Friday 28 February 2014

February Review

February. It's only shorter by 3 days at the most but what a difference it makes. February flew! How was it for you?

This month I worked on my logo. This was one of my initial drafts.


Here, it was a very productive month, albeit in a rather erratic, disorganised kind of way at times! I had an Evernote malfunction (my precious tick lists!!!) and although I did order myself a new timer (for Pomodoro purposes) it turned out to be utterly useless. I've sent it back and still haven't found a replacement. I guess I will just have to take the plunge and go digital!

I've done a lot more drawing this month and I'm starting to feel more competent digitally. I started taking more courses in the last few weeks - I did this amazing lettering course and discovered Laura Coyle's tuition videos - I'm really pleased with the results I'm getting on LiveTrace as a result of the lettering course and Laura's videos have helped me work more efficiently.

Damask style pattern that I really enjoyed drawing with my fountain pen.

I've had 3 collections on the go, all of which are not quite finished yet - at least two patterns per collection needs some final tweaking. I'm not going to start another collection until these three are finished now though as the work seems to be piling up and I really need to schedule some time to sort out my website and getting the work that I've already done onto some products/mock ups. I've been a bit braver and shared more images of work in progress lately which has proved to be a positive exercise. My problem is that I just can't seem to keep it simple when it comes to designing - I want every pattern to teach me something. Actually that's not really a problem - at this stage where I am at the beginning I should be learning something all the time - it's the deadlines that are the problems! Whilst I'm not working to anyone else's time constraints, I think it's better to be focusing on learning and honing my own style.

I've also expanded my blog to be more inclusive of other designers and this has been so rewarding. It's so nice to be hearing about how other designers work and I'm getting that sense of community back that I had when I was on ABSPD. The new Studio Tuesday feature kicked off with a look at the work of Sophie Honeybelle and I've put out calls for submissions for Word Wednesday too.

Read it here


My card project has ground to a halt and I'm okay with that for now. I've just not done anything to promote it or add to my designs. I'm not saying that it's gone altogether - I just really need to do some other things before I can give it the energy and experience that it needs. I was so upset after losing my whole portfolio just before Christmas that I've just wanted to concentrate on rebuilding it. Once I have a more substantial body of work, I'm sure I'll feel better about it and get it going.

Whilst not my favourite image, one of my favourite quotes for Word Wednesday!

So, hello to March... In all things non-pattern related I get to go home (YAY!), see the ocean and hope to see a satisfactory end to a long drawn out financial/legal issue (everything crossed, please!).

In case you were wondering, there are a couple of days left to enter the February Tigerprint competition and the ABSPD testimonial contest.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend,

Frankie x


Thursday 27 February 2014

Essential Surface Pattern Design Resources #5 Jump, Trust, Repeat by Jessica Swift

Hello!

©Jessica Swift - image from her website
I'm writing this post with a big smile on my face, having just received an email from Jessica Swift agreeing to take part in my Studio Tuesday feature. I'm a huge fan of Jessica's work - her patterns are original, quirky and so wonderfully colourful.  She also paints, she writes and has a lovely website and blog.

©Jessica Swift - image from her website
Jump Trust Repeat is aimed at anyone who wants to really make a go at being a full time artist. Part One is all about Jessica's personal journey from leaving college as a fine art graduate through to her present day position as a successful artist and surface pattern designer. Part Two talks about the practical aspects of getting a business up and running and finally Part Three brings together the experiences of other successful artist and designers - most of whom you will be familiar with in surface pattern design circles.
Jessica is generously honest when talking about her journey. She is joyful about her successes and reflects openly on things that didn't go so well. Her admittance to problems is incredibly endearing. I really liked how she told the story about when she was having her rain boots manufactured and was sent two left boots, she still looked for ways around photographing them so that they looked like a proper pair. It's sharing this kind of information that tells you that it is a real, normal person, just like you or me,  behind these ventures; human, vulnerable, hopeful, hardworking and ambitious. This really does help you to believe that if you are willing to commit to and work towards making it happen, then you can. 


