GIFTWRAP - M&S

today im posting some of the sneaky snaps i have taken whilst out shopping. first, lovely new spring gift wraps have begun to appear in marks & spencers.

STORE SNAPS - paperchase

next, my favourite shop in the world, paperchase. new things in this week included a quaint mothers day pink floral print, and perhaps for more contemporary mums a utensils pattern. ( remember our utensil print trend feature last week ?).

SNAPSHOTS - t-shirts

spotted in new look a series of t-shirt placement prints on a travel theme, with plenty of rainbows.

STATIONERY - ecojot 2008

we've got a a real scoop here today on P+P with the brand new range of ecojot designs. the 2008 collection will be launched at the new york gift fair on feb 1st, but we have a chance to have a sneak preview today. designs include cats and dogs, butterflies, blooms and seeds. scroll down to see the latest patterns or click here to visit the website and learn more about ecojot.

DESIGNER -petra boase

over on design*sponge today im going to be promoting british design by highlighting four of my favourite designers. one of those selected is petra boase, and i found i had many more photos than i could fit in to the article. so i thought we could look at her work in more detail over here. although petra is known for her books such as 'funky junk' and childrens craft ideas, lately its more her design work that has been causing a stir. her latest product, a series of beautiful mugs, can be found in the most fashionable boutiques and magazines. her style is cute and whimsical with motifs created from sraps of vintage fabrics. click here for the full range, or scroll down to see some of her latest mug designs, and in the next two posts : gift wrap.

GIFT WRAP - petra boase

more from norfolk based designer petra boase, with a close up look at her wrapping paper. this design features her fabric collage motifs on her trademark graph paper.

PAPER - petra boase

this petra boase wrapping paper has a more oriental theme with beautiful birds in bright modern colours on a muted patterned ground.

ABOUT THIS WEEK .........

this week im going to be blogging in two places, both here on print & pattern and as the guest blogger over on design*sponge.

FABRIC PRINTS - jessica jones

this beautiful new fabric collection is proof that blogging is truly influencing the design world. they were designed by jessica jones a graphic designer from the chicago area who keeps the blog 'how about orange'. through the blog came the opportunity to design a collection for j caroline creative. and so modern floral was born. there are four designs to choose from; sprig, peapod, leaflet and herb.

FABRICS - j caroline creative

whilst i was checking out jessica's work i thought i would put together a selection of other lovely prints available from j caroline creative.

DESIGNER - ellen crimi-trent

these fun and colourful patterns are by designer ellen crimi trent. ellen is an illustrator/ designer who has been creating patterns and prints for over 15 years. she first began her career as a children's wear designer, and then moved onto a print studio, before deciding to only license her art for products. today you can find her work on all sorts of product such as greeting cards, fabric, ceramics ,ornaments, home decor etc. click here to see ellen's portfolio and here for her blog.

CARDS - caroline gardner

new spring ranges have just gone online at caroline gardner. gorgeous new products include wrapping paper with matching mini cards, and contemporary ribbon. they also have co-ordinating gift bags and notebooks. caroline's style are quality really are superb - remember the beautiful christmas wrap i had here ?. and if you're worried about your valentine guessing your handwriting you can have caroline gardner send out your valentines card direct, with their 'love by post' service, helping to keep the mystery.

DESIGNERS NEEDED - for new book

this is a call out to all the pattern designers who may be reading print & pattern, and would like to submit their designs for a new book about pattern design. the book will be called 'radical patterns & textures' and will be a 640 pages compilation of the latest and most innovative patterns. its being organised by maomao publications who are a barcelona-based publishing company specializing in design and fashion books. their clients include taschen, rockport, harper collins Design, index and pageone among others. if you want to apply to be in the book then email publishing editor macarena at maomao here. dont be put off by the word radical, they assure me this is to make the book stand out from other pattern books and let readers know to expect a very contemporary feel .

CUSHIONS - lalitah

berlin based designer lalitah is inspired by scandinavian and japanese design, and i think it shows in the stylish simplicity of these cushions. an unsual touch to these handmade cushions is that they tell are story. you can see the cute animation here, just click on eine kleine geschichte. and if you fancy owning one of these cushions see them here in lalitah's etsy shop.

DESIGNERS - and p+p readers

i just wanted to show some works by two talented print & pattern readers. above, two works by designer and illustrator laura williams, who works as a freelancer in north carolina, usa.

below, amazingly detailed laser cut paper panels by graduate emily morris. emily graduated from leeds with a degree in printed textiles and surface pattern design. she's now looking for suitable projects that could use her talents. these panels would look great in store windows or boutiques. you can contact emily here via her blog here.

