Floral Friday: H&M Home

I was having a browse on one of my favourited interior magazine websites when I came across an image of a beautiful floral pair of curtains.
As I went to look to see where they were from I was so surprised to see H&M! I had absolutely no idea H&M even had a home department, never mind that they did fabulous ready made curtains!

The print is beautiful. Bold and bright, but cute and girly at the same time. If only I had a spare little room that I could make my snug, I would use this print everywhere. It's available in cushion covers and bedsets, so there would be no reason not to! Other than the fact it might look a little bit OTT...

So here you are, I introduce you to my Floral Friday: H&M Home.

Floral Friday: Kathryn Pledger

A long awaited Floral Friday has arrived as I introduce you to Kathryn Pledger.

Kathryn is a Graphic designer with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication. She has worked in Design Studios in Sydney, Dublin and London. Originally from Australia she is now based in London and pursuing her recent rediscovered love of surface pattern design, and freelancing in graphic design. 

"Creating surface pattern designs is a new and exciting venture for me. I have recently graduated from the online course The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, and I am developing my portfolio and style."

Kathryn's ditsy florals are cute, beautiful and up-lifting. A great juxtaposition of using lovely light, refreshing colours, to dark and moody paintily designs. 

Kathryn talks about her inspiration for her florals:

"Having only recently followed my pent up desire to create patterns florals, it seems to be what my creative streak wants to make. I find inspiration in all the wonderful public gardens London has. One of my favourites is Myatt's Fields Park in Camberwell, it has really beautiful and colourful planting and all the patterns you see (apart from the yellow ditzy print) are directly inspired from that garden over the course of a few month. The yellow ditzy print has a special place in my heart; its the first pattern I made since I was a teenager and its based on flowers I saw on my honeymoon."

Visit Kathryn's website here and follow her on Twitter @KathrynPledger.

Floral Friday: Rosie Simons

This weeks Floral Friday is Rosie Simons, a University of the Arts London graduate. Despite having a degree in Graphic Design, Rosie warmed towards surface design and has created some really gorgeous prints. 

When I first saw her designs, I immediately thought how cute they were! Sweet, ditsy florals with bright and bold colour ways. 

Rosie talks me through her design career and her plans for the future:

"I am a graphic and surface designer naturally inspired by things around me, from day to day items to nature. I automatically visualise how imagery and objects will translate into designs, motifs and patterns. Graphic and surface design have always run parallel in my interests and I have developed my style to incorporate both these passions, a simple and clean but colourful aesthetic; combining simple graphic illustrations and typography. My passions lie in making something eye catching, whether that be a great logo for a company or a surface design used on products from wrapping paper, to clothing and homeware.

I am a keen and proactive designer, I love to go out and find new inspiration, taking photos of flowers, forms, shapes, textures and typography, reading blogs, collecting printed and tactile matter, wrapping paper, labels, to inspire motifs and creation of new work. I love to explore, see and experience new things. Colour, texture and shape are some of the most important aspects of both my personal life and my life as a designer. I generally work using my Wacom tablet, hand drawing motifs from photos or my imagination. I love the freedom and organic lines this creates and then develop the designs in illustrator.

I graduated in 2012 from University of the Arts London with a degree in graphic design and have previously worked for Dorling Kindersley and Croudace Homes among another places. I recently graduated from 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' with Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicholls. The course has helped me learn the business side to Surface Pattern Design and develop my style and confidence as a freelance designer. I am currently looking for representation, commissions, licensing so please contact me via my website for more information. My dream is to have my designs licensed across many different surfaces all over the world!"

Rosie is just about to start selling her designs in an Etsy shop, rosiesimonsdesign.etsy.com. She'll be selling greetings cards and christmas cards, so check back on the shop this weekend to be the first to buy her stock!

Rosie's links:

Blog: http://rosiesimons.blogspot.com/

Website: http://rosiesimons.co.uk/

Twitter: @rosie_simons

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RosieSimonsDesign

Rosie also sells on Society6: http://society6.com/rosiesimons

Floral Friday: Zoe Barker

This weeks Floral Friday is Zoe Barker, who runs her own design studio and online shop. Focusing on her 'Beautifully British' tag line, Zoe's print designs are just that. Her hand-drawn and painted prints are incredibly gorgeous, with a fantastic array of warm, bright colours in many of her florals.

I especially love Zoe's 'Liberty View' collection; a stunning collection of prints that show off her illustration skills with a great mixture of florals and wild British animals such as fox's, rabbits and many breeds of bird. The colours are beautifully understated, bringing a hint of vintage to the collection.