©Jessica Swift - image from her website

There's lots of information about attending trade shows and licensing deals. It's the stuff you'd like to just ask someone straight out but probably wouldn't: how much it costs, how to prepare, what kind of royalties to expect from licensing deals and so on. There's also a lovely little section on how Jessica works - showing the two different ways she designs patterns - straight onto the computer or drawing and scanning. I found this to be really helpful as was her advice on putting collections together.
Compared to books you can buy electronically in the Kindle store or on iBooks, Jump, Trust, Repeat may seem quite expensive at first glance but I would say it's easily worth it - it's an investment. I've spent so much time with this book - reading and rereading it - it's not just instruction, it's a true inspiration. What you are paying for is years of experience honestly documented, lots of positive encouragement and great advice. Whenever I feel I'm getting a bit lost, I refer back to this book for a hit of inspiration and to get me back on track. It's also very beautifully designed, but that's hardly a surprise when it's been designed by Jessica. 


©Jessica Swift - image from her website

Read more about Jump, Trust, Repeat here. Incidentally I've also used Jessica's Goal and Intention Kit and The Declaration of You and they're all fabulous too.
Thanks for reading and look out for Jessica on my Studio Tuesday feature in the coming weeks,
Frankie x


©Jessica Swift - image from her website


Wednesday 26 February 2014

Word Wednesday #9


Good Morning!

I saw this quote a few days ago on Twitter and really liked it, so I googled it and found out that there were a number of other 'rules' that went with it. The original article was geared towards writers but can apply to all forms of arts or practices.

1 Turn up for work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.
2 Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether.
3 Love what you do.
4 Be honest with yourself. If you are no good, accept it. If the work you are doing is no good, accept it.
5 Don't hold on to poor work. If it was bad when it went in the drawer it will be just as bad when it comes out.
6 Take no notice of anyone you don't respect.
7 Take no notice of anyone with a ­gender agenda. A lot of men still think that women lack imagination of the fiery kind.
8 Be ambitious for the work and not for the reward.
9 Trust your creativity.
10 Enjoy this work!
I've only ever read one book by Jeanette Winterson - it's called Lighthousekeeping and I really enjoyed it. So today, I might dig around on audible and see if there's anything by her that I might listen to whilst I'm working.

This isn't my favourite word wednesday image I've ever done but things have been so busy here that I only had half an hour to put it together and do this post! I'm guessing it will annoy me so much that at some point in the future I will come back and improve it! The patterns and elephants are from a collection I am working on and as ever the font is Kimberly Geswein's 'Let Her Go Solid' that you can get here.

Do what you love and love what you do,
Frankie x

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Studio Tuesday #2 Sophie Honeybelle

Hello, hello!

Today we are spending Studio Tuesday with Sophie Honeybelle who is based in Buckinghamshire, England.





As Sophie explains in her Q&A below, she started out using Adobe CS for jewellery design and this interest is evident in her work. She designs some really sophisticated, ornate looking motifs reminiscent of pieces of jewellery. Despite only taking ABSPD in 2012 Sophie has already established an unmistakable style of her own utilising a limited palette and layered geometric motifs. It's no wonder she recently secured a licensing deal with Wraptious, a new company who sell cards and gift wrap. Some of the designs featured today would make fantastic wallpaper or high-end toiletry packaging.





Q&A with Sophie Honeybelle - Honeybelle Surface Pattern Design


Where and how did you start your surface pattern design journey?
I was living in York in 2007 when I got my first copy of Adobe CS2. I got it originally to help me design jewellery and my business logo, but I soon started to experiment with making patterns.

I immediately loved playing around with shapes and colours and decided to look into how to do this kind of creative work as a career. My online research didn’t yield much in the way of information at that time and I was focused on setting myself up as a self-employed jewellery designer/maker, so didn’t pursue the idea any further.

By the end of 2012 I was finding it more fun to design patterns for my jewellery than make the jewellery itself so looked into a career in surface pattern design again. This time round there was a lot more information and I soon found The Art and Business of Surface Pattern design e-course. I approached someone who’d just taken the course and she raved about it and so I joined and it’s turned out to be one of the best career decisions I’ve made in years.




How do you approach a project/piece of work or collection?
Depends what it is and what it’s for.

If it’s a personal project – such as renewing my website – I plan everything on paper and write lists of things to do. I like to be really organised and so have to write it all down and plot the stages that will get me to the final result.

