Floral Friday: Jennie Louise Whitham - J.L.W Illustrations

This weeks Floral Friday is Jennie Louise Whitham aka J.L.W Illustrations. Her florals are incredibly sweet, cute and fun!

I love her choice of colour; mixing bright, eccentric colours with calm, pale backgrounds. The thing I love most about Jennie's floral designs is how lively they are and how mood lifting they are.

Here, Jennie speaks about her life as a designer and her hopes and aspirations for the future:

"I am a graduate of Leeds art College, I studied Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design. I have 3 children and a lovely Husband. I graduated in 2010 and have spent the last 2 years building on my portfolio, entering design competitions, and most recently I enrolled on 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' course, run by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicholls. It is an online course and I have completed module 1 and 2 so far. Module 3 begins next week. 

I am Geometric/floral obsessed and often (always) combine the two, my designs are usually of a vibrant colour palette and I absolutely love it. I tend to find the colours before I create the designs. I dont think I could ever work in monochrome, its almost against my nature :-) 

I would love to be represented freelance by a design company, ideally specialising in paper products, although I have been told by many that my designs are versatile and would work along a variety of mediums. I'm not adverse to taking on an in-house position if local to West Yorkshire as that is my future goal. 

I have also been selected to have 2 designs published in a new book due for release January, called Patternbase. That's my greatest design achievement so far."

To see more of Jennie, visit her blog here and follow her on twitter here. 

I've not abandoned you!!!

I promise!! I've just been extremely busy!

I have just managed to land myself TWO jobs that I love; one with Farrow and Ball (interior design specialists, advising and selling paint and wallpaper) and the other with The White Company (homeware/decor/clothing/babywear store).

I am also doing a work placement for Kate Usher Design Studio! I've been given a fantastic brief that can be completed whilst I'm at home, so I've been super busy with that too creating 3 new moodboards.

AND (this is my last excuse, promise!) I have been helping my lovely Mother set up her own Bespoke Childrens Murals business named Morningtown Ride Murals. I've designed and set up the website, a twitter account and a facebook account. What a lovely daughter I am! 

The good thing about having a little time away from my blog meant I could gather lots of fantastic material that I can write about! I've been having a good look through the most recent Vogue's and Elle Decoration and found some really lovely stuff that really got me inspired!

So, keep checking in! In the next few days I should be getting lots of writing done and you'll have some great things to read and get you inspired too!

Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for my Floral Friday!! You'll love it!

I can't stop listening to...

Bach - Ave Maria - Maria Callas

Floral Friday: Kat Truong

This weeks Floral Friday is the wonderfully talented Kat Truong. Her floral prints are fantastic: beautifully intricate illustrations with gorgeous colour ways. These are prints I could only dream of designing myself!

Here, Kat talks to me about her brilliant graduate collection:

"I have recently graduated from Leeds College of Art, where I studied Printed Textiles. My graduate collection takes a particular interest in contemporary floral print. Inspired by the forgotten 'Victorian Language of Flowers'; the designs are an exploration of prolific flowers using traditional hand drawing techniques combined with digital applications of colour. I have always loved drawing, and I find the addition of digitally painting my designs really brings my work to life."

Visit Kat's website here and follow her on twitter here.

I can't stop listening to...

Cheryl Cole - Under the Sun (Cover by The Struts)

Graduate Profile: Sarah Fleming

I've not featured a Graduate Profile for a while, so I was really happy when Sarah Fleming agreed to do one with me. 

I found Sarah after following her blog a few months ago because I thought her designs were lovely. She was also in the same boat as me: just about to finish Uni and experiencing the stress of it all! I always find it's good to read blogs in which you can relate to!

Since then, I've been following Sarah on twitter and her to me too. We've had a couple of rendez-vous every now and again, so I can't believe I didn't think to feature her sooner.

But here we are, finally, with images of Sarah's fantastic graduate collection and great read as Sarah talks about her working style and what's next in her design career.

Name: Sarah Fleming

Age:21

Course: BA (hons) Textiles & Surface Design

University: Cleveland College of Art & Design

What was your concept for your graduate collection?

The title was 'Rejuvenation' - combining soft, feminine florals with bold, retro geometric shapes to create exciting, abstract wallpaper designs for the high-end Interiors market.

What is the key feature in your graduate collection?

bright colours and quirky, creative edge - especially with the designs that have an unfinished appearance which is something not really seen in the industry. 

How would you describe the way you work? 

Being able to work in both tight and loose styles shows I am very versatile, capable of adapting where relevant to confidently produce designs for both the commercial and more niche markets. 

Particularly inspired by the detail and beautiful patterns found in nature and my surroundings, I am motivated to achieve beautiful, highly informative observational drawings.
My highly detailed style shows me as an observant, neat, professional designer. A bright and self-motivated individual with excellent attention to colour and detail. I enjoy experimenting with a variety of screen & digital print techniques to create my designs but producing hand-rendered designs is where my true love lies. I am also capable of producing exquisite experimental development sheets, which are very unique and innovative and help me to stand out.

What inspired you to study Textiles?

