Where to start?...

Had an extremely busy summer so far, coming to an end already!

Took some time out to travel, had the most wonderful and inspirational trip to Canada! The scenery and lifestyle over there just blew me away and I am eager to go back and explore more of the country!

Our first stop, after a very exciting flight, was Vancouver. Had a chance to catch up with some wonderful family and explore the areas of textiles, stationery, gifts, interiors and of course value village...There were so many quirky shops and villages to explore within the big city. A favourite of ours was Gastown, made many friends with shop owners and found many inspirational interior goodies!

Our first two weeks were spent camping through the Rockies Mountains! Breathtaking scenery and wildlife mixed with incredible journeys with people and places... Met some wonderful people and had many chances to sit back and enjoy the freedom! 

Okanagan...

Banff (Bear Country...)

 Camping Life...

Lake Louise...

Jasper...

Vancouver Island!...

Vancouver Island was a chance to do some WOOFFING on a far in Shawnigan Lake! The farm was a haven of angora goats, llamas, chickens, horse, dogs, a crazy cat and for a small while... micro pigs! It was based around the textile industry: using the goat wool to clean, spin, dye and weave into beautiful products... It was a perfect opportunity to learn behind the scenes from start to finish and become confident in a timeless skill...

The beginnings of my hand-woven scarf...

Dying our own wool!

Toronto and Niagara Falls...
More beautiful scenery at Niagara Falls, very inspiring...

The Big Apple..
We made a exciting detour on the way home... New York was bustling and a huge change from the laid-back lifestyle we had been enjoying so far. The contrast in the cities was incredible but inspiring all the same. So much culture and places not to be missed..

I certainly think this trip has changed my outlook on work and the ways my designs will come together. I appreciated every moment from the bustling high streets to the quiet havens of farm life... The attitude I put towards my work has all together become more free and I am always looking for new opportunities to enhance my portfolio...

Applications...

I created some products to show how my design, or parts of my designs, can be applied to any surfaces...

Swing tags!

A selection of cards!

A hand-printed, hand-bound notebook!

Final samples!!

These are the designs that were final samples of wallpaper ideas...

Development of final collection

Summer is finally here! My last project is completed and it has been mad busy, I now feel I deserve a break and the good weather has come just at the right time! Here are some examples of what I have been up to, I have really enjoyed putting this collection together and working mainly on screen-printing and hands-on methods... The aim was to create designs for the interior markets focusing on wallpaper and also applying designs to other stationery surfaces.

This design include printing and hand cut paper designs. With the printing, I experimented with using colour separation techniques and mixing colour combinations...