SEE YOU IN 2008

big thanks to everyone who has read and supported print & pattern this year. wishing you all a

merry cristmas and a happy new year.

hope to see you all back here after the holidays for more designs and inspiration.

sweet ornament christmas gift tags by melissakate from her etsy store.

CARDS - orange beautiful

i thought i'd take one last chance today to look at holiday cards because i loved these letterpress cards from chicago based orange beautiful . a lovely mix of repeat pattern and type, and bold choice of colour.

CHRISTMAS - cath kidston

last chance before the big day to admire cath kidston's 2007 christmas print designs.

BOOK - graphics alive

another couple of books today to help you spend your christmas vouchers or book tokens. starting with 'graphics alive' - this book shows surface and pattern design in use on bags, walls, cars, ipod skins, etc. very contemporary and suitable for just about anyone involved in design. see it here on amazon usa, but at the time of writing only in the marketplace on amazon uk.

BOOK - character design collection

the final book recommendation im going to make of 2007 is the 'character design collection', a large book that shows cute characters and the ways they can be applied to various products. good for designers, illustrators and fans of cute kawaii. see it here on amazon usa or amazon uk.

BOOK GIFTS - a catalog of type

if you are lucky enough to recieve amazon vouchers or book tokens for christmas then you may be wondering what books would be good to get for inspiration next year. well how about 'hand job - a catalog of type' by michael perry ? . this is probably more one for card designers or illustrators than textile designers, although really this would be handy for any project that uses fonts. of course the subject here is hand-drawn type, and it features work by a variety of different designers, and many are highly decorative which really suits current trends. see it here on amazon usa or amazon uk.

BOOK - new vintage type

next up for font fans its a lovely big book called 'new vintage type' by steven heller and gail anderson. it features some really ornate fonts and colourful graphics, and divides them into genres. i particularly liked seeing all the western style fonts that are so now - think cowboys and wanted posters. see it here on amazon usa or amazon uk.

DESIGNER - aimee wilder

designer aimee wilder has just added 12 stunning new designs to her website . brooklyn based aimee originally studied at the art institute in chicago, before working at several companies as an in-house designer. now though she works freelance and offers her designs to a wide range of clients. if you would like to contact aimee about freelance commissions click here to view her fabulous online portfolio.

KIDS - mamas & papas

these cute pattern pics were taken in baby store 'mamas and papas'. i was particularly impressed with these delightful knitted toys in beautiful packaging that had a coloured box lined with a sweet pattern print. after seeing these i thought i'd have a little look at their online store too (see next post).

KIDS DESIGN - mamas & papas

after my visit to the store, where i was really impressed with their print designs i thought i would check out mamas and papas online shop. here are just some of the items from their interior collections and characters.

CARDS - lara cameron

beautiful christmas cards by fantastic designer lara cameron. lara's fabrics are nearly always a sell out in her melbourne based etsy shop kirin & co - but these great cards are easy to get hold of as they are published by moo. click here to see all of lara's designs which also include lots of gorgeous non christmas designs. avaialble as cards, mini cards, and stickers.

CARDS - ally gore & rob reader

i love these graphic cards by ally gore and rob reader for the art file. they are stylish yet simple with details such as cut-outs (below) from the sculptural collection and subtle muted glitter.

SNAPSHOTS - shopping

today im posting some shots taken whilst out and about christmas shopping this weekend. above, cushion and mug set from cargo home. below, fabric covered button badges from monsoon.

SNAPSHOTS - homewares

a selection of pics taken in various home stores, starting with matalan. above a christmas print on a tea towel set, and below other prints from the kitchen dept.

below, not exactly a home store, but still a good place to shop - trays seen at camden market, london.

above, bedlinen motif from next. and below also from next, tea towels and a patterned dust pan and brush.

below mugs and tea towel from homebase.

CHRISTMAS - snapshots

finally today, christmas designs as seen in sainsbury's.

BOOK - new petit pattern

if like me you are collecting the japanese 'petit pattern' series of books then good news! a new title has been added to the range for release this month. 'autumn winter' is available now for pre-order on amazon usa or uk. looks like it will be very handy for inspiration on christmas designs for 2008. see the print & pattern bookshop to see all the titles in this brilliant series from publisher bnn. or click here to see my earlier picture reviews of each book. i cant wait to get hold of this new one.

BOOK - free style scraps series

talking of new books from bnn the fourth book in their free style scraps series is being released shortly. the subject this time is for all things 'girlie'. see it on pre-order here for usa or uk. ive only just recieved my third book in this set 'pictogram' ,which i could never find here in the UK so i ended ordering from amazon usa. its worth noting that we brits can do this. the shipping price was about $8, which is amazingly cheap but it does take about 4 weeks unless you pay a lot more for faster shipping. 'pictogram' was well worth the wait, its basically a selection of random icons on all kinds of subjects. see it here on amazon usa or uk. just for info other titles in the series are silhouette and frame/line.

PRINT THEME - woodgrain

looking for a theme for your next project then how about looking at the current trend for woodgrain. here's a little round up of prints starting with filex folders by international arrivals from see jane work.

above, 12 x 12 papers from hambly screen prints. below wooden holiday cards from night owl paper goods.

above wayne hemingway for graham and brown below woodgrain floors and tablemats from chilewich.

pop ink gift wrap and martha stewart envelopes. below notebooks from susy jack.

above, card by blue snail. below, gift tags and book from just another day.

below, embroidered wood pendants from bridget m bird.

above left, thomas paul address book from see jane work. above right and below holiday print from small stump.

NOTHING BUT - paperchase christmas

yesterday i went christmas shopping in the flagship paperchase store on london's tottenham court road - well worth a visit at this time of year. so today im posting my nothing but paperchase christmas designs.

PAPERCHASE - christmas designs

PAPERCHASE - store snaps

paperchase gifts this year include gorgeous christmas tea towels and lovely patterned soaps.

STATIONERY - thomas paul

if you like to your workspace to be enhanced by beautiful patterns then you should check out this stationery range by thomas paul as seen at see jane work. there is everything from files to penpots in clever colour palettes that are bold yet sophisticated.

VINTAGE - markka

vintage inspiration from japanese website markka who seem to specialise in scandinavian design. items stocked include ceramics from arabia and gustavsberg - including the stig lindberg classic 'bersa' leaf stem design. these tins, which dont actually look very vintage at all, but im guessing are second hand, are from ahlens.

ALSO LIKING ........

this set of 4 metal filigree bird wall hangings from plasticland.

these holiday card kits from pink bath tub , which include 4 note cards, 5 gift enclosures and 6 gift tags. they are individually hand printed on card stock that is 80% post-consumer recycled and are available here on etsy. above, wrapping paper from retta le ritz.

BOOK - pattern design

exciting news today of a great new book you will surely want to add to your pattern collection. 'pattern design - applications & variations' by lou andrea savoir is published by rockport. it features many of the designers that we know and love such as julia rothman, hanna werning, dan fundeburg, lena corwin, and amy ruppel. the book itself is not huge, but the photos do fill the entire page and the text is minimal, just the way i like it. all the relevant websites are shown along with a profile for each designer in a seperate section at the back. all in all a thoroughly recommended book that will not disapoint. click here to see on