ONLINE SHOPPING - dawanda

i was recently invited by dawanda to pick out some of my favourite items from the many online goodies it offers. you can see my full selection of 20 here, and anything purchased from the list will come with a special free gift of paper menagerie postcards. over the coming weeks look out for more bloggers picks on dawanda. if you are not familiar with dawanda, its a website where people buy and sell handmade items and although based in europe customers are from all over the world.

DESIGNER - fun cupcake

sarah laws is an artist currently living in boston, massachusetts working as a kids footwear designer, but she also loves to work on her side projects under the name funcupcake. she creates original drawings, silkscreened tees, archival prints, and other products heavily dense with naive style prints and patterns, and sketches. click here for the fun cupcake website or check sarah's etsy shop.

ART PROJECT - 25

michelle romo, the fabulous designer behind crowded teeth has been working on a truly ambitious art project '25'. to occupy the 25th year of her life, she will produce one art project per day starting on november 21st, 2007, ending november 21st, 2008. each month will have a different conceptual theme. november was patterns, december characters, and january is typography. there will be limited edition products (25 of each item only!) made each month. the end result will be 25 handmade books, and an art show. im so in love with this project and michelle's work in general that im going to be supporting it here on print & pattern. ive put a permanent picture link in the left hand column so we can all keep an eye on this project from here throughout the year.

DESIGNER - crowded teeth

more from the very talented michelle romo, featuring designs from her crowded teeth work. michelle works in a full time job as a designer on junior accessories and apparel ( for illustrious clients such as disney and sanrio) and does crowded teeth, and now the 25 project too, in her spare time! you have to admire the sheer hard work and dedication that must take. check out her fab online store here.

TEATOWELS - patapri

today im taking at look at some kitchen textiles, beginning with someone we have covered before but not lately. the terrific yuko at patapri. i like nothing more than a repeated motif and if its put into a fab colour scheme, well then im in heaven. so for me looking at patapri's flickr photos is an absolute treat. she her website here, or buy from her etsy shop .

KITCHEN TEXTILES - russinet

utensils and cutlery are definately a print trend this year for textiles & table/picnicware, and these are some fine examples from korpi and gordon as spotted on swedish website russinet.

KITCHEN TEXTILES - print trend

more utensil prints on teatowels from top: unity peg, above : jam tart at three potato four.

above from emma bridgewater and below skinny la minx.

KITCHEN TEXTILES - cath kidston

i love this great new 'breakfast print' which has just gone online at cath kidston.

FABRICS - cotton & cloud

todays posts are all about fabric prints, starting with these japanese imports from cotton & cloud. this UK based etsy shop turn the fabrics into fabulous bags and pouches here, or you can enjoy their fabric collection here on flickr. as well as importing cute japanese zakka prints they also have lots of sophisticated prints as well. thanks to kirsten for the tip about this great UK source of japanese goodies.

FABRICS - jaime beattie

if you're looking for patterned bags and accessories then take a look at these from brisbane based designer jaime beattie. jaime uses lots of colourful bold and contemporary prints on her range of bags, purses, bangles, and hair accessories. she also has a great looking website with beautiful graphics.

CARDS - happy kimono

etsy is constantly full of lovely suprises - and i was delighted when i stumbled across these beautiful cards from happy kimono. i love the use of muted backgrounds with bright colours on top. see them here in happy kimono's etsy store.

NEW SEASON PRINTS - next

its that time of year again when summer catalogues start to drop through the letterbox and ive just recieved the latest next directory. these are a few choice prints that caught my eye in the latest spring/summer 08 book. if you are outside the UK and dont get the catalogue you can see their range online here.

SS O8 - next directory

i just wanted to post the cover of this seasons next directory. the design this time uses large letters spelling out 'SS08'. their opacity allows them to overlap and show through eachother, pale greens and aquas for fashion and hot yellow,pink, and orange for homewares.

CARDS - pink bathtub

i wanted to introduce a new sponsor of print & pattern. pink bathtub is a company run by noelle grisky, who produces the most lovely hand printed paper goods featuring her original designs. each item is handprinted using a rubber-like block that she carves her motif on to. noelle enjoys the fact that she has the handmade touch on each and every one. she recently experimented with some block prints onto californian maps in her etsy shop. you can buy pink bathtub designs in lots of stores across america, or you can buy direct from noelle on etsy.

NEW IN - urban outfitters

it wouldnt be print & pattern if we didnt take our regualr look at the best new prints from urban outfitters. check these out above, cool new canvas wallart by fawn gehweiller.

BOOK - follow the line

i wanted to recommend this great book to you today. 'follow the line' is by laura ljungkvist is ideal for fans of illustration or design concious parents who like to buy stylish books for their kids. the concept is simple yet clever, all the illustrations are created following one line that goes through the entire book. the drawings are clever and graphic and the colour shemes are cool and modern. all in all its a really enjoyable and inspirational book. i loved it so much ive just ordered another 'follow the line through the house' from amazon, hopefully i'll post it here when it arrives. buy here on amazon USA or amazon UK. check out laura's illustration work here or her dedicated follow the line site here.

