because of my trip to italy a couple of weeks ago i missed the pulse design show in london, which was shame as i wanted to see what kind of designs were coming out for next years london olympic souvenirs. products like these fresh london designs on illustrated cushions and tea towels from michelle mason. michelle launched her new products at the show and you can see them all for yourself online here.
stephanie swanson is a recent graduate from rhode island school of design (RISD) in providence RI. stephanie studied illustration/graphic design student and has a real interest in surface design and product design, as well as stationary and greeting cards.
lucy king is an english textile designer, ceramic designer and illustrator who now lives and work in melbourne, australia. lucy has a habit of collecting vintage china and second-hand kitchen things! and recently developed and independently launched a range of melamine plate products featuring her own collection of illustrations and designs. besides selling her melamine online lucy is also known for her etsy shop me old china and you can see her portfolio online here.
wrap is a new illustration magazine that publishes work by, and interviews talented artists and designers from around the world. their second issue has recently launched, with the theme 'animals & creatures', and includes work by a really exciting group of contributors including LA based patrick hruby, new yorker dan funderburgh and milanese collective carnovsky. they also have exciting regular features such as their illustrated 'day in the life' - this time by quirky animal obsessed british illustrator gemma correll. they are also an environmentally conscious magazine and print on 100% recycled paper using vegetable-based inks. you can see more from wrap and buy online here where they are currently running 50% off delivery for the new issue.
as well as for reading, the thing that makes wrap particulary special is that it is also designed to be used. with no staples or stitches each sheet from wrap can easily be taken apart and re-used as wrapping paper. they also have a perforated back cover that turns into eight notecards that co-ordinate with the featured prints.
i am now the proud owner of a jane foster flower power print. its a beautiful handprinted limited edition design that fits perfectly with all my orla kiely bits & pieces. jane is based in devon and as well as making art prints she is a collector of the most stylish vintage fabrics which she turns into quilts and cushions. you can see all her wonderful work, including the flower power prints, here on etsy.
the national theatre in london are currently hosting an exhibition to celebrate 50 years of textile designers collier campbell. the sisters susan collier and sarah campbell were celebrating their 50th year with a new collection for house of fraser, designs for marks & spencer and their own label when sadly susan died on may 7th. susan started her career working as an assistant to pat albeck and sold her first designs to liberty in the 1960's. she was joined by her younger sister sarah in 1978. the sisters were celebrating their 50th year with a new collection for house of fraser, designs for marks & spencer. the london exhibition has free entry and runs until july 10th and was featured on bbc newsnight recently.
it was very regretful to hear on the news last friday that habitat had gone into liquidation. it was announced they will keep only their three central london stores after a buyout by argos/homebase owners home retail group who purchased the brand name for £24.5 million pounds. founded by terence conran in 1964 sadly they've been over shadowed in recent years by cheaper stores such as ikea. the images are from habitat's spring summer ranges.
kim buchheit has over 20 years of experience in design, kim's creative services include surface design, illustration, graphic design, exhibit and website design. based in the grand canyon national park she is currently enjoying hand-carving illustrations and creating patterns from them for surface design application.
designer jessica swift is currently trying to raise the funds to create this first ever line of jessica swift rain boots on kickstarter. kickstarter it turns out is a new way to fund creative projects through "all-or-nothing funding". anyone can donate to the project, and if the project raises the target amount in the specified time, everyone's credit cards get charged and the project moves forward. If the money isn't raised, no one gets charged and the project doesn't go forward. people who pledge donations to the project in exchange receive rewards like jessica's artwork and boots. these images show ideas for mock-up boots which are just examples of which patterns jessica might use and they will also have hidden, inspiring messages on the inside, so they'll not only be pretty on the outside, but they'll also make you feel good. see much more about the kickstarter project online here.
