Designer Feature: Jennifer Lee Designs

To make up for my lack of blogposts over the last couple of weeks I'll give you two in one day!

Today I have a fellow course mate from the University of Leeds, we studied Textile Design together so I'm so pleased to be featuring Jennifer today!

Jennifer knew she wanted to be a designer when she studied Art and Design and Textile Design at A level, but at the time didn't know which route to pursue.  She ended up doing a foundation degree at Chelsea College of Art and Designs where she tried out a range of design areas from Media to Fashion to Textiles.  This lead her onto study Textile Design at Leeds University (with me!).

Since then she has had tons of amazing work experiences from Harrods, to Sanderson, Vanderhurd to Camille Walala.  She is currently working as a freelance artist for Surface Print Source aswell as designing her own ranges aswell.  I'm sure there will be loads to come from Jennifer in the future.

So why did you want to become a designer and what is it you like about patterns?

When I was younger I don't think I had an intention of becoming a designer, it just fell into place as it seemed to be the one thing I was really good at in school/  As time went on and I noticed improvements in my work, that's when I thought Textiles is the subject I'm going to follow.  Now after University I know that being a designer is all I want to do.  It doesn't feel like doing work, it's just an enjoyment.  I enjoy the thought of having my designs in peoples homes and making them look better.  Any room that I walk into, straight away I think what could I do to make it better and picture my designs in there.

My favourite thing about patterns is the scale you can use.  I prefer patterns that are bold and make a statement, scale is most important - the bigger the better!  Especially if you have a beautifully coloured design with intricate motifs, then the colours will look amazing.

How would you describe your style and what is your favourite medium to work with?

I'd say my style is commercial but different, my last collection of butterflies and flowers was very colourful but I did still like to use large scale.  If I know I could get away with it, I would have motifs as large as a metre maybe.  My style is either very realistic like my butterflies, or fluid like my tribal collection.  i begin a design with drawing which I prefer to do in black pen as it' easier to translate dark consistent lines onto Illustrator.  I use pencil occasionally but it doesn't work so well once on the computer.  I do also like using inks as the colours are so vivid.

What inspires you and where do you find your inspiration?

Pinterest is my favourite place of inspiration.  The images are always so well presented and in such great quality compared to Google.  It also allows me to create boards for future projects so that I don't forget any ideas.  I also use magazines to inspire me whether it is Vogue, Elle, Marie Clair, House & Gardens or Country Living.  Even though I like to design with interiors in mind, fashion is still very important in informing me.  My main source of influence is colour - this is my starting point.

You can find more of Jennifer's work at her website here!

 

New Products Available Soon!

I apologise for the lack of blog posts recently, I have been working away to bring my very own products into the market.  I've had tons of parcels turning up at the house and it's all very exciting!

I'll have my 2013 Christmas card collection up this Friday, which my mum has been selling away to her friends already! so our whole family will end up sending the same Christmas cards, it's wonderful to have such a supportive family though.  These cards will be £1.50 each, 5 for £6 and 10 for £10. 

I will also have Greetings Cards, A4 Prints, Notebooks and Pocket Mirrors that will be available soon!

So very exciting times, here's a little look at the Prints!

 

Scattered Nature

Lighthouse Family

 Dreamy Dragonflies

 Harvest Time Combine

 Harvest Time Tractor

Springtime

Emma in House!

Some big exciting news this (miserable) Tuesday morning!  I sent in some designs for Kess in House a few months ago and they are now live on their website!  I have 6 designs that are available on a whole range of products from bedding to wall art to shower curtains.  Below are a few of the products featuring my patterns, you can find them all here ('Evergreen Wreaths' currently links to someone else's page but it is getting fixed so not to worry).

 Springtime

 Autumn Leaves

 Love Confetti

 Lively Blossoms

 Evergreen Wreaths

Flower Clusters

Designer Feature: Rosie Simons

I have the lovely Rosie Simons today and I absolutely love her work!  Her style is hand drawn and her colour palettes are always so bright and cheerful.  With cute little motifs they would look perfect on a huge range of products!