SPRING 08 - paperchase

with the last few discounted christmas cards disappearing from the shelves, i was pleased this week to see some new lines coming in to paperchase. i picked up a couple of sheets of gift wrap, one a sophisticated geometric floral on matt black paper, and the other couldnt be more different a riot of multicoloured flowers. see the next post for more.

PAPERCHASE - 3 new ranges

more bits and pieces from the paperchase's new spring stationery ranges. there were three new prints hitting the stores this week, a patchwork type design (above), this also co-ordinated with a polka dot range (not shown). the third is the vibrant floral design, as seen on the gift wrap in the post above.

ONLINE SHOP - little circus

all these delightful products are from french online store 'little circus'. they have a nice selction of childrens items including guitars made from cute japanese fabrics and stylish party invites.

SPRING 08 RANGE - isak

top drawer spring, the london show concludes today ( jan 13th - 15th), and isak were launching some super cool new items at the show. new products include wooden coasters, new kids educational posters and their very first textile product - a 100% wool blanket featuring cute penguins. if you have a shop or online store these fresh contemporary designs would make a great line to stock, and the new designs are just fab.

CARDS - ink & wit

these letterpress examples are from ink+wit, designed by brooklyn based tara hogan. tara's art and design studio specialises in cards, fine prints, stationery, limited editions, and even custom design. check out the fabulous business card she did for decor8 here on flickr.

THANKYOU - to selvedge magazine

big thanks to selvedge magazine for featuring print & pattern in the current issue. if you havent seen this bi-monthly magazine before its a really great read that covers the world of textiles and importantly for us textile prints. they also recommended other fab sites including etsy and decor8.

DESIGN STUDIO - hang tight

more great surface pattern design today from the maine based hang tight studio . its creator heather dutton has a gorgeous online portfolio, and has produced designs for clients such as pottery barn, jc penney, and starbucks. i love the bird designs (above) from the novelty section, but there are also a wide choice of florals and geometrics available. if you are looking for a designer click here for the hang tight website to find out more.

DWELL - spring 08 bedlinen

beautiful new bedlinen for kids and babies from top US company dwell. well known for their stylish contemporary design they've recently launched 'gio' and 'transportation' two exciting new collections. and if rumours from the january issue of living etc are to be believed they will soon be coming to the UK, fingers crossed on that one. click here to visit the dwell studio site.

CARDS - elum letterpress

hooray its friday, and hooray for these beautiful letterpress cards from elum. makes for lovely eye candy on a friday web browsing session.

CARDS - essimar etsy shop

i discovered these cool cards in essimar's etsy shop thanks to decor8 who had made essimar their 'blog of the week' last week. the blog is jam packed with fascinating work in progress photos, or head straight to the store to admire the lovely finished results.

DESIGNER - carol eldridge

these super sweet illustrations are by massachusetts based designer carol eldridge. carol licenses her designs for all kinds of products in the USA and has recently started preperations to expand into the UK market. she paints all her work in gouache and then scans them into the computer, and she is equally home designing 3d as well as 2d. in fact shes just finished a project designing little bird houses and garden items. visit carol's website and blog to see her work or to learn more about her impressive 20 years in the business!

FLICKR - skinny la minx

the brilliant heather moore of skinny la minx is now on flickr and she has already uploaded tons of fab and stylish pictures. check it out here.

DESIGNER - anne jochum

earlier in the week i recieved a very beautifully designed new year email greeting. it was so lovely and stylish i had to find out more. it was by a paris based designer called anne jochum, a freelancer who specialises in textiles and surface design, although she also produces illustration and graphics. see anne's website here for further info.

VINTAGE INSPIRATION - the aviary

often when we look at vintage pieces here on print & pattern they are'nt always readily available for purchase ( mainly because i love tracking down japanese vintage sites) but today these goodies are just an easy click away on etsy. all these inspirational pieces are from the aviary a store set up by three friends emily, julie, and tawny. they sell mostly vintage housewares with fun prints and patterns and cute figurines. plus some vintage shoes and clothing. they are selcective in their choices and hunt for each treasure in the lush central valley of california. check the shop out here.

CARDS & NOTEBOOKS - rosehip

i was so excited when i recieved news from rosehip cards that they were launching a new 2008 collection at top drawer next week. you know sometimes when you are in a store and you see something so nice to buy that you get a real adrenalin rush. well thats how i felt when i saw rosehip's stunning new notebook designs. there are two sizes A5 and A6, as well as two new card ranges 'bird garden' and 'stemprint' together with co-ordinating gift wrap. if you are going to top drawer you must check them out, or if you are a shop looking for new lines then these would be superb. click the website for more details and wholesale ordering, or to find a stockist.

