visited Scandinavian countries and as a result Scandinavian design is very much a dominating theme in my design taste.

I love pattern on home interiors and I would love to see some of my designs on cushions, wallpaper and even on porcelain. For me dreaming big would be designing for Marimekko one day. 

Maike has been working as a fashion designer for almost 20 years and has always had a great passion for surface pattern and textile design. Maike's work is very graphic and she often uses hand drawn elements to create her patterns. Her style can also be very abstract although I find it has a very sophisticated feel to it and she creates a lot of depth in her designs. Lovely colour palettes, shapes, textures and spirals complete her portfolio to date.

After finishing the course "The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design" she is currently working on her portfolio and website to change her career direction towards surface pattern design. Just recently one of her patterns made it into the final 25 of the Tigerprint Black and White competition.

You can buy some of her lovely work on Society 6 and very soon be able to see her portfolio at www.patternjots.com

Flights of Fancy

The latest Spoonflower competition goes under the name of 'Flights of Fancy'. Such a lovely name I could'nt resist not entering a pattern. The deadline was midnight yesterday and I began my design at about four o'clock in the afternoon... so I could'nt really be too choosy about the final result! I called my design 'Come fly with me' and it is certainly an invite which is hard to overlook. I would just like to add that the competition had a 'restricted colour palette' which means you can only use the colours specified by Spoonflower for this particular competition. For me this was the worst colour palette they have ever given out, so dull and very hard to make the design stand out or work well. It was a challenge and I managed to finish in time but I 'm not super pleased with the result, partly because of the colours and partly because I just could have done a bit better :)
You can see the design on Spoonflower here and of course vote for it if you want to!

Patternbooth blog feature

Today you will find a 'little' feature about me on Cara Holland's lovely Patternbooth blog. She is showcasing a few new patterns that I am working on and if you look closely in the corners of the design there is also a preview of my new logo! Hope you like the patterns AND my logo. Thanks Patternbooth!

Sneaky peek 3

This is an example of one of the designs you will find in my new Islands collection.The original motifs yet again were inspired by details taken from one of my doodleboards! I can't believe how much inspiration I get when I refer back to my A1 sheets, I just spread them over my studio floor and in no time at all I have ideas for patterns. I still need to find a work process which will help me with my colour palettes... but I am working on that one.

 

Next week, apart from a new Dream Designs post I will be sharing more sneaky peeks, perhaps of my new logo or maybe a layout or two from my new website, so stay tuned. Until then Happy Weekend.

Dream Design 14 - Tiffany Designs

Today we have a lovely entry on Dream Designs from Tiffany Designs a Surface Pattern Designer based in Glamorgan, UK. Her pattern is featured below and Tiffany has explained why she has chosen this design.

The reason I chose this design is because it reminds me of shells on a beach, and I sketched shells to create the design. The pattern works well graphically because it is easy to replicate and sits well when repeated.

As Tiffany didn't specify exactly what her Dream realisation for her pattern would be I hope she doesn't mind me suggesting a lovely silk fabric, maybe on sale at Liberty London... why not? 

After looking closely at Tiffany's work I have realised that she has two distinct styles. One like the pattern she has sent me as her Dream Design, pretty and contemporary, and one which is playful and whimsical. Her patterns are very versatile and could be applied to many different products or markets. Her portfolio contains many placement prints suitable for the children's market or the greeting cards sector. I find her style very modern and fresh with a playful use of bright colour palettes. 

Tiffany studied embroidery and design at the London College of Fashion and attended Camberwell Art School. She has recently completed all three modules of the on-line course 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' hosted by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicolls, and is now looking for freelance opportunities. Her work has appeared on the wonderful Print and Pattern blog three times (thats three times more than me!), and also has been featured on Beth Nicolls's blog Do what you love. 
View her portfolio on her blog here or contact her directly at tiffanydesigns53@gmail.com

Sneaky peek 3

Well this is yet another 'Sneaky peek' post. Below you will find my latest design which is also being worked into a collection (I hope). I have called it Doilieaves, a mix of doilie and leaves... hee hee. I am still working on colourways and co-cordinates so it is still far from finished but I wanted to share it with you :)

Dream Design 13 - Gill Eggleston

Today I welcome Gill Eggleston, a British textile designer who works under the name of Pattern Addict and is based in France. Below please find her pattern and read what it's dream application would be.

