Thursday 29 May 2014

Progress...

Hello!

Crikey! Life has been a bit busy lately so here's a round up of what's been going on... I've no patterns to show on this blog... It's a bit brief and to the point!

I've been on Beth Kempton's amazing Do What You Love course.
We're in the final week and I've really thrown myself into the course and spent a huge amount of my time on it and I'm really feeling the benefit. It arrived at the perfect time for me as there were a couple of things that I really wanted to tackle. With the structure and support of this course I feel like I've really moved forward. If you're feeling a bit lost in life or have a dream but aren't sure how to move towards making it a reality, I strongly recommend this course. It really is very special.

I missed this month and last month's Tigerprint competitions...
As you will know if you read my blog, at the start of the year, I had made it my intention to enter every single Tigerprint competition this year. However due to currently being a bit snowed under, I've decided to opt out for now. The last couple of briefs have been particularly challenging (Mother's Day Florals and human character for kids) and I just couldn't give them the time needed to create something I would be proud of. I am disappointed about this so I hope that I will return to it later in the year.

I've enrolled on Lilla Roger's MATS course...
I'm so excited about this, I can't describe! I've seen how other people's work has developed as a result of taking this course and longed to do it. I love Lilla's book and can't wait to start in October,

Thanks for reading,
Frankie xx

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Word Wednesday - Claire Brennan aka all the adorables


It's Woooooooooord Wednesday! 

Good morning peoples! 
Today we have a bit of gorgeousness from York from Claire Brennan aka All the Adorables. Loving her delicate watercoloured gemstones and subtle repeats. I'm glad she was brave enough to take the leap into design and wish her continued success!
Read all about Claire here and why not think about joining in a bit of Word Wednesday fun yourself? It's good to talk... 

Frankie xxx

Claire Brennan

Name   Claire Brennan
Location   The lovely City of York, UK
Where can we find you on the web? http://alltheadorables.com 

Design background 
After having my first child I found my mind tick-ticking away, and realised I had an opportunity to change my career, I got myself Photoshop and threw myself into the world of graphic design, something I'd considered as a possible career for years, but always put it in the 'too hard to make the jump' box. I opened an Etsy shop 2 years ago now, selling my digital designs and started doing freelance work shortly after, where I focus on logo & website design for photographers and creative businesses. I've always been an avid consumer of greetings cards, wrapping paper and suchlike. It's my dream in the next couple of years to launch a greeting card and social stationery line. 


5 random facts
1) I had orthodontic braces on my teeth for a couple of years at age 30. One of the best things I ever did.
2) On honeymoon in California, my husband and I stayed at Mission Ranch, owned by Clint Eastwood. He showed up for dinner and we were the nearest table to him (in the spirit of disclosure - had my husband not pointed this out, I would never have realised!)
3) I harbour secret ambitions to be a voice artist.
4) I like to think of many many (affectionate) nicknames for those in my family. Particularly my children, who both have probably 20 different names each. Poor confused children.
5) Neighbours. Everybody needs good neighbours - I love the TV soap Neighbours! I watch it every night.

Influences  
Ideas flow, my mind never really switches off, I can be inspired and influenced by virtually anything! In particular, I love browsing the seasonal fashion collections, and interior design. I'm really inspired by nature, particularly flowers & plants. 

Any story behind the quote/words you chose? 
It's a quote I first came across only a couple of months ago (thanks Pinterest!) which really resonated with me, as I'm sure it does with a lot of creatives. I've actually been planning to get around to illustrate it since then, so getting involved with Word Wednesday has given me a little shove do to something creative. 

Where would you most like to see your quote/words?   
Framed, in a nice sunny corner of a family home :) 

Do you have any favourite words? 
Mint. Ace. Mega. Not all said at once though, that's just overkill ;)

What word do you use way too much? 
Hmmm, probably "Like". Used in the same way Shaggy from Scooby Doo might.

Favourite fonts 
Current faves - Didot is my go-to classic font. Serifs are where it's at folks! Script fonts, I love Lavandria at the moment, plus anything by Emily Lime. I'm a sucker for slab fonts right now too. 


Any wise words you’d like to offer? 
These aren't my words, but here's another quote this time from Earl Nightingale, that I often think of: “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”



Tuesday 27 May 2014

Studio Tuesday #11 Genine Delahaye


Welcome, welcome, welcome! 
Studio Tuesday is here again and today we are featuring the wonderful Genine Delahaye, designer of all things cute and colourful. A winner of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design scholarship, Genine shares her journey and some of her working practices with us today. I love Genine's work - it's original and oh so colourful and cheerful. Genine proves here that if you have a passion and are willing to work at it, you can indeed do what you love.

