August - round up!

oh my golly gosh. i know i say it every month but where on earth is this year going?! It's September in 2 days time! but that's ok. cos that means it's HOLIDAAAAY! oh yes, i am off for 3 weeks in peru. so excited about so much of it. not to mention the llamas. 

so as you can imagine, me being me, i have been frantically trying to get everything prepped and ready before i leave. and believe you me it's been manic! my to do lists for each evening have been chocka, but i have managed to get through all as wished. but there's still a few days left so i won't jinx it just yet...hehe!

so this has really been the month of finalising my designs for my new collection. i'm really enjoying this new series of prints and patterns. i'm working more on illustration as well as repeat patterns as well so a bit of a new challenge. you got a sneak peak on facebook earlier this week so here's another to whet your appetite until the next post...

alongside actually doing the designs i have been thinking hard about where to take my next product range. some products i would like to continue doing - the lampshades for example - but i want something new. and the kitchen is where it's at! as you may have seen i have been asking for input on some market research questions, and thank you to all that commented, you've been a great help!

i am in the process of getting my sample templates prepared and sent off so they can be made whilst i am away...something lovely to be greeted with when i return!

also new on the design front are my first line of christmas cards. they are a set of 6 cards printed on FSC sourced card stock.  i'm really pleased with how these look and i've already been showing these off to a few shops, to which i have had interest ... which is always a boost! 

i have also submitted these to a couple of mags and have received great feedback so keep your eyes peeled on that front too!

bowie style of the Print & Pattern 'bible' gave me wonderful feature this month, showcasing my cushions, shades, books tea towels...pretty much everything! and it was quite refreshing to see your work presented differently - bowie selected both images of my products but also the original prints from my portfolio on my website, so it was really nice to see how they had translated. of course i have seen all this but it's been a while since i looked back on this range so was nice to see it all again, and how my first collection all came together. made me even more excited for this next collection! 

it's always amazing to be selected and have your work shared on such a fabulous site. it's such an amazing source of inspiration...and i've been lucky enough to be featured a few times - this is my 10th outing there! thanks bowie!

there won't really be a September round up as i'll be off gallivanting around peru with alpacas and the like, climbing up rather steep steps, falling off steep edges and generally seeing jaw droppingly amazing sites. sorry, sorry...not trying to make you all jealous. well, maybe a little... ;)

out and about in central

i have seem to have switched to a fortnightly post rather than weekly recently, apologies for that, but it is all for good reason! i am working hard on my new collection - lots of lovely new prints and a few new products thrown in for good measure too.

i've had a few outing to central london recently all of which i wish to share with you today.

festival of love, southbank

stumbled across this one a couple of weeks back, and although i've recently seen in on another couple of blogs i'm going to show my pics anyway as it's very very cool. the festival celebrates the Same Sex Couple Act and has a whole host of events - talks poetry, themed weekends...i only saw the decoration along southbank and these illustrations form the website. 

holi colour festival, wembley park

originally a traditional Hindu festival it is now celebrated around the globe amongst anyone. numerous dj's took to the stage whilst the rest of us ran around throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. we all looked like pollock paintings by the end! was great fun, can't wait for next year! 

secret cinema, Back To The Future edition
now i can't give too much away because, well, it's secret. but basically hundreds of  people are gathering together throughout august to visit hill valley. the set has been rebuilt and the movie is being screened in a secret location in london. everyone goes dressed in their 1950's gear to visit the set and do a bit of rock n' roll. no phones were allowed but hopefully when i get my old-skool disposable camera developed i can share more with you!

wall, southbank

ok ok, this wasn't an 'event' but t was a pretty cool wall. just enjoy ok. what made it even cooler were kids wee measuring themselves against each one to see which person represented them. kinda cute.