ILLUSTRATION - peas and needles

lately ive been loving illustrations of little buildings and houses ( think julia rothman or shinzi katoh). so i was loving this one (top) from peas and needles that i found on flickr. lucy davidson is the recently graduated artist behind peas and needles, she has a site coming soon so watch this space.

FABRICS - amy schimler

if you are someone who takes an interest in childrens print design then you may already be familiar with designer and illustrator amy schimler. amy is an expert in 'juvenile' prints, and has just released another new collection with robert kauffman called creatures and critters.

FABRICS - volksfaden

for those of you who may not already know about this website i'd love to introduce volksfaden fabrics. this is a great online source for american and japanese fabrics , ideal for all sorts of fabric projects. the website too is faulous to look at with these superb fabric collages by katharina neubert. i really fell for this bird design (top) featuring pattern fills inside the birds and a cool leaf stem print behind. click here to browse or buy from this lovely website.

CARDS - amy smyth made it

these brilliantly illustrated cards are from 'amy smyth made it' . for 2008 amy has improved her who range of cards by making them bigger (A6) and with thicker card and coloured envelopes - all of which is 100% recycled. described as " sophisticated, funky and uncommon stationery" it certainly hits the mark. and i love the colour schemes too.

STATIONERY - ecojot/paperchase

ecojot are a stationery company we've admired here on print & pattern before, not just for their fantastic designs but also their environmentally friendly production techniques. so heres some really good news, these canadian designs are now coming to the UK for the first time! ecojot have a range of goodies going into paperchase stores - so look out for apples and owls sketchbooks, kraft sketchbooks, robins , flower garden re-use and spots recycle in your local store. regular readers will know i am slightly obsessed with paperchase so i will definately be tracking down this new collection.

TEXTILES - st judes

ive been keeping an eye on the textile company st.judes ever since i discovered angie lewin's work there a few years ago. new designs added since we last looked include above and below kensal rising by old town and dove flight by mark herald.

also, exciting news from st.judes - ive heard they are going to be working with alice stevenson (who we loved here) and who created this lovely tree covered book jacket design. fingers crossed.

WALLPAPER - sophia portocarrero

portugese label sophia portocarrero is a brand specializing in designing wallpapers and home textiles. their aim is to take classical naturalist themes but give them contemporary new colourways. click here to see the entire first collection.

PATTERN DESIGNS - various

today i wanted to post up some of my favourites from the pattern competition website 'naked & angry'. if you're not familiar with this site its where anyone can submit a pattern, and anyone can vote on their favourites, with winners recieving cash rewards and the chance to have products made from their designs. i loved the bird and floral designs at the top of this post by kim ellwood, and below floral print by ruzana shuhab.

above sofia arnold. below julie mcmillon.

above keri, below mmmmichelleeee.

above & below by celeste.

CARDS & STATIONERY - lucid

todays inspiration all comes from the same place - lovely japanese website - lucid online. there are lots of good ideas to be seen such as these cards below with holes in to let just the right letters show through. further down you'll see a birthday cake card that comes with candle stickers so you can put the right number on the cake depending on the age of the recipient, and theres also a calendar with stickers too. add to this lots of great looking letters sets and its well worth a browse at lucid.

NEW PRINTS - julia rothman

hello - happy new year everyone, hope you've had a lovely break. heres to another great year of fabulous pattern design. julia rothman is a designer who we love here on print & pattern - and so its wonderful to see that her exclusive range at urban outfitters keeps on growing. now added to the lovely mug and bedspread are these pillows in 3 designs rabbit, trees, and goat. see them all here at urban outfitters website.

also at urban outfitters a few other things that caught my eye : $6 graphic plates

a drum lampshade featuring a 'birds and bows' print, and slightly of topic but i couldnt resist a pint glass featuring the man i love.. david bowie.

2008 - and 2009 !!?!!

choosing and using a new calendar and diary are one of the nice things about returning back to work in the new year. i loved these two calendars from etsy designers, above from jenskelley and below elfrida.

as always paperchase have a good selection of 2008 diaries - see them instores, or some are available at their online amazon shop. now if you're someone who really thinks ahead - how about pre-ordering your 2009 diary now on amazon ?. yes its true, already up is this super cute japanese style agenda by cath kidston from chronicle books. i hope there are lots of these in the pipeline from chronicles other designers.

VINTAGE INSPIRATION -fukuya

this calendar wouldnt be too useful for today - but now thirty years on it could inspire you in one of your own 2008 designs. as could these birds - looking around, and at urban outfiiters site yeaterday, it seems that birds will still be a popular motif this year. both images from fukuya a great japanese source of vintage european goodies.