Enjoy reading about Genine below. And don't forget, whether you are a beginner, or a more established pattern designer, you too can be featured on my blog, so do get in touch!
Happy Tuesday,
Love Frankie x

Name/Company or Studio name: GENINE DELAHAYE DESIGN

Where and how did you start your surface pattern design journey? 

It all came about when I made the conscious decision to leave my PA job for my local council. I had left school at sixteen and due to my circumstances at the time was forced to start work and earning money as soon as possible. As a result I started work as an admin assistant even though my wish was to go to college and study Art and Design. I became almost trapped in this career, with responsibilities piling up and only ever having qualifications in administration. I didn't have much choice but to stay on this path for the next few years. I became quite unhappy with my career choices and knew that this wasn't what I should or wanted to be doing. 


After a holiday to Jamaica in 2008 I decided life was too short, and on my return I handed my month's notice in to my current job, without having anything else lined up or knowing quite what I was going to do! A big gamble but one that luckily for me paid off. I found a position with a design studio based in London called My Sugarcube Ltd. I was still working in admin but I openly spoke about my aspirations of becoming a designer at the interview. In a way it was almost like an apprenticeship! I soaked up the world around me like a sponge, I loved the design industry and knew I had made the right choice in pursuing my dream! After years of watching, learning, developing I started submitting my own designs to the company's collection and to my shock and surprise at the time, started to receive my first sales! This was a huge confidence boost to me and it fuelled me to keep going and keep trying. The company unfortunately ceased trading in 2012 which left me in a bit of a pickle.

I didn't feel I was quite ready to go it alone and become a freelancer, but again the circumstances forced me to make a choice. I decided to give myself six months as a freelance childrenswear and print designer and if I wasn't successful after this time I would go back to my day job. I am so so happy to report that things really took off for me. I won the print and pattern scholarship for a free place on The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design course and the rest is history. I started to win my first private commissions, sell more work with my agents, and make a living from doing what I love! I'm a very lucky and very happy girl to say the least. 


How do you approach a project/piece of work or collection? 
I usually have a rough idea in my head as soon as I hear the details of the project, if not I take some time out and research, research, research! Pinterest is a great source on inspiration for me. I also doodle and try not to take it so seriously or put pressure on myself to come up with something, I think its very important to keep the process as fun as possible! I find I can produce some of my best work this way but still keep things professional. 

Favourite pencil/pen? 
Love my ink pen! Failing that it's pencil all the way for me.

Music, radio, stories or silence? 
If it's a big project I tend to start with silence so I can get a good handle on it and get off to a good start without any distractions. Then when I'm in a good place with the design, I put some upbeat tracks on and pump up the volume. :-)



Night owl or early bird? 

I would say more of a Night owl.

Illustrator or Photoshop? 

Definitely Illustrator, it was the first programme I learnt and as a result it will always be my favourite.

What size art board do you design repeats on? 

I try to keep it standard A4 or A3.




Design heroes? 
Ohhh so many its hard to choose! I would say the big ones that stand out for me are Orla Kiely, Helen Dardik and Jillian Phillips. All have a strong, individual style which I very much admire.

Dream clients or design goals? 

Would love to work on some gorgeous stationery prints for Paperchase. I would also love to get more of my work into mainstream highstreet childrenswear brands such as H&M, Sainsburys, Zara I feel all have a great quirky range of childrenswear products. 


Dream design destination for inspiration? 
Jamaica! such a beautiful, inspiring place and the place where it all started for me :-)

And what are you working on at the moment? 

Im just getting back into designing after having two months off, so starting slowly and easing myself in nicely, preparing some prints for my design agents and working on some small commission projects. Im extremely excited about the year ahead.

Any tips or advice you want to share with us? 

Hmmm...any advice that I could share with designers just starting out would be to try not to doubt yourself and your work, stay true to your style and have fun with it. Your persistence will pay off. 



Tuesday 20 May 2014

Studio Tuesday Round Up...

Good morning!