 

As I am a home textile designer, I automatically am drawn to designing for fabrics and love the clean, simplistic nature of Scandinavian design which I think my latest design Malvik represents. My long term ambition is create my own signature collection of homewares

Gill is a very experienced designer who has already worked for a number of large maufacturers in her already successful career as a textile designer. However she is now concentrating on surface pattern design and her career is moving into a new era.

I find Gill's work very colourful and contemporary and it is full of lovely sketchy elements and 'doodle' style patterns. She claims to be 'drawn to nature and organic shapes' and I think she successfully creates something completely new with this inspiration. 

Just recently her work was shortlisted in the top 25 of the Tigerprint Black and White competition, and, only three days ago her pattern was placed in the top ten of the latest Spoonflower competition with the theme Arrows (not bad for her first attempt!) I'm sure she has done the right thing in changing the direction of her career and I look forward to following her progress.  

You can view Gill's portfolio on her website here and catch up with the latest news on her blog here.

'Mani Sunday' by Maria Jose Bautista Vargas

This is just a very quick note to talk about Majo who does a regular post on her blog La Patisserie des Idees called Mani Sunday, and this week it just happens to feature my nail designs called Star Bits. Majo recreates nail designs and patterns created by fellow ABSPD students for a project which we did a while back.

This is typical of Majo's fun loving approach to design. It is such a great idea and she has already completed over 15 reproductions from designs which we send to her, you can also see some of the others here. Although I'm sure it involves quite a lot of hard work it really makes me smile... well done Majo!

Sneaky peek 2

Believe me I am working hard... but that also means working NOT so hard on my blog, if you get my drift. If anyone is missing my posts (fine chance) here is a little snippet to last you until next week.

I am working on some 'collections' which will be part of my new website. Hoping to have lots of patterns to chose from I am leaving the choice until the very last minute.

This design is part of my 'Pretty in pink' collection. It originated from my doodleboard scribbles and I have surprised myself at how pretty the finished design is. For now it has been included in my Iconemesis Love Illustration collection of iphone 4 cases... but I have bigger dreams for it!

Hope you like it. Happy weekend to all x

Iconemesis Love Illustration and other bits!

I have put a few of my new experimental designs onto iphone 4 cover cases and entered them in the Iconemesis Love Illustration competition. Please go and take a look here and if you like them PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT... as I think the outcome of the competition will be based on social media hits. The winners will see their design put into production! WOW

 

Good news... you may remember my Laughing Owls Tea Towel 2013 Calendar design which I entered in the latest Spoonflower competition? It was placed 11th with 357 votes! Just a little miffed at not making the top ten :( however I have ordered a few to make some Christmas pressies!

No Dream Designs this week, sorry folks but Christmas has arrived in the 'posh gift shop' and we have been so busy placing stock and organising things that I have'nt had much time to dedicate to my lovely blog.

I have also noticed that I have another new member... welcome!

Dream Design 12 - Petra Kern

Today Dream Designs welcomes Petra Kern who is based in Slovenia. After a successful career as a journalist she has started her own creative business and is pursuing her dream of becoming a full-time surface pattern designer. Below she explains why she has chosen this pattern and her dream realization for it.

 

Why I love this design?
I like this design because it says everything about my style which is hand drawn, floral, feminine, dynamic and with lot of colours. I like to play with the patterns and when I see a product I always see it with a pattern or two on it.
 
About me: I recently dropped my job as a journalist and stylist for lifestyle magazines, took several online classes for art and surface pattern designer (ABSPD course!!!) and now I hope to make my living just of surface design. I dreamt about that for sooo long and the funny thing is that I didn't even know that such a profession existed.
 

After looking closely at Petra's work I am really impressed by how charming and pretty it all is. Her portfolio is full of delicate floral and organic patterns, most of them hand drawn or painted. Extremely feminine although rich in detail her work achieves its grace using subtle colour palettes. I particually like a few designs which I noticed have a darker background they remind me of tapestries. Petra claims to be 'drawn to nature' and 'want to capture it's colours', for me she certainly achieves that goal. 

