NEW LAUNCH - kitty toronto

Kim Johnson the designer behind Kitty Toronto a new business creating handmade eco-friendly bags and original textiles. After a long spring and summer of planning, illustrating, designing and creating, Kim launched Kitty Toronto last weekend and the website is now live. Kim says there is nothing more fulfilling and gratifying than creating your own product and putting it out there in the market place. The Kitty Toronto bags are colourful and bright, and feature Kim' own original pattern designs. The first bag available is a resort bag perfect for holidays and was inspired by Japanese origami. Kim's print designs are also available for companies to license and you can learn more about her artwork by visiting Kim's professional portfolio here. To shop Kitty Toronto visit here and follow along on Instagram here.

SPOONFLOWER SHOP - tristan & Zoe

Designer Alexandra Michiardi of Tristan & Zoe was happy to announce that her designs became available to print on demand at Spoonflower and Roostery from July 8th. Her debut collection, 'Happy Blooms', features eleven playful and versatile prints, in two different colourways. The second collection 'Playful Garden' will be available in August and Alexandra is planning to release a new collection each month, mainly focusing on the kids and home decor markets. She wants to contribute to #designersforfuture by creating happy colourful prints that pay a tribute to our beautiful Earth and its incredible diversity. Alexandra hopes that her values will resonate with people and that will ultimately lead to strong relationships with ethical and eco-conscious companies. Find out more at Tristan & Zoe ,see the fabrics on Spoonflower here and follow the sneak peaks and updates on Instagram.

NEW COURSES - from foliofocus

Today we have more student work and news about 2 new upcoming classes from FolioFocus.
They are running inspiring portfolio building workshops, created to help designers to expand their portfolio with outstanding, fun and commercial designs that Art Directors and Licensees simply can't get enough of. Split into two sessions, the first in September will be FolioFocus Kids: a class tailored towards creating art for kids markets/products followed in November by FolioFocus Trendspiration which centers around key trends for women from fabrics to stationery to home decor and beyond. One session follows the other with a week’s break between the two for those who wish to complete the full 8-week series.

Here we have all the details from FolioDocus................
WHAT'S IN STORE?
Each session runs for 4 inspiration packed weeks, during which, we'll challenge you to get creative and push yourself to make great commercial designs, in a fun and positive way. You'll receive exclusive trend insights and colour stories, adding a competitive edge to your portfolio, plus we'll give you advice and tips about how to use them while remaining true to your style.

We'll also cover how to make a cohesive collection, and share a useful design critique checklist to help you create your most sellable work yet.

Classmates are invited to join our private Facebook with other FolioFocus designers to share progress, ask questions and receive peer feedback.

BONUSES
Video Reviews/ Q&A Session
We will be holding a live recorded video session, reviewing work submitted for feedback and answering your questions.

Next Steps Bible: A Helpful Guide To Reaching Clients – You’ve completed the class. You’ve created great trend aware art, now it’s time to put it to work! This insightful document has aids, advice and resources for how to reach new clients, where to find them and how to present your work.

You can find a link to the classes here.  There is an earlybird offer in place until 29th July.
And below enjoy a selection of design work from FolioFocus classmates.