My approach for my own collections and designs is quite loose. If I already have an idea, I’ll just get on Abobe Illustrator and have a play and see what comes out. I like to be experimental and approach my own collections with a sense of freedom. If I try to direct it too much, it just doesn’t seem to flow as well. If I don’t have any particularly strong ideas I might doodle in my sketchbook for a bit and see what recurring shapes come out. If I have no inspiration whatsoever and I’m a bit blocked, I might go to London and have a wander around. I like looking at the architecture and going to stores to see what sort of designs are being licenced. Surface pattern design is absolutely everywhere and it’s easy to be inspired.

Favourite pencil/pen?
The Faber-Castell XS PITT artist pen in black has been in my pen of choice for doodling for about the last six months.

Sketchbook or loose leaf?

Sketchbook.

How do you keep yourself on track/organised when working on a project?

I write everything down in my Pukka pad project book. I write endless to-do lists. I’m generally quite good at knuckling down when I’ve got deadlines and I’m not a last-minute-panic-and-work-overnight kind of person. I like to get things done as soon as I can, that way I know the work is done and I can relax or get on with other things.

What are your creature comforts in your studio/workspace?

Music and my headphones are my number one creature comforts and I would not be able to create without them. My graphics tablet is a very close second.

Music, radio, stories or silence?

Music is an absolute necessity to my creative process. I don’t listen to the radio much because I like to control what I’m listening to and I prefer particular tunes that invoke a certain mood that helps me focus on designing. Stories are good too, I’ve recently started listening to some spoken word stuff on Spotify. Sometimes it’s a bit distracting and I can’t divide my attention between the story and designing equally. And of course, the story starts to weave its way into the designs, so I have to be mindful of that.
I prefer silence when I’m reading or writing, but I would find it hard to design to silence.





Night owl or early bird?
A bit of both! In the summer I like to be up early and I think I naturally wake earlier anyway. I love to see the sun rise. In the winter I like to get up when it’s light outside, so it tends to be later. One of my pet-hates is getting up early on winter mornings when it’s still dark outside.

I’m also fond of being up late as well and observing the stillness of the neighbourhood. There’s something weirdly nice about being the only one awake when everyone else is sleeping.

Illustrator or Photoshop?

I use Illustrator for designing and Photoshop for editing photos. I use both all the time so it’d be impossible to choose one over the other.

What size art board do you design repeats on?

My standard is 500 x 500 pixels.

Design heroes?

Lucienne Day, William Morris, Orla Kiely.

Dream clients or design goals?

I’d love to design for Ikea one day. I’d also love to collaborate with a fashion designer and create a collection together.




Dream design destination for inspiration?
I’d love to visit Surtex and Printsource.

And what are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just finished updating my website, so I’m in the process of approaching companies.


Any tips or advice you want to share with us?
If this is advice for people new to surface pattern design or business, I’d say learn the basics of running a business at the same time as you develop your design work because you still need to know how to set a budget, how to write a business plan, how to sell and so on.

Think really, really carefully before buying Facebook ads. It’s a very expensive gamble.

Join LinkedIn if you’re not already on there, it’s full of interesting groups.

Be patient. In the world of licencing everything tends to take longer than anticipated or desired. 

Contact Sophie here:
Twitter - @SKHoneybelle

Thanks so much to Sophie for taking the time to tell us a bit about her work. If you would like to be featured as part of Studio Tuesday, please drop me a line at ilovepattern@yahoo.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @ilovepattern.

Frankie x

Monday 24 February 2014

Motif Monday Submissions

Good morning!

I started writing this blog with the intention of building a knowledge base of all things pattern related to inspire and inform other surface pattern designers.  Here to brighten up every Monday morning is Motif Monday and I'm looking for submissions or guest bloggers on the subject of motifs. 

Have you created a paisley pattern? If you would like to submit examples of your paisley designs please send a 500 x 500 square jpeg to ilovepattern@yahoo.co.uk with the subject heading 'Paisley'. Alternatively if you are a Paisley fanatic and wish to write a guest blog about this or any other motif, please do get in touch.

I hope that with your help we can create a great resource for pattern designers everywhere!

Kind regards,
Frankie x

Friday 21 February 2014

Progress... ilovepattern is growing

Hello!

Hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend. I've had a little bit of time off this week which was fun but has meant that the pressure is really on next week. I have three collections to complete as I want March to be completely clear to start some new projects. I've also decided that I am going to make a few changes to my blog which I am really excited about as they involve connecting with other designers.

I've usually just dedicated my Friday post to documenting my progress in the studio. I am going to continue to do this occasionally but have decided to make a few changes.

My intention for this blog has always been for it to become a useful resource for other surface pattern designers. Having taken some modules from the ABSPD I wanted to continue to develop my skills and broaden my knowledge of surface pattern and share my experiences.

I'm not trying to create a course here - there are fantastic courses out there, particularly ABSPD which I have written a review of here and MATS. Nor is it a showcase for what's current in surface pattern - this is already perfectly presented by Marie Perkins over at Print & Pattern. What I am hoping we can do together is create a knowledge base of surface pattern design whilst showcasing new talent alongside more established designers.

A few of the new features I am writing are as follows:

Motif Monday - a chosen motif, examples of it - how and why you used it in your own work.
Studio Tuesday - in the studio with... a lighthearted look at how different designers work - established and new.
Word Wednesday - great for showcasing your lettering or typography skills.

Please do get in touch if you have an idea for a post or wish to be involved. You can email me at: ilovepattern@yahoo.co.uk

Cheers and have a great weekend!
Frankie x

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Word Wednesday #8


I'm listening to Do the Work by Steven Pressfield on loop at the moment. It's such a great book about tackling resistance when working on a project. I highly recommend this book if you struggle to stay on track with anything from keeping fit to writing a novel. It has some great bits of advice, including this one. If like me, you lack confidence, maybe you will also find these words helpful.

The fonts used are Kimberly Geswein's Love Ya Like A Sister and Let Her Go

I'm opening up Word Wednesday to submissions. If you would like to have your work featured here then please get in touch - tweet me: @ilovepattern or drop me a line - ilovepattern@yahoo.co.uk 

Have a great day and don't forget to SHINE!
Frankie x

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Studio Tuesday #1 Frankie

Hello there! 
Welcome to my new feature: Studio Tuesday where we take a sneak peek into the lives of designers both new and established from all around the world. The intention with this new post is to share the variety of ways in which designers work and to showcase their work too. 

As this is the first post I thought I would set the ball rolling just so you can see what it's all about. If you would like to be featured on Studio Tuesday please email me at: ilovepattern@yahoo.co.uk.

Enjoy!
Frankie x

Q&A with Frankie@ilovepattern




Where and how did you start your design journey?
I've a background in Fine Art but always had a curiosity about surface pattern - just didn't have the confidence to venture off into textiles or fashion as I would have had to for a degree. I couldn't do any of the sewing side of things and wasn't that interested in learning so stuck with paint. After my degree I dabbled in other artistic ventures and teaching. I had a career change to consider in the last couple of years and thought about graphics but once I discovered Print & Pattern I was hooked. I then found the ABSPD course and knew it was for me. I've been building on those skills since and tentatively sticking a toe in the water. 


How do you approach a project/piece of work or collection?
I just have to start. Once I decide that I'm going to make something I have to just go for it and figure out what I'm doing and where it's going along the way. The more I think about something in the first instance, the less likely I am to finish it. I sometimes jump straight onto the computer or sketch ideas on paper, depending on how I am feeling.




Favourite pencil/pen?
I use Derwent pencils almost exclusively. Their Inktense pencils are lovely I love the Onyx pencils for sketching - lovely and dark and soft. They make lots of other lovely products too like Artbars which are fun and inspiring.
Pens I struggle with. I love my Rotring fountain pens but always come away with an inky index finger! I think I grip too far down the barrel. I've bought so many fine felt tipped drawing pens but I don't get on that well with them for some reason, perhaps because I press on too hard!


Sketchbook or loose leaf?
Tricky. I love the privacy of a perfect bound thick A4 sketchbook. I'm not very confident in my drawing skills and like to work in secret in the developmental stages, embarrassed by my mistakes. Having said that, I am soooo precious when it comes to sketchbooks and I hate ruining them with bad work so recently I've started working out ideas on copier paper which is much less stressful!