A strong element of her work seems to be the capability to create collections and designs which compliment each other and look good together. This doesn't come easily for everyone and I think it is a truly valuable attribute that will facilitate her success as a surface pattern designer. A good example of this are the patterns shown here for this Dream Design feature. One, two or three designs which knit perfectly together and sit together on the same project.

I strongly recommend you take a look at the fabulous work to be found on Petra's website or catch up with her on facebook here.

Blog feature at THE KIOSK

Yesterday I had a lovely surprise when I discovered that my work was showcased on Esther Cox's blog THE KIOSK. Esther has written a super post featuring quite a few patterns of mine. I cannot thank her enough for writing so many nice things about me and my work. The least I can do is keep working hard and experimenting in the hope that it will all come together pretty soon. Thanks again Esther for such a wonderful post.

Tomorrow I will be back with a new Dream Designs post... don't miss it.

Sneaky peek!

Lately I have been working very hard on my portfolio so as to be ready for when I launch my new website! SOON I hope. Well, I have been experimenting with motifs and shapes which come from my doodleboards... if not what do I doodle for? I have left myself totally free with no rules about colour, subject or brief. I surprised myself by coming up with quite a few floral designs and all repeat patterns, no placement prints this time round. The lovely flowers you see below are one of the 'experiments' using doodleboard bits and a large dose of imagination. I quite fancy this design on a rug, it would look just great in my studio which has yellow walls!

Dream Design 11 - Gillian Hollingsworth

On Dream Designs today I welcome Gillian Hollingsworth of Worthy Designs who is based in Dublin, Ireland. Although she graduated with an Honours Degree in Fashion Design she is now pursuing a career in the fascinating world of surface pattern design.The pattern featured below was chosen by Gillian and she has kindly described her aspirations for it. 

 

My work tends to lean towards the interiors market so my dream product application would be for the home. A cushion with my design on sale in Anthropolgie???? A girl can dream!
So the design I've chosen is from my 'Botanical Lane' collection and is my favourite so far as I'm still developing my style. (It will probably have changed again by next week!) I think it's the textures that draw me to it, as if it has been hand pressed. 

I would like to thank Gillian for sending me such a lovely pattern it is representative of her work which is very delicate and pretty. She is inspired by many things, especially by nature, so a lot of her patterns are floral or organic. I find her patterns elegant and pleasing with beautiful subtle colour palettes, all quite suited to homewares and apparel. Her botanic collections are especially strong although her work is varied and her portfolio full of versatile patterns. My favourites of all her collections are Flower Bed Folly and Winter Petals.

One of her designs has already been featured in the first edition of the MOYO magazine and as she claims to have a 'fascination' for all things print and pattern I'm sure this is just the beginning of a successful career for Gillian in surface pattern design.

You can see more of her portfolio here or join her on Facebook here.

Laughing Owls Tea Towel Calendar 2013

It's been a long time since I entered a Spoonflower competition... about 4 months I would say. In the last one I entered my Laughing Owls design was placed in the top ten of the Extinct Animals competition! To celebrate their success I have dedicated another submission to them in the latest Spoonflower contest which was to design a Tea Towel Calendar for 2013. I hope my Laughing Owls bring me luck so that I can celebrate my 'Spoonflower reunion'. Here is my design below, you can see it (or vote for it, even better!) directly on Spoonflower.

Dream Design 10 - Maria Jose Bautista Vargas

Today I am so pleased to welcome Maria Jose Bautista Vargas (Majo) to Dream Designs. Originally from Colombia she is a Surface Pattern Designer based in Milan, Italy. She has chosen to show us a collection of patterns called 'Happy Party' and explains to us why it features as her 'Dream Design' at this moment in time.

 

I was very excited when Dawn asked me to be part of her showcase. I'm a HUGE dreamer so I really felt close to the fun theme she chose. It was very difficult to choose only ONE dream design though. Sometimes we (designers) consider our creations our little babies, we want to see them all succeed out in the big world and we don't want to let down any of them by choosing only 1 {giggles}. But I had to compromise in some way, so I asked Dawn if I could choose a collection instead of just a single design (at the end, when we work with collections all the designs are supposed to compliment each other, right?).

