31 March 2006

FIRE KING MUGS

i love looking on ebay at these lovely little fire king mugs. i made collages of some of my favourites from over the last few months to put in my scrapbook.
images from ebay sellers and' 857 fire king mugs'

857 fire king mugs

"fire king mug book" yamashita satoshi ISBN-309-26682-7
this is the book i use to see some of the huge range fire king mugs that were produced. i had it shipped from japan for around £22 ( $38 dollars ).

more fire king


various images taken from sellers on ebay.

notebooks

i use these little A6 fabric covered notebooks for writing up notes at trade shows, sketching designs ideas as they come to me, or jotting down things i've seen whilst out on store visits. they are just the right size to always keep in your bag.
geometric design on left by orla kiely, pink dots & black retro leaf both from paperchase.

gift wrap archive

two from neisha crosland

two from caroline gardner

30 March 2006

habitat

whilst visiting habitat on the kings road, chelsea recently i had to reach for my camera.
one thing i really admired were the window graphics. apart from being on the visual merchandising this same great design appeared on other products including beautiful voile curtains ! with both dots and optical patterns being in trend for aw06/ss07 -
this design is ripe for interpretation.

japanese wrap

ive been out searching
for wrapping paper with
a japanese theme.
i need it for a 2007
moodboard im working
on called 'geisha'.
for 2006 the theme had
been called 'kimono'.
but with the film and
everything.
there seems to be no
end to peoples appetite
for japanese prints, even
though they've been
around for several
seasons now.

wrapping paper from peter jones, sloane square, london.

book report

something else i'd like to do is take a regular look at my bookshelf, and check out some books that would be great for designers to own. the first book is the "pattern + palette sourcebook"
by anvil graphics. its divided into 6 sections; for example - pop, deco, asian, and features a series of patterns shown in different colourways. (+ theres a cd included too)
published by rockport ISBN 1-59523-161-x £19.99 ($29.99)

29 March 2006

graphic design

the "next directory" cover is always right on style with the latest graphic design trends.
this is the latest summer 06 book - it captures the mood perfectly.

vintage bag ?

as a pattern designer i feel i should practice what i preach - so i always have a patterned bag. this one may look vintage or designer but in fact was purchased on a market stall. for just £5.00 ! ( the labels says www.bagzone.com ). i fell for the colours especially, as well as the retro vibe.

fashion print

even whilst out clothes shopping you can see so many inspirational prints. i had to buy this top
by ben sherman because i fell in love with the pattern. these radiating motifs certainly gave me some ideas. hopefully i'll share them with you when they're done.
top by ben sherman purchased march 06 in john lewis £30.00

mug watch

i purchased these three mugs recently - not to use ! but just as pattern inspiration.
fashion mugs like these are generally cheap and are usually good barometers of the latest print trends . always check out mugs when you are out looking for inspiration.
the first two were from woolworths - and the floral one is from sainsbury's.

28 March 2006

start with cath kidston


at last i have time to figure out how this blogging works.
i wasnt sure where to start - i really just
want to inspire and interest people who love pattern as i do.

who better to begin with than one of my fave designers cath kidston. these are some of the pieces from my own collection of cath kidston delights - i love companies who put pattern onto a wide array of products.
my motto would be' if you can have it patterned why have it plain'. but maybe thats just because im a surface pattern designer and my livelihood depends on patterns remaining in fashion !

and then orla kiely


i thought it would be a nice way to start blogging by looking around my house for inspirational patterns.
i love these cute little tags from another of my fave designers orla kiely.

SCRAPBOOKS

the single most important thing i would recommend any designers or design students to do is keep scrapbooks. here are three of mine that i have covered in my own designs so they look good on the bookshelf too.

contemp gift bag

this cool retro yet contemporary bag was a find from john lewis. it doesnt fit in my scrapbooks but its ideal for keeping loose cuttings and brochures in before i can get round to sorting them.

japanese blossom

paperchase is always great for card lovers - i got especially excited when i saw this modern graphic take on japanese blossom - solid on the front and outline on the back.

retro card

this card from 'clintons' really caught my eye - the colour palette is bang on trend and these retro style squares always seem popular. and at £1.00 it proves cheap cards can still be stylish.

cool docu wallet


i was in WH Smith on saturday buying mags - i didnt need a document wallet but then i saw this for 99p and couldnt resist this design.
i especially love the colours - greens are big for 2007.

12 March 2006

NEW

new print & pattern blog coming soon