How do you keep yourself on project?
By having folders and documents named and waiting for the end product - spaces there ready to be filled by the completed work. It's exciting seeing an art board divided up ready for a completed collection it makes me want to work to see the finished product.

What are your creature comforts in your studio/workspace?
My sheepskin boots - I get REALLY cold feet no matter the temperature.
Lush lip balm
My iPad - when I'm doing the laborious, mind numbing stuff I'll watch a bit of Love Film on it. 

Music, radio, stories or silence?
I enjoy audio books and radio drama. I'm taking a meditation course at the moment so I've started practising working in silence too. It's nice but not for too long. If I'm feeling a bit lacklustre I put some music on - anything goes cheesy pop, folky stuff...

Night owl or early bird?
I'm becoming more and more of an early bird, especially in summer.. Does this mean I'm getting old? 





Illustrator or Photoshop?
I HATED Illustrator when I first started out on it. I would cry with frustration every time I opened it! Now I easily spend more time on it than Photoshop and have really got into taking online classes so that I can get the most out of it for pattern design. I started with Lara Coyle's course and I've done some Skillshare classes.

What size art board do you design repeats on?
I currently work at 24cm square which is probably excessively big. I just made it up really...

Design heroes?
Lucienne Day
William Morris
Cath Kidston
Orla Kiely
Jessica Swift 
Rachael Taylor
Lilla Rogers
Marie Perkins
there's too many contemporary people to mention!

Dream clients or design goals?
Monsoon/Accesssorize, Paperchase, John Lewis, I'd love to be part of the Make it in Design or MOYO team or have a work placement at Tigerprint!

Dream design destination for inspiration?
Somewhere north of here. I'm a teeny bit obsessed with the idea of travelling really far north - Northern Canada, the Scandinavian countries... I'd take the northern lights or the midnight sun...





And what are you working on at the moment?
I've 3 collections on the go - one is called Midsummer, one is based on the film Vertigo and the other is Indian inspired designs - paisley and florals. There's also my website to design next month too.

Any tips or advice you want to share with us?
Don't wait until you think you're ready to launch yourself, just do it! You learn way more putting your work out there for everyone to see than waiting for the perfect moment.
If you work alone, schedule a meeting with yourself once a week. It's a great way to keep track of your goals.
And finally... back EVERYTHING up! EVERYTHING!!!


Monday 17 February 2014

Motif Monday #1 Nosegays and Bouquets

Nosegay
Image from tiny white daisies


Hello, I've decided that Monday is all about motifs. Every Monday I'm going to look at a different one, do a little research around it and show examples of pattern using that motif in order to create a kind of motif library.

Today's chosen motif is Nosegays. The reason I've chosen this motif is that I am currently working on a pattern collection inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo. I saw this film recently and was really inspired by it. There's wonderful use of colour and lots of flower motifs featured in it. Some scenes, and the opening credits, had a mid-century modern appeal to them too so I hope to incorporate this into my collection too. One of the recurring motifs in the film is this nosegay below, which I think is a great starting point for developing a motif.


Nosegay from the film.
Image from here

A quick google image search of nosegay shows that there's a knitting stitch/pattern, quilting technique and a doily pattern based on it, all of which would make great starting points for designing a motif. For example, a line drawing of a nosegay doily might make an interesting and intricate motif.

Here's an example of nosegay quilting. The aesthetic of quilting could be used in designing a digital pattern resulting in something more geometric and abstract. I've seen a similar technique used by Josephine Kimberling where she created digital patterns that look like cross stitch and crochet as part of her Hope Chest collection.


Image from Kora Quilt Index


Josephine Kimberling's Geometric Crochet design
image from www.fabricworm.com
I'm struggling to find very many examples of repeat patterns that have nosegays as the motif, I guess because it's quite an old fashioned motif... Maybe it's time for a revival? I would love to hear from you if you've designed one and maybe we can add it to this post. I've also started a pinterest board filled with examples of nosegays and bouquets and will be doing so for each Motif Monday. 

Thanks for reading as always. Your feedback and encouragement has helped to shape this blog into something I believe has the potential to become a valuable resource to new surface pattern designers. More about this tomorrow,
Keep reading!
Frankie x

Friday 14 February 2014

Progress #2

Greetings!

