DESIGNER FOR HIRE - ann kelle

I am so pleased to introduce another entry in the Designers for Hire Directory this week. Ann Kelle is the studio name for designer Kelle Boyd, a designer and illustrator based in Nashville, Tennessee. Kelle specialises in children's design and describes her style as simple, bright, and happy with playfulness mixed in. She takes inspiration from her childhood and remembers the patterns she grew up with from her father's tie to the sweater she wore in second grade. Kelle has been licensing artwork for over ten years and has created best selling fabrics for Robert Kaufman, and had her designs sold in stores across the world such as Walmart, Joann's and Target. Kelle would welcome new licensing, collaborations  or commission opportunities, especially in the areas of children’s books, wall paper, and kids decor. She has an an extensive catalogue of designs ranging from holidays (Christmas, Valentines, etc.), to animals, hand lettering and everyday designs. You can get in touch with Kelle via her website here.

One of Kelle's favorite design projects to date has been creating a group of characters called, The Girl Friends. They’re an adventurous group of girls based on friendship. They first appeared on fabric and most recently were made into doll sewing panels. Many stores sold out of the doll panels shortly after their release. This diverse group of girls touched the hearts of many resulting in personal messages, emails, and letters of appreciation and gratitude for the Girl Friends’ individuality and their spirit of inclusion. Each girl has their own unique personality - from a skateboarding, entrepreneur baker to a veterinarian. I have had many requests from customers inquiring as to when I would do a series of children’s books on the Girl Friend’s characters and additional products such as, pre-made dolls, coloring books, etc.

DESIGN STUDIO - polleni

Polleni is a new design agency founded in Bristol and it's creative director is Cat How, previously of on online store Howkapow. Cat and her husband Roger sold Howkapow in 2016 to co-found their next venture : Pollen Studios, a work and event space. And just a year later they founded Polleni. Besides Bristol they also have bases in London and Lisbon and their small team of creatives bring together experience from lots of different backgrounds. As a branding agency they combine skills from marketing and journalism, to e-commerce and graphic design. I particularly loved their colourful pattern based branding for Co.Lab. Alongside client work designing brands and websites, they are currently tinkering away on an idea to automate branding design for small startups.

FABRICS - jane farnham for dashwood

Designer Jane Farnham has a new fabric collection coming out for Dashwood Studio in the spring called Lost Treasures. The idea behind the collection came about because Jane had so many things that were treasures to her when she was a child that have been lost and rediscovered over the years. These prints are a celebration of the memory of those treasured processions. From pressed flowers to keys that had no lock, broken pieces of jewellery to lucky horse shoes, four leaf clovers, pennies and bird nest discoveries, they all feature in Jane's Lost Treasures collection.

FABRICS - susan driscoll for dashwood

Another wonderful collection from Dashwood Studio to look forward to is Soiree by Susan Driscoll. Susan is known for her beautiful and unique colour combinations and stylised florals. Soiree was inspired by summer garden parties that run into the evening and the colours of the flowers pop against the night sky.

MOTHER'S DAY 2019 - sainsbury's

There are just 12 days to go until Mother's Day here in the UK, and I've been out and about to see what designs are out on the High Street. My favourite this year has been Sainsbury's who've really impressed me with their Mother's Day offering. They've really got it right this year from the point of sale to their on trend print motifs on gifts. With their cards I was impressed with the sheer number of exclusive designs available in cheerful bold colours. I only hope my pictures do them justice...