Today I'd like to feature a little bit of a best of round up of my Studio Tuesday feature which has been my favourite part of writing my blog so far. I've picked out some of my favourite tips and presented them all here. If you would like to see all of the Studio Tuesday features so far, just click on the tag to the right of the screen. If you want to see more from a specific designer's Studio Tuesday click on their name after the quote and if you want to go their website, click on their name under each image. Hope this all makes sense! Studio Tuesday returns next week with the wonderful Genine Delahaye

Happy Tuesday!
Frankie x

Sophie Honeybelle
"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 licensing everything tends to take longer than anticipated or desired." Sophie Honeybelle



Tinker & Faff
"I do my repeats in a square, but no particular size. When I came runner up in the Ideal Home Wallpaper competition a couple of years ago they wanted repeats that were the width of a roll of wallpaper – then it was 50cm, so I just did the repeat 50 x 50." Nik from Tinker & Faff



Celandine Designs
"Lay your bricks for the day!!! Don't let the concept of 'talent' scare you, don't let the amazing work of other amazing artists intimidate you. If you feel the desire to create, nurture it, support it, and indulge it a little every day. You won't even notice the progress until you look back a few years later and think 'Holy moly, is this really how far I've come??' And I promise you, at that moment you'll be the proudest thing on this earth :) But you have to lay your bricks for the day, every day." Lidija Paradinovic Nagulov



Anna London
"Make as many connections as you can! I started e-mailing people in the design world that I admired, asking them about how they got started and if they minded sharing advice with me. I used to be shy about reaching out to people and thought they wouldn’t be interested in talking to me, but I’ve been constantly amazed by how kind people are. I also put a lot of effort into creating a social media presence and I’ve come into contact with so many wonderful people that way." Anna  London



Jennie Whitham
"Never give up, I've come close several times, but it is so rewarding when you reach those little milestones. The first licensing contract, the first online feature and even just receiving positive feedback is enough to keep me going." Jennie Whitham 



Ali Benyon
"If you are new to this field then I’d say design a lot and design in many different ways. We are told to try and find our point of difference, our signature style, but how do you find that if you design in one way only (your comfortable style, the safe place you go to when you get a bit nervous). If you love a drawn quality to your work, like me, then why not try doing some really perfect pattern repeats. You never know, you may love working this way, but if you don’t try it, you’ll never know. Oh and stop being such a perfectionist. If it goes wrong, so what, no one’s watching. I believe you have to make many mistakes before you can step out on to the right path that you can call your own." Ali Benyon



Jessica Swift
"Just keep making art. Make lots of it, try not to judge it, and keep moving forward. You'll be amazed when you look back years down the road at all you've accomplished and learned." Jessica Swift


Niamh Fitzsimons
"I still have so much to learn but when I first began I never gave myself a break. I was over worked, I pushed too hard and my work and my health suffered. I had to learn the hard way that there is only so much you can do and to take lots of breaks for yourself. It will all happen when it is meant to for you without breaking your back and not to stress so much or think about tomorrow, just do the very best that you can today and keep moving forward all the time - even 1 small step a day towards your dreams and goals. Don't worry or care too much if other people like it. It is a creative process and a gift that is from something beyond us here so how can we judge it? Just be happy and grateful to be able to do what you do :) My motto is 'Art to Make you Smile'... As long as I can create art to make people smile then I am smiling too. For the rest I try to be as detached as I can be. x" Niamh Fitzsimons



Jilly P
"Keep working hard on developing your own style- I see a lot of people copying other artists work. It's fine to be inspired by what someone else is doing but be sure to do make your work yours and not a version of someone else's." Jilly P 

Tuesday 13 May 2014

Studio Tuesday...

Hello everyone! 

Surtex is on its way and in the run up to the event I've struggled to get designers who are available to take part in my Studio Tuesday feature. Please do get in touch if you want to be featured. My Studio Tuesday feature is not just for established designers - I'd also love to feature new designers too. 

Next week I will be featuring a round up from the designers featured so far! You can read my previous posts here.

Thanks for reading!
Frankie x

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Word Wednesday: Always Yes

Hello!

Today's Word Wednesday was inspired by a comment I read on a course I'm currently taking. I mentioned last week that I am doing Beth Kempton's wonderful course,  Do What You Love  and it's really bringing some energy and fresh thinking to my life. 

Earlier this week we were talking about turning 'can'ts' into 'cans' with a simple but very effective exercise. There was a discussion about this exercise and this was one of the comments...

"When I was being under confident about my abilities a few years ago, my husband told me about a colleague who once said to him 'always tell yourself yes, let the others say no'. I remembered that when looking at this exercise. We just need to tell ourselves that we 'can' a lot more often than we do."

This really resonated with me. I've put so much off in my life because I've said no through a lack of confidence and a fear of failure. It's such a bad habit that I really want to let go of. I'm working on hard on making this happen! Fonts are Papercute and Eyes Wide Open

Enjoy your day,

Frankie x


Tuesday 6 May 2014

Studio Tuesday #10 Jilly P

Greetings Pattern Addicts!

Hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend. 