Here, Zoe talks about her work:

"I embarked on a fashion and textiles adventure in 2004, having spent 5 years in the digital design industry. Successfully combining my love of drawing and painting with my expert digital design skills, I developed a unique digital textile design style that relies on traditional painting and drawing techniques which are so often lost in the fast world of digital textile design.

I now have a BA and an MA in Fashion and Digital Textile Design and after studying in London at the prestigious Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, I have returned to my Hampshire roots from where I’m most inspired.

In my Hampshire design studio, near Winchester, I am surrounded by traditional villages, gorgeous woodland and an abundance of beautiful, English countryside and coastline, all of which feature regularly in my textile designs. I’m also very lucky to be close enough to London to visit regularly.

My experiences have honed my textile design skills and confirmed my passion. I hope this is reflected throughout my collections, which take time, love and skill to produce."

You can visit Zoe's website here and follow her on twitter here. 

Floral Friday: Jane Bridges

This weeks Floral Friday is the wonderful Jane Bridges. Her florals are absolutely beautiful, using superb bright colours and a fantastic mix of inspiring illustrations. Her label, Patternhouse, is based at Jane's own garden studio in Yorkshire, which I can assure you is one of the most beautiful places in Britain, and therefore brings me no surprise that Jane has produced some really gorgeous floral designs. Jane can also pride herself on the fact that all her products are printed and made in Britain, something I find very rare and extremely admirable in this day and age!

Jane talks to us about her work:

"I am based near Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where I design for my own label Patternhouse and also for freelance collections for both fashion and home. The essence of my work is very much art-based – a fresh, painterly style. My inky, colourful hand paintings and sketchy drawings are translated into lively, contemporary designs. The traditional much-loved subject of florals is brought bang up to date. I never tire of flowers - the variety is endless. I love visiting gardens for inspiration all year round. I have received national and international recognition for my work. In 2011 I was a winner of the Surtex Designext Competition in New York and in 2012 I was a finalist of  the Wallpaper of the Year competition. In the future, I hope to expand the range of products which feature my designs - I am currently working on a new wall art collection, fashion prints, cushions and tableware, so quite a range!"

To see more of Jane or to purchase any of her great designs, visit her website here. Follow her on twitter here. Like her on facebook here. Or contact her on jane@patternhouse.co.uk.

Traditional Florals: Spring 2013

As I was having a quick look through the Spring 2013 collections I noticed that a few designers had incorporated beautiful traditional florals into their prints. I find this really great to see because, although I adore all kinds of florals, I really do love a great traditional! I've picked out five designers to showcase these wonderful prints; Brood, Calla, Duro Olowu, Peter Som and Thakoon. 

Calla Spring 2013: Gorgeous florals that remind me of Japanese florals and calligraphy. A great juxtaposition between soft pastels against a pale background to bold colour pops against a dark. Beautiful leaf prints in an all blue colour scheme are incredibly elegant.

Brood Spring 2013: Very traditional - almost Cath Kidston with the mix of blues, pinks and whites. A fantastic use of brilliant roses and dark green leaves. I really love the mix of lace for the look too.

Thakoon Spring 2013: Traditional floras with a twist: using birds and butterflies to create a quintessentially english print. The use of line from the top to the bottom of the dress makes it looks as though the dress is a huge bird cage. The dark background in the second image down remind me of old renaissance paintings. The third image down is a little different, with an orange repeat print of what looks like a poppy. Beautiful illustration made me fall in love with this one.

Peter Som Spring 2013: This collection is probably the least traditional of the prints I picked out, but they reminded me so much of a Spring country garden with the gorgeous soft colours mixed with bolds. The shapes of the floral prints look a little bit like a lavender flower. 

Duro Olowu Spring 2013: Traditional with a twist. Not entirely created from florals, these prints hold beautiful sketches of old-fashioned women in garden situations looking to be having a gleeful time. The use of the situation sketches remind me a lot of Timourous Beasties work and doiles. A sweet little poppy print livens the collection up with a pop of red. 

Floral Friday: Simi Gauba

This weeks floral friday is Simi Gauba. I am so fascinated with her amazing different styles of florals! She sent over five brilliant floral designs and every one has its own unique style and colour scheme. 

Simi tells us a little more about herself and her work:

"I love telling stories with my designs. I am originally from India and live in Sweden and these two cultures are instrumental in defining my style.  I love strong colors, loose strokes and looking back in time but I also love strong defined geometrics and poignant graphics. Sometimes I feel both of these styles define me as I can be whatever I want to be! I have been working as a product and surface pattern designer for 14 years for various home textile and accessory companies all over the world. Simi Design, my label, was born in June 2012."

Please take a look at Simi's blog here and visit her facebook design page here.