Happy Party!, my first giftwrap collection are the lucky babies I've decided to promote for now. The collection was created to suit different occasions with whimsical characters/motifs and happy lettering. I would love to see this collection manufactured by a company like Paperchase or Tigerprint (I loooooove both of them!) It'll be a dream come true to see gifts that make people happy wrapped with my designs. I hope you like it! 

Majo studied Fashion and Textiles in Milan and is now making her way as a Surface Pattern Designer. Her work is fresh, bright, fun, whimsical and colourful, and I personally think her background as a Fashion Designer shows through in her work. Although she produces many modern textural designs and patterns she has a soft spot for the children's market. I can imagine her collection Happy Party working wonderfully as a giftwrap children.

I consider Majo as a friend (even though we are yet to meet up), we became friends before the great ABSPD course started and we have come through all three modules together. She has a positive character, is very friendly, fun loving and enthusiastic about everything... and last but not least is also a very talented designer! These traits give an extra 'happy' quality to all of her patterns. I believe Majo is also working on a 'secret' project to launch her own brand in 2013 so remember to follow her closely.

You can see more of her portfolio on her website here. Majo also has a fun blog called 'La patisserie des idees' and she is the baker! 

Bits in Black and White

I have been working on some patterns to enter in the Tigerprint Black and White print competition. I just love bold Black and White but I found in quite a few designs I had to add a bit of graytone to make them work. I designed about 15 patterns, but I could only send in a maximum of 5 designs! You can see some of them below and perhaps choose your own 5 favourite pieces! 

Dream Design 9 - Amanda Taylor

Today I am pleased to welcome Amanda Taylor to Dream Designs. She is a Surface Designer, based in Leicester, UK. Below you will find her lovely bold floral pattern and discover what her dream application would be for it.

I have always loved home interiors, and love looking for new ideas and inspiration for my home. This Poppy repeat is one of the 1st designs I created on the ABSPD course but it is one of my favorites. I would love to be able to paper one of my walls at home with it so my dream application is wallpaper on a site such as wallpapered.com or wallpaperdirect.co.uk. I think it would be a great bold floral feature wall to give maximum impact to a lounge or dining room wall.

Amanda is a very creative person and declares to 'have a passion for print, pattern, colour, design, graphics and craft'. She draws inspiration from the outdoors and you will find florals and wildlife are heavily featured in her work. 
Although Amanda has chosen a very bold and colourful pattern for her Dream Design I find a lot of her work is very 'pretty' with a lovely use of colour. Sometimes graphic, sometimes hand drawn, sometimes whimsical her collections are a delight to see. Amanda has a very versatile style making her work perfect for interiors, homeware or stationery products. 
Please find time to browse over at her blog here and take in her lovely designs. 
P.S. From reading her blog I have realised that she loves making lists... just like me!!! :)

Back to work

Hello everyone.

Having a few days off isn't really good for business but I can assure you it is really good for the soul. I have been a very busy bee sorting, organising and planning. I feel much better now that I have got a few things into perspective. My main achievement is turning my endless lists in to some sort of business plan with a timetable and deadlines... now all I have to do is stick to it!

Over the next ten days I will be extra busy 'creating patterns' as I have four important deadlines to meet. I will be sure to post snippets of my new designs here on my blog and I will share any news I have regarding any new projects.

From tomorrow my blog will be up and running again so please take time to come and visit. I will be starting the week with a lovely Dream Designs post and I have another lined up for later on in the week. If you are curious... come take a look!

Until tomorrow x

Torno subito

Torno subito in Italian means 'I'll be back soon' and it's the only title that I feel is suitable for this post.
On Saturday the 3rd Module of the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design came to an end, and even though in theory it is not an ending but a new beginning, it has left me a bit stunned and disorientated. I have my plans, my dreams and my lists (endless) and for sure I'll not be without something to do for months on end... but I do feel a bit sad that I won't have my daily lessons to inspire me and encourage me.

So I have decided to take a week off from my blog Nice and Fancy, I will be working on a couple of projects and I need to incorporate all my lists into one (hee, hee) and decide on a master plan for my immediate future but I won't be writing anything here for a few days. I apolgise for this but I need to have a few days to myself and I just did'nt want to leave my blog blank with an "old" post.

