Sunday Special: S is for... Shadows!

The Shadows were once one of the most influential bands of their time. Frequently referred to as 'The Shads', they had many charted singles, both with and without Cliff Richard. 

George Harrison from The Beatles once said "without Shadows there would be no Beatles" and John Lennon has been known to have said "before Cliff and The Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music".

I've only just really started listening to The Shadows a lot, but I'm hooked. As a huge Beatles fan, I find it really easy to see where the influences have come from and can totally appreciate the great music that The Shadows made. 

I'm a huge sucker for music from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies and always will be. I feel that almost every musician from around that time had true talent. There wasn't the auto-tuned, electronic sound to it like the music we have today does, it always sounds so true and fresh and you can hear the pure talent.
If I could go back and visit any time in history, it would be a time from those three decades without a shadow of a doubt, not only for the amazing music but for the great fashion too!

Here's a Shadows track, probably one of the most well-known instrumentals the band ever did. It's also currently on a sausage advert here in the UK.

Now I Know My ABC...

Sounds like a silly thing to say, but letters are huge at the moment! With designers such as Mary Katrantzou, Versace and Stella McCartney all using letters in their collections, learning you ABC's has never been cooler.

In Vogue's September Issue, a small feature named 'Spotlight On Alphabet Street' really caught my eye, showing me many different companies that have recently used letters in their products: A wall hanging by Paul Smith for The Rug Company, a cute notebook set by Cavallini & Co for Libertys, an Alpha Chest by Graham and Green and a lampshade by Judy Holme.

Not long before I bought this issue of Vogue, I actually bought myself a rubber stamp set off Ebay, so I was pleased to see an article like this! I've not really done much with my set yet, other than play around a little and use it for little 'Thank you' notes to friends and family.

It's great to see that such a trend has become powerful in both the Fashion and Interiors world.

Graham & Green Alpha Chest

http://www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/the-alpha-chest

Judy Holme Lampshade

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/judyholme/product/wooden-letters-graphite-lampshade

Paul Smith Wall Hanging for The Rug Company

http://www.therugcompany.info/wallhangings/paul-smith/alphabet-blocks-blue-wallhanging.htm

Cavallini & Co Notebook Set

http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/liberty/diaries/vintage%20letters%20mini%20notebook%20set,%20cavallini%20&%20co/68527

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300682014972?var=600046946426&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Follow me on Instagram on @kates_l

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. 

Kate Lynch featured on Business Boom Collective

I'm really pleased to announce I have a small feature on the Business Boom Collective website which went live this morning! 

Please take a look on the website here. You'll also find many other fantastic articles on other young designers and also some great accomplished designers too. It's a really great website, and I'm sure you'll enjoy having a good look around it!

I can't stop listening to...

I woke up this morning with this song in my head, so it had to be my song of the week! It's the soundtrack of the fantastic TV show Beaver Falls. If you've never seen it, you need to get on it! A great mix of British and American humour in a show about three British guys and their time in an American summer camp. Enjoy!

Your Twenties - Billionaires

Design Project with Kate Usher Design Studio

I am so excited to tell you that I'm currently working on a design project with Kate Usher Design Studio!

After getting in touch with Kate asking if she had any opportunities for me, she replied back to me with an offer to design a contemporary wallpaper.

The project brief is amazing, with truly fantastic colours and great inspirational concept words!! I can't tell you much more about it now, but perhaps when it's all done and dusted I can let you in on a couple of snap shots!

Visit Kate Ushers website here.

Floral Friday: Anneline Sophia Designs

This weeks Floral Friday is Anneline Sophia Designs. Her florals really caught my eye with their bright and bold colours, and the fantastic use of different textures. 

Here, Sophia tells us a little more about herself:

"I'm originally from South-Africa but came to England a few years ago to work and travel.  I've met my English husband on my travels and now I'm here to stay!
 Growing up in South-Africa I've been always been surrounded by the most beautiful flowers, colours and nature and so I've always had a love of florals, pattern and bold, vibrant colour palettes. I have previously taken a short-course at Central Saint Martin called 'Photoshop for Textile Design' which only served to spur me on to really get to grips with Photoshop and Illustrator and to develop my design style. 
I'm currently doing The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design course by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nichols and it has given me the creative freedom to be true to my style. Most of my designs are hand illustrated with fine liners to maintain my loose illustrative style and then they are digitally manipulated and coloured. I like to use bold, eye-catching colour palettes to make my designs modern, fun and exciting."

Visit Anneline's blog here and follow her on twitter here. Also, to find out more about The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design course by Rachel Taylor and Beth Nichols, please look here. 

I can't stop listening to...

Waterfall - The Stone Roses

Blendworth's Budgerigars

I do love Elle Decoration magazine! It always introduces me to some really great designs that are out there that I might never have seen otherwise!

In the current issue, I found a small piece about a wallpaper print from Blendworth's. Named 'Chirpy', the print is a lovely repeated pattern of two budgerigars and small florals/leaves/branches. 

Apparently, the design was first launched in the 1950's as a fabric! Only now, after being released from the Blendworth archives, you can buy it as a wallpaper design!

The colours are truly beautiful, with bright and pale pinks, playful yellows and blue hues. 

To visit the Blendworth website and see more of their great collections, click here.

New Love: Imogen Heath

Whilst flicking through the latest issue of Elle Decoration, I found a small piece on one of the Style News pages talking about a new textile designer named Imogen Heath.

The designs really caught my eye and I fell in love with the fantastic colours she used. Imogen has a great variety of prints ranging from gorgeous geometric to cute ditsy florals.

On Imogen's website it says: 
"Imogen Heath has been a textile designer since 2004, starting up her own design studio with the support of the Princes Trust in June 2011.

The business has progressed rapidly since the launch; her colourful and elegant work has already caught the eye ofnational and international press, as well as prestigious UK retailers such as Heal’s and Liberty, who have been the first to stock Imogen’s cushions and fabrics.

Imogen combines traditional artistry with digital technology to create print designs, which are rich with both geometric and organic motifs.  A strong sense of nostalgia underpins all of Imogens work; influenced in part by her fine art background and training as a weave designer, but also by her own everyday life and frequent  journeys between her home in Brighton and the countryside."

For more information and more images of her work, please visit her website here.