This 'Progress' post is a reflection on my week's work. I'm hoping that it might be helpful to other new starters... or if anyone more experienced wants to give me any advice/feedback it would be received gratefully! It's a bit heavy on text but I'll try to stick to the point!

Ironic that I have started this post on progress with the word 'greetings' since this is where I seem to be having the most trouble and the least progress! I mentioned in an earlier post about how I had this idea for personalised greetings card boxes - I was full of energy and excitement about it and I launched my personalised card service locally to a small audience. I did get some orders for my cards and I also began to approach people individually. It has been met, on the whole, with positivity. But somewhere along the way I have lost my enthusiasm. I just don't feel so excited about it anymore and keep 'forgetting' to do anything associated with it. I've not gone as far as letting customers down or anything, I just haven't helped it to grow.


This week I am going to have to decide whether I am willing to put in the time and effort to build this side of my business or shelve it as something that just isn't for me. I know it's not the designing that's the problem - I suspect it's because there's a lot more customer focus and end product involvement to it than designing my pattern collections and my true dream is to have my patterns licensed to products/fabrics rather than being involved with the making of the actual end products. 

I'm not a craft person which I think is quite unusual in the textiles/arts/pattern design world. I seem to come across more people who are into sewing and making things and I sometimes feel a little inadequate as I've never developed these skills. It's one of the reasons I took Fine Art instead of Textiles at uni. Despite my interest in fabric I've just never had the inclination to make things with it - I just like to look at it. I was a painter for a short time at uni, big scale stuff with acrylic on canvas but I just don't seem to get on with the mess very well! I prefer gouache and watercolour pencils these days. I've also spent a lot of time on the move, living in cities in cramped, shared accommodation with minimal space so have adapted to this. I sometimes have a little envy for people who collect things - vintage toys, books... lovely inspiring objects adorn the shelves of their studios. Even now with the space and my own studio, apart from essential books,  I'm still just collecting inspiration digitally through Pinterest etc ... but this is also due to keeping an eye on finances too!

My pattern collections are starting to grow though, which is great. I'm currently working on 3 collections at once and after listening to 'Do the Work' by Steven Pressfield I've decided to apply some of his strategies to my work routine. 

He advocates working quickly with very little research at the beginning and then working out the underlying theme of what you are you doing and reminding yourself of this throughout the work in order to stay on track. So for example, I started with a design I'd done based on the Strawberry Thief by William Morris. I'd decided to build a collection around this design but couldn't seem to come up with anything that felt right. After listening to Do the Work I realised that I hadn't pinned down the theme of the collection. It had to be about more than just a study of the strawberry thief and a couple of co-ordinating patterns. So, I jotted down a list of words I associated with the pattern - English, June, summer, country garden, etc and decided that the collection would be called Midsummer and the patterns would be good for dining and kitchen products - I particularly like the idea of them being for al fresco dining products - melamine plates and the interior of picnic hampers! 

My Strawberry Thief inspired print

Working within this theme I created a square art board, called it 'collection', divided it into 9 subsequent squares and quickly doodled some pattern ideas down to fill 8 of the squares - the middle square being saved for the name of the collection. I started to build a vision of what the complete collection might look like using doodles and words. I've since done that for 2 more collections and I feel like it's a great way to work - it just feels more directed and more structured. I'll let you know how I get on with it this time next week.

First ideas for a new collection

So, in brief....

Highlights

  • Postcards for Peace selecting and sending my design to print
  • Using Laura Coyle's lessons to find a new technique for creating some exciting new palettes (more on this next week) 
  • Entering the Make it in Design/Print & Pattern ABSPD scholarship contest. I never win anything but I really had to try for this!
  • Doing a class on lettering on Skillshare - Mary Kate McDevitt is brilliant!
  • Getting organised with my workflow when creating collections
  • Spending more time at my drawing desk than I have done for ages
Challenges
  • My personalised greeting card boxes idea is stuck
  • Sometimes wish I had a bit more contact with other designers
Looking forward
  • See what progress I make with my collections this week using my new workflow technique
  • Decide what I am doing with my card business
  • See if I can make more connections with other designers online
  • Work on the latest Tigerprint competition


In the meantime I am going to start reaching out to other designers in my blog to ask about how they work. If you would be interested in participating in this feature, please get in touch with me through twitter @ilovepattern or email me: ilovepattern@yahoo.co.uk . I am looking for beginners, experts, known and unknowns - my intention is just to create a space where we can share our experiences of learning about the wonderful world of surface pattern design!

Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful weekend,
Frankie xx

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Word Wednesday #7

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, today's Word Wednesday is a love themed lyric...


The words are from January Song by Lindisfarne.  I think they are perfect for a Valentine's card.

Word Wednesday was a little late today because I decided to take a class in lettering on SkillShare The class is called Hand Lettering by Mary Kate McDevitt and it's brilliant. She's such a great teacher. I'm not sure this design is quite finished - I haven't added textures to the lettering yet but will play with that later this week. If you use the link above to go to Skillshare there's a discount! 

Thanks for reading and Happy Valentine's!
Frankie x

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Postcards for Peace

Morning!

Just a little mention about a project I've designed for. I'm so pleased to have some of my work involved in this wonderful idea. 

Postcards For Peace was founded by Martin Rowsell, Managing Director of Simply Marvellous Creative Ltd, in June 2013 as a way of putting the skills and experience he had gained, from working in the design industry, to good use. It's basically a very simple idea to promote love, peace, support and hope around the world via the humble postcard. I really love the idea and think it's a great way to get young people involved and inspired to spread good stuff around the world. There's a lovely video on the front page of the website explaining the concept.

Following the death of Pete Seeger a couple of weeks ago I used a quote of his in my Word Wednesday post. I posted this to my Facebook page where Martin saw it and asked me if I might turn it into a postcard for the project. So here is my finished postcard. I'm absolutely chuffed to be part of this and to put my design skills to a good cause. 




Enjoy your day,
Frankie x

Monday 10 February 2014

Essential Surface Pattern Design Resources #4 Textile Design: 200 Years of Patterns for Printed Fabrics arranged by Motif, Colour; Period & Design by Susan Meller & Joost Effers

Hello!
Another lovely weekend of food and friendship and a new week starts with the exciting prospect of completing my strawberry thief collection and entering a couple more competitions. I've decided to enter lots of competitions this year as they are a really good way of getting my work 'out there' and practising working to a brief, creating something that is going to be commercial and relevant. Whilst I love self tuition and solitary working, I know I'm in need of some feedback and direction so I'm seeking to create opportunities for this... I've been asking on twitter whether anyone could provide me with a reading list for a degree in textile/surface pattern design so that I could further educate myself - I'm thinking about history and geography of pattern. Finally today my call for help was answered (partly - I could still use a proper list!) and I was pleased to see that this fabulous book was amongst the book list that I saw.

Textile Design: 200 Years of Patterns for Printed Fabrics arranged by Motif, Colour; Period & Design by Susan Meller & Joost Effers

This really is one of my favourite books. It’s up there with any of Bowie Style’s wonderful Print & Pattern books, 5000 Flower and Plant motifs by Graham Leslie McCallum and Jessica Swift’s Jump Trust Repeat. All of these books have been fantastic resources that I constantly refer back to.

Be warned, this book is not very portable! Larger than A4 and coming in at almost 500 pages, it's not one for carrying on around in your bag to read on the train. I keep mine on my drawing desk and thumb through it regularly as it’s a constant source of inspiration. 

The book is divided into 5 sections: Floral, Geometric, Conversational, Ethnic and Art Movements & Period Styles. I now divide my design files in this way on the computer as I find it makes it much easier to find my designs and helps me to think about the different elements I can put together to make a collection. There’s a small section of text on each page giving a little background to each pattern style and it’s just enough to give a brief explanation of the origins of each pattern type.

I enjoy using the book as a starting point for inspiration. I often just browse until a pattern catches my eye and then take it from there. I might be inspired by palette, motif or composition. For example, this week I decided I wanted to do something that was reminiscent of flocked wallpaper. I flicked through the book and came across a couple of nice examples of damask which then led me to start an ink drawing that I developed into this...




...which has given me lots of fresh ideas for motifs and I'm really looking forward to playing with these ideas over the coming week.

I hope you have a lovely week!
Thank you
Frankie x