Rosie has studied a lot of different areas of design over the years and really enjoyed painting and creating texture at school.  She has alway had a passion for fabrics, patterns and textiles so studied Fine Art and Textiles at college.  By a twist of fate she didn't do very well in some of her non art based AS levels so her tutor advised her to take up Graphic Design in her second year alongside her other design A levels.  She didn't know anything about Graphic Design but loved it from the very first class.

She then moved onto study a Foundation year where she explored many different areas of design, following this she studied Graphic Design at The London College of Communication.  In her second year she was given the opportunity to study with the lead tutor of the Surface Pattern Design degree which is where she taught herself to create repeating patterns.  She spent a year out on work placements as part of her university degree where she worked in a variety of jobs from marketing design to book layouts to screen printing.  So she has a huge range of different design skills!  In between all these placements she found time to work on her own projects and found herself creating patterns, just because she enjoyed it.  When she went back to finish her degree she tailored her final projects around her new found love for Surface Pattern.  After graduating she went on to take Rachael Taylors online course 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' and started working for herself, which is a dream come true!

So Rosie why did you want to become a designer and what do you like about patterns?

I've always been creative and always loved drawing, colour and pattern.  I used to admire the pattern products in Paperchase and think 'I'd love to do that one day' never realising that it would actually be possible!

How would you describe your style and what is your favourite medium to work in?

I have a passion for both graphics and surface pattern and my style incorporates both these passions, a simple and clean but colourful aesthetic combining simple graphic illustrations and typography.  I love to experiment with colour, textures and pattern within my prints.  My favourite way to work is drawing and then scanning in and live tracing my drawings and developing my designs from there.

What inspires you and where do you find your inspiration?

I find inspiration in all sorts of places, I can quite often be walking to the shops and will suddenly stop to take a picture of a leaf or drain cover (I'm doing this all the time!), I see shapes and patterns in everything and this helps to keep me inspired.  If I'm feeling uninspired I will take myself off for a walk, sometimes in town, sometimes in the local woods and just open my eyes up to everything around me!

Website: http://rosiesimons.co.uk

Blog: http://rosiesimons.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter: @rosie_simons

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

Etsy: rosiesimonsdesign.etsy.com

Society6: http://society6.com/rosiesimons

Spoonflower: http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/rosiesimons

 

Unveiling of Emma Frances Christmas cards!

I promised you last week that I would unveil my Christmas card collection this week.  I'll be sending them to the printers very soon so will let you all know when they are available to buy!  They will be printed on beautifully thick matt board, so they feel very luxurious (I have the samples in my hand as we speak!).  They will be sold in packs of 5 (one of each design) and 10 (2 of each design), and you can even buy them individually if you would only like one or two.

I will have the pricing ready for you when they arrive in a couple of weeks!
Let me know what you think of them =)

Let's help Caren Barry with her Kickstarter!

Caren Barry has recently brought out her new collection, which I have to say is absolutely beautiful.  The soft colour palette and dainty drawings make them eye catching straight away.  She has come to me this week to help her get word out about her Kickstarter Campaign.  For those that aren't familiar with Kickstarter, it is an online platform where artists, designers, anyone who needs funding can put up information about their projects and then members of the public can back these projects.  You pledge a certain amount of money and in return you will be helping a small business with their project.  You may also receive certain gifts depending on how much you pledge.

It is such a fantastic platform for young designers who don't have the funding to get their designs onto products.  First up I have a little interview from Caren about herself and her work and then you must have a look at her wonderful designs!  You'll definitely want to help her out and receive a notebook of your own, designed by Caren!

So Caren why don't you tell us a bit about your background as a designer

 I am a Surface Pattern Designer and Illustrator living and working in Cambridgeshire.  At University I studied Decorative Arts, which focussed largely on applied art, design and studio crafts.  I have always been a very creative individual, having studied art throughout school, but it was during this course that I was able to specialise my skills and discover what my true passion within design really was.  My university tutors always emphasised the importance of drawing, and so it was through this that I developed my own style and enjoyment for creating hand-drawn patterns.

What made you want to become a designer and what do you like about patterns?

For my final year exhibition I designs a collection of printed wallpapers and furnishing fabrics, all created from original illustrations.  I even reupholstered a vintage chair, which was a lot of fun!  I loved the entire design process from creating an illustration in my sketchbook to seeing it printed and applied onto a finished product.  That really became the starting point for my love of illustration and surface pattern design.

