attack of the Creative Block monster

it's been a tricky couple of months in 'create-amazing-things-land' for Mel Smith Designs. as you may have seen on my latest monthly round up posts i haven't been anywhere near as productive as i was at the start of the year. and this is because of one thing. i've been suffering from the dreaded Creative Block monster.

he's a meany.

he steals all ideas / visions / general ability to do ANYTHING, and you're left with...not all that much actually. on my big plan schedule for this year i was dedicating May through August for designing my new collection(s), starting with woodland. well he scuppered that plan well and good! it was the last week of June and i had 1/2 a design. HALF. crap.

i felt like i had a solid idea and could see what i wanted. but nowt happened. as continued for about 6 weeks.  moodboard - done, doodles - yeah a few, thumbnail ideas - check, i even did the individual characters...but no actual FULL COMPLETE STUFF!!

i'm not sure what made the Creative Block monster strike. i guess i wasn't totally secure in the 'woodland' theme so switching projects also as a wise move i think. 'woodland' is something i'd still like to pursue but as another designer said to me, it's been done a lot and i'd have to do something crazily different to stand out. i haven't done many characters before (apart form my recently completed Christmas 2014 card range) so that all made me a bit nervous. but i can build on this separately and go back to it once i feel confident enough. 

there are tonnes of advice pages on how to battle creative block, they all pretty much say the same - step away, go for a walk, try a different technique...but i think for me booking a 3 week trip to Peru this September may have helped somewhat! i did 3 designs in 4 days!

i ditched the woodland idea and went straight to what was going to be my 'supporting' range, a smaller collection based on my travel adventures. you've already seen some of my line drawings of the beautiful houses in Amsterdam. well, here's them all designed up. this is just a small part of my full illustration, don't want to spoil to great unveiling :p

and so i continue this weekend, concentrating on other traditional dutch pieces.

so for now i shall stick with the travel bug and continue our tour merrily around the memories from the wonderful places i have been fortunate enough to visit so far...where shall we venture next i wonder...

June - round up!

my oh my. where has time disappeared to? it has absolutely swooshed by this month and i'm way behind on my weekly blog posts. and i was doing so well as well. poop. oh well, i'll have to start making up for it in july...

wight so june, how has it been? well, thanks for asking. it's been pretty good. although that's more socially than design wise i have to say! in amongst clearing up after the markets from May, celebrating hen do's and 30th birthday shindigs i did get around to doing SOMETHING! 

i'm pleased to say there have been a couple of press features this month. Purple Holly (my first stockist) featured my 'trailing / single flower' double sided cushion in an ad that went out in Your Home mag. alongside Ms Kiely as well, oh so happy! i also had an absolutely lovely review from Beckabonce over here, and she featured a selection of pretty much everything! - cushions, notebooks, tea towels, shades and magnets!

i've not been feeling as motivated the past few weeks, but i managed to get a space on another creative hub session this week, and it came at just the right time to give me a bit of a kick up the arse to get going again!! it focused on exhibiting and had lots of tips. i'm showing at Spring Fair next february and am really looking forward to it so this got be all psyched up again!

a couple more We Make London shifts this month and i had a very successful day selling 3 notebooks set, a magnet set AND a tea towel set! BOOM! there has been a fabulous make over to the store, it looks brilliant, much fresher and shows off all the lovely goodies really well..come along and see for yourself!

my geo swirls lampshade is proving very popular with top sales since the lampshades were released. i love that fact even more as it's my favourite design!

so now it's on with the new collections. i made starts on both but need to really get experimenting and really knock those designs out! i'm working more on illustration tis time round which is a new and exciting venture, if not a little out of my comfort zone!

i've been doing a bit of research for some new products. there are so many options, not 100% sure on the direction to take. think i might be throwing that open to you lot to vote! but if you have ay ideas or would like to see my designs on particular products just give me a shout over on my facebook or twitter...would love to hear from you!

get yer cushions over 'eeeere . . .

May saw me taking part in 2 design markets. i hadn't find a market since Christmas 2012 so i was both excited and nervous. 

markets are a strange old thing. you can go to one and do fantastically and your products are well received and you sell loads...and then the next can be somewhat disheartening with people walking by and very few sales. 

which is exactly how these two went!

Soho Flea Market was on bank holiday Sunday, outside down the whole of Dean Street. there were 14 bands playing and numerous food stalls amongst the 90 odd designers. it was AWESOME! such a good day ... got to meet up with Jo Clark (first met at Pulse and then won her competition full of wonderful prints!), Jimbob Art (i bought the cheese weasel plate for my friend for Xmas), Parasite Ceramics (an ex-fellow designer i spotted in We Make London), Lollipop Designs (been following for aaaages now, love the planners!)...amongst many other new found-and-fabulous designers.