So the appointment is for next Monday, I will be back with snippets of new projects and with two Dreams Design posts. Have a good week and a great weekend until then :) x  

Dream Design 8 - Kathryn Pledger

Today I welcome Kathryn Pledger who is a Graphic Designer (turned) Surface Pattern Designer just like me! Originally from Australia she is now based in London, UK. Below you will find her chosen pattern and its 'Dream' application.

 

Here is my 'Elephant petal' pattern that I submitted to the Threadless Trina Turk pattern competition. How amazing would it be to see people wearing your designs!

I'm very new to surface pattern design having only started designing patterns a few months ago after beginning the fantastic online course 'The art and business of surface pattern design.' I love designing patterns and I wish I had started doing what I love a long time ago.

My dream is to quit doing Graphic Design and start doing Surface Pattern Design full time. I would love to see my patterns on textiles for fashion and interiors. My ultimate dream would be to have my own label and spend all my days designing scarfs, wallpaper, bedspreads and pillows!

Kathryn's patterns can be very graphic and therefore they have a strong visual impact. I enjoy the fact that she uses a lot of layers and textures in her work and this is always worked through with lovely colour palettes. Her patterns are fabulous I find it hard to believe she has been designing patterns for such a short time. A very versatile designer she also has a great feel for typography and at times uses whimsical and fun ideas. Kathryn has had four designs chosen for the upcoming Patternbase book and one of her designs was included in the first issue of Moyo magazine.

Now I have taken a very close look at Kathryn's work I am convinced she is doing the right thing in pursuing her dream to become a full time Surface Pattern Designer and I am sure she will enjoy success in her new chosen career. Please take time to look at her portfolio on www.kathrynpledger.com

Contemporary Cartography Murals

These are my two finished murals which I have entered in the Wallpaper Mural brief jointly organised by Wallpapered.com and The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. The theme is Contemporary Cartography.

I was inspired by compass roses, after spending some time sketching them I then worked the designs on the computer. To create the room mock-up I simply added a final touch of positioning a totally "over the top" chair. I think it suits my murals well! It is a wonderful opportunity for all of us on the ABSPD course to show our work to a professional company and who knows maybe some of the designs will be put into production and sold through Wallpapered.com.

I do hope you enjoy them!

Dream Design 7 - Claire Smillie

Today the designer participating in the Dream Designs project is CLAIRE SMILLIE a freelance surface designer based in York, UK. Claire has kindly agreed to share a favourite piece of work with us and in her own words has described her dream application.

Choosing just one design is so hard and often when I am asked, my answer will change according to what I have just designed as this design now holds my newest favourite colours and motifs!! So todays choice, has to be 'Elise' from my newest collection ‘Efflorescence’. This is a fun design comprising the ever popular trend of geometrics with swirling vines and flowers. I love to think that my designs would sit perfectly on a selection of products, but my dream would be to see my designs, especially this collection, as a stationery range in the high street store ‘Paperchase.’

I dream of been able to just walk in and see MY range featured on the front display watching the customers responses as they walk past, picking the items up and falling in love with them! I LOVE that shop and their products are always right up my street. I have always had a love for their notebooks and using so many myself, I think my collection would have to include one of their thick Journals as well as a diary, a binder and one of their cute storage boxes to keep all my little odds and ends in! Like most ladies, I LOVE a beautifully wrapped present, so to see my design as part of their gift wrap range would also make me very happy too!

Claires work is bright and lively with lots of organic and flowery creations mixed together with bold geometrics and textured effects. She has a wonderful portfolio and her designs are already available on lots of different products. I think her patterns would look super on wrapping paper and stationery and I hope in the near future to see some of her designs in Paperchase... why not? 
Claire is also the brilliant mind behind the Passion4Pattern Bloghop which has just finished its successful second edition. This outlines her lovely bubbly personality which also shines through in her work. She claims " ... the creative world is where she needs to be and nothing can make her more passionate than the beautiful (and sometimes crazy) world of surface pattern design".

Take a closer look at her work and website here.