When I graduated from university I left with the knowledge that I wanted to work as a freelance designer.  It has now been about three years since I graduated and earlier this year, in April, I left my full-time job in retail and with my savings I finally started my own business as a freelance illustrator and surface pattern designer.

Since going freelance I have been spending my time developing my portfolio as well as designing patterns and products for my debut collection!

I have a huge love of patterns and colour which I suppose has to be a given now that I've embarked on a career creating surface pattern designs!  I am naturally drawn to anything with a pattern on it, especially when it comes to floral patterns, and you'll almost always see me wearing an item of clothing with a pretty print!

It's wonderful to hear you are not designing full time, that is a huge dream for anyone who is wanting to get into this industry.  How would you describe your style and what is your favourite medium to work with?
  
My style has often been described as traditional yet modern, with a touch of femininity.  I have a hand-drawn style that I use to create intricate illustrations and delicately decorated patterns.  With that being said I always try to keep colour simplicity and softness within my finished designs.

I usually begin a design by creating a motif in my sketchbook using fine-liner pens, which I then rework into a pattern repeat with colour - either by hand of using Photoshop and Illustrator.  I've recently rekindled my love of painting with watercolours and inks, but it's much more unpredictable to work with than my trusty fine-liner pens, so I'm still experimenting!  Hopefully I will have honed my painting skills ready for my next collection of designs.

I really love designing and experimenting with new techniques and new products.  My designs always centre around my drawings and paintings, so being able to combine the use of both traditional artistry with digital technology to create my pattern designs allows me to make as many things as I possibly can that beautifully translate my hand drawn illustrations into a usable product.

Watercolours and Inks are probably one of my favourite mediums too, you can create some truly beautiful pieces with them.  What about your inspiration, what inspires you and where do you look for your inspiration?

As an individual I love interior styling and vintage and Scandinavian home touches, so I find a lot of inspiration through reading my favourite blogs and also on Pinterest.  For me these online platforms are a great way to discover lovely homewares or textile designs, which in turn inspired me to be more creative.

For my design work I find inspiration comes a lot of the time from my observations of nature.  Flowers have always been a huge love of mine, so they tend to influence a large amount of my designs.  I love nature and recent trips to Anglesey Abbey and the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge, accompanied by my trusty camera, have inspired a lot of my new designs.  With the majority of my inspiration coming from nature I regularly plan trips to my favourite places.  This is also a great opportunity to visit new places and I've found it to be a really important part of my design process.  Especially when I'm having days where creativity and inspiration seem to disappear!

Now for a little bit more about your Kickstarter Project:

In September I launched my new collection of patterned greeting cards, note cards and art prints which are available online through Etsy and Folksy.  As my first collection of finished products I couldn't be more pleased with the results and I'm beyond happy that everything is finally beginning to fall into place!

It's still a very new and exciting time for me as I am preparing for my first season of craft fairs before Christmas, while also continuing to develop my product range with a collection of cushions and accessories.  I've also launched a Kickstarter project to develop a range of eco-friendly notebooks with my favourite floral patterns!  Kickstarter really is such a great platform to help support creative projects.

For the next few months it's going to be very busy with a lot of learning experiences I'm sure.  I really enjoying being able to showcase all of my hard work through such exciting opportunities and I really hope that everyone else enjoys my designs just as much as I enjoy creating them! 

Blog: www.acreativecranberry.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carenbarrydesigns
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carenbarry
Instagram: www.instagram.com/carenbarry
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/carenbarry

Vibrant Inky Works of Art!

I find a lot of my inspiration by looking at a huge range of art.  I just can't get enough of it, and there are some fantastic artists out there.  One place (which I'm sure I have mentioned more than a few times) I find new artists from is Pinterest.  One little search and you have a page full of beautiful works of art.  The great thing about art is that you can really push the boat out and created something unusual.

This weekend I came across Holly Sharpe's wonderful inky pieces, I love the contrast of the vibrant colours against the black outlines of the big blooms.  Just beautiful!  I'm a huge fan of loose ink drawings mixed with lots of colour, they're probably my favourite type of art so these drew me to them straight away.  You can find more of Holly's work at her website!

I'll have more arty Pinterest finds later this week!