I've got a delicious helping of pattern goodness to share with you today from the fabulous Jilly P. Just like Niamh Fitzsimons last week, Jillian is inspired by Japanese illustration and Tokyo is her dream design destination. I first came across her work in the first Print & Pattern book and instantly fell in love with it. It's immediately clear when looking at her work that she is really good at working with Illustrator! I've been learning how to make brushes for Ai recently and I was reminded of this when I saw all the lovely textures and versatile mark making in her work.

I hope you will enjoy finding out more about Jillian and her work. I know she was very busy in the run up to Surtex but still found time to contribute this feature to my blog and I really appreciate her taking the time to take part. If you would like to feature, please do get in touch!

Thanks,
Frankie x



Name/Company or Studio name:  Jilly P Studio
Location: Dorchester, UK

Where and how did you start your surface pattern design journey?
My first job was working as a pattern designer for a kidswear forecasting company. I was studying Fashion Design at the time, and needed some work experience. I loved it so much I stayed on there while I continued my studies.

How do you approach a project/piece of work or collection? 
I like to have a really good read through the brief before I do anything. Then I compile a research folder, with ideas and things that inspire me, or I'll make a pinterest board. Once I'm happy with that, I spend time sketching and doodling ideas. Some projects come together quickly, whilst others take a bit more time and thought!

Favourite pencil/pen?
Pen.

Sketchbook or loose leaf?
Bit of both- but mostly loose leaf



How do you keep yourself on track/organised when working on a project?
I always keep a diary with deadlines for different stages of each project. I hate rushing things so I like to be organised and have plenty of time!

What are your creature comforts in your studio/workspace?
I always have a cup of tea (green or english breakfast), my radio playing, my dog Bertie near by and a candle burning (though not near the dog! haha!)- if I need to relax the stresses of a deadline looming.

Music, radio, stories or silence?
Radio- 6music..

Night owl or early bird?
Early bird

Illustrator or Photoshop?
Both but mainly Illustrator

What size art board do you design repeats on?
A4 or A3


Design heroes?
So many- Shinzi Katoh, Orla Kiely, Charley Harper & a long list of Japanese illustrators

Dream clients or design goals?
I'd love to design a homeware range for kids and extend my own stationery range.
It would be lovely to design for Ikea one day.

Dream design destination for inspiration?
Tokyo still remains top of my list, it's so inspiring and I'd love to visit Seoul next.

And what are you working on at the moment?
I'm designing kids clothing graphics and also compiling new work for Surtex in May.

Any tips or advice you want to share with us?
Keep working hard on developing your own style- I see a lot of people copying other artists work. It's fine to be inspired by what someone else is doing but be sure to do make your work yours and not a version of someone else's. 


Thursday 1 May 2014

Hello May! Progress etc...


Good morning!
A little bit of what's happened in April and what lies ahead for May...

1. Life has started to get a bit busier and I'm back using the Pomodoro Technique again. I don't follow it to the letter - I don't log every task that I do but I have started making sure that every time I start a task I hit the timer. I haven't been doing it for a while because my timer broke and I didn't replace it. It really does make a huge difference to my day - I'm not so confused about where all the time has goes and I don't end up spending the whole day on one task.

2. On Monday I started this course and it comes highly recommended. I'm so glad I took the plunge - I've been feeling a little bit stuck lately - like I've been busy but not getting anywhere. The course is all about really focussing in on yourself to find out what you really want so it's helped me to start making those things happen. It's really exciting and I'll post a full review of Do What You Love For Life in my Essential Resources when I've finished.

3. I completed 2 lots of freelance work in April for Postcards for Peace http://www.postcardsforpeace.org. It's a great organisation that I feel really honoured to be associated with. Three of my postcards are already in the shop and more will be available soon. You can read my blog post about it here.

4. I've started painting again! Hurrah! On Easter Monday I made an A3 seamless repeat hand painted with gouache. It was quite an undertaking and took me a while to stitch it all together and make it repeat in Photoshop the next day but I loved it and it made me realise what was missing in my work: more of my own 'handwriting'. I know a lot of people work straight into Illustrator as that is their chosen method and really fits their style. However, it's not so fitting for me and I've realised that my reason for trying to just draw with my wacom was out of fear/avoidance/convenience/laziness/speed. I've been yearning to find my own style since I started and I really believe that the only way I will do this is by taking the time to experiment lots to find the tools and marks that express 'me'. And of course, once you make a start on these things, they end up being really great fun.

May for me will be...
Birthday fun, continuing my course, building my portfolio, launching a competition on my blog, reaching out to friends old and new, honing my style and making things HAPPEN! What about you?

Thanks for reading!
Frankie x