Wimbledon Affordable Art & Design Fair was the following Saturday and was situated in the village hall...but alas, it just didn't seem like a day people were out for buying things, especially interior textiles. i did however FINALLY get to meet Anna Dent. she exhibited at Home this year but every time we went to each others stands we missed each other! also got to chat to kerry of Piccadelhi, Sophie Home (i so want one of her blankets!) and Joanna Layla. despite the not-so-great sales i had amazing feedback - lots of positive words about my colour palette and one comment being that my designs were 'spectacular'. which is always nice to hear! :)

no more markets or fairs booked at the moment - i need to concentrate on my new collection. it's always surprising how much time prep can take up for markets so for now i'm packing away and venturing to the woods...

May - round up!

gosh. nearly half way through the year. how'd that happen? May just fleeeeeeew by for me, it was so, so busy but for lots of good reasons...

- i took place in 2 markets. Soho Flea Market and Wimbledon Affordable Art & Design Fair. i hadn't done a fair since Xmas 2013 so i was half nervous half excited. but the first went excellently, and the second one? well, i'm there right now so i ca let you know later! i was so lucky with the weather for Soho and i'm so grateful!! rain would have made things a wee bit more complicated. a nightmare actually. anyway, there will be more detail on the markets coming soon...

- i finalised new designs for my Muckboots project. very exciting to see this moving along and can't wait to see samples! 

* i went to Rome! it was a joint Christmas and birthday present for my mum and we had a lovely (if not exhausting!) 3 days running / hobbling around all the sites and eating ice cream. 

* i completed '100 happy days'. a challenge to see if you can be happy for 100 consecutive days. photos were posted to twitter each day (unless i forgot. which happened far too regularly for my liking) and the big finale was rather fantastic - the Colloseum! 

* another successful month in We Make London  at Camden, which has now undergone a make over. pop over to have a look! 

* menus were completed for my friends wedding in July. these sit nicely next to the Save The Date and invites already produced. obviously i can't ruin the surprise for the guests by showing you lot!

* drawings have been started for my new 2015 collection and i am so eager to get started on the actual designs...so roll on June! i'd show you a sneak peek but i want to work them up a bit more...make sure i get the wow factor!

when in Rome . . .

earlier this week i had 3 days in the beautiful city of Rome. 3 exhausting yet amazing days! it was a late christmas/birthday treat for my mum who was absolutely shattered by the end of it with me dragging her round everywhere! i think we're both pretty much recovered now though...here's some the holiday snaps...

typical tourist! colloseum, vatican, st peters, trevi fountain, spanish steps, old town...did it all!!

i have a thing about doorways as you can see.

and of course i was on the look out for pattern. not much of my style obviously but i did find these beauties

#100happydays

for those of you that follow me on twitter you may have noticed a barrage of photos appearing recently. i have been taking part in the wonderful '100 happy days' challenge, where you aim to succeed in being happy for 100 consecutive days. 

why you ask? well, apparently people taking part in the challenge start noticing what actually makes them happy each day which results in being more optimistic and realising how lucky you are to have the life you have.

so here are my favourite moments of my 100 days, well, 98 days...2 more to go...what will they be...ooooooooh. hehe :) 

join me on twitter to find out what's still to come...

turns out all i need in life is food, cider & cocktails, flowers, design, dogs, books, comedy, an awesome tv series, friends & family, games, and a beautiful sunny day :)

April - round up!

well i don't know about anyone else, but for me i would say April has been pretty bloody awesome. i've really started to feel things gathering speed this month and i have lots of new plans for the next few months. all very exciting and here's why...

it's mainly about this one thing ... i now have stockists! it's such an exciting thing. you work and work and work and then you finally get t see your things (YOUR things!) in shops...best feeling! my first orders finally went out to those that i met at Top Drawer and i also had a chat with the lovely Kay of Carried Away (a cute little boutique gift shop in Deal) whilst i was on a weekend away.

another successful month in We Make London Camden and they now stock a large collection of my lampshades. the full range is now available in my Etsy store. 

i was approached by City Showcase to take part in one of their markets - Soho Flea Market to be precise. his takes place on the Sunday 25th May, as part of the bank holiday weekend. there will be 100 stalls featuring jewellery designers, interior products, accessories, food, ceramics...i think there's even some bands playing too! so it should be fantastic. which means you should all pop along and say hi!

two more Creative Hub workshops this months and lots more info and advice. plus i get to spend time with Jess (Rosa & Clara Designs) and Poppy Westwell which is always fab! and i can't forget to mention that after months of trying me and Wendy Flynn (Doris & Fred)

i continued work on my project with Muckboots and started on my new 2015 collection. i have 2 ranges i'm working on and can't wait to really get my teeth into it properly! some initial sketches at the moment but ideas are a-brewing!

and last but not least i'm preparing to start my newsletter. you can sign up HERE to find all the latest news, events and even some cheeky offers...don't miss out!