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.