I have always been interested in art and patterns and knew that I had a talent for drawing. I studied a Textiles course at college which covered gift, fashion and interiors as well as knitting and weaving. I knew after those two years that it was the surface pattern side of textiles that I wanted to study at degree level with a view to going into home furnishings design.

Did you collaborate with any artists/designers/companies or complete any work placements during your time at university?

I completed a placement with Kate Usher Studio in Gateshead during May-June 2011, , and I have just recently completed a 4week internship with TRENDART SRL LIMITED at their studio in Como, Italy. During both internships I spent most of my time drawing and I loved every minute. I am particularly proud that my hand drawn imagery is now featured in both Kate Usher’s ‘Jungle’ and ‘Aeronaut’ wallpapers from their current collection, as well as several designs for TRENDART SRL LIMITED. I was also lucky enough to contribute towards the design process with regards to colour and repeat which was exciting.

What inspires you?

Everything! I find myself being inspired by my surroundings and the people I meet wherever I go. 

Who are your favourite artists/designers/companies?

I have always loved the work of great companies like Cole & Son, Sanderson, Trendart, Zoffany, Graham & Brown and Harlequin. I am a keen blogger and social networker so I am constantly finding new designers/companies which I love. Twitter has been such a great tool to find new designers and I have especially loved getting to know newly graduates like myself and see their work through it. I think the PrintPattern blog is a fantastic site for inspiration and finding new designers/companies.

What's next??

I would like to gain further industry experience and continue to build on the success that I have had with regards to having artwork feature in designs for big companies. My ultimate aim is to become a successful freelance designer, creating beautiful drawings for market leading companies. 

Where can we see more of you?

Blog - sarahfleming11.blogspot.co.uk

Artsthread - http://www.artsthread.com/p/sarahfleming

Website coming soon!

Food For Thought: Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2012

As I was researching for my last fashion post, Lace and Embellishment: Spring/Summer 2012 Trend (see it here) I came across the Dolca & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2012 collection from Milan.

I loved the prints spread through the first half of the collection. Fantastic illustrative prints featuring florals mixed with fruit and veg create a gorgeous fresh and summery product.

Sweet 50's cuts with the models holding cute wicker baskets make me imagine an old street from the 1950's. I see a country town with a girl on her bike on her way to collect the groceries for the week!

The colours used in the prints are just lovely and the florals mixed with the vegetables create a sweet feminine look so the veg don't look too overbearing. 

I've picked out some of my favourite items from the collection for you admire!

Kate Lynch: Print & Pattern Designer Profile

Following on from my post yesterday about being featured on the Tigerprint blog, I am ecstatic to inform you I have also been featured on the one and only Print & Pattern blog! Please take a look here.

Kate Lynch: Tigerprint Designer Spotlight

I feel very privileged to tell you my work has been featured on the Tigerprint blog as part of a Designer Spotlight. Please take a look here!

Floral Friday: Elizabeth Olwen

I came across Elizabeth Olwen on twitter (follow my twitter here) and was intrigued by her tag line "A surface designer who's pretty passionate about pretty patterns". I clicked onto her website (that looks absolutely fantastic) and found Elizabeth's great illustrative prints that immediately made up my mind that she should feature in this weeks Floral Friday.

Her prints have a gorgeous vintage feel to them, using incredibly beautiful toned down colours next to brilliant brights. 

Elizabeth has also just been named the winner of Tigerprint's Male Fashion Icons & Symbols Competition, winning her £200 and a possible placement at Tigerprint. The Tigerprint blog says of her work:

"Our winning entry above is by Elizabeth and the judges loved the grooming trend captured in this design. The colour palette, style and placement is wonderful and very commercial. Well done Elizabeth!"

To see more of Elizabeth's work, please visit her website here and follow her on twitter here.

Apologies!

Hello fellow bloggers/readers/passers-by/whomever reads my blog!

I am very sorry for my lack of posts this past week. It's been a busy one for me as I've been attending a few interviews! During my spare time I've been enjoying the tiny bit of sunshine we've had and also working on a few more designs.

Working from my own brief, I created a collection of designs with inspiration taken from vintage house hold items. See more here. You'll also find two new ditsy florals in the Floral section of my website. See here.

I have also been working on my Filofax Cover Story 2013 competition entry! See here.

And last but not least, I applied two of my recent designs onto a cushion template for the Ohh Deer! Pillow Fight Competition. See here. 

So I apologise dearly for my absence! But I swear I haven't abandoned you and I hope you're prepared for some wonderful new posts from me in the near future :)

I can't stop listening to...

Gotye - I Feel Better

Lace and Embellishment: Spring/Summer 2012 Trend

As a carry on post from my Brocade: Autumn/Winter 2012-13 Trend (see it here), I've decided to write a post on the very similar trend: Lace and Embellishment.

Creating a very pretty, girly and beautiful look, the Lace and Embellishment trend can be either full on or a sweet accent.

After taking a look through Style.com and Vogue.com, I found many designers who have created fantastic looks which I adore, ranging from Christopher Kane to Louis Vuitton.

Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2012

Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2012

Nicole Fahri Spring/Summer 2012

Christopher Kane RTW Spring/Summer 2012

Prada RTW Spring/Summer 2012

Giambassista Valli RTW Spring/Summer 2012

Louis Vuitton RTW Spring/Summer 2012