festive fair finds!

ahhhhh...today is the first saturday in about a month where i'm not either at a Christmas fair or planning for my next one! i'm still in bed and it's delightful (except for the fact i have a nasty cough and cold). i enjoyed all of my markets (for different reasons!) and wanted to share some of the work of the amazing designers i met whilst exhibiting across the last 3 weeks.

Made In Clerkenwell

i was located in the basement but i was surrounded by 10 other fantastic designer-makers with a great selection of goods. 

i have a soft spot for ceramics and instantly fell in love with Sally McGill's new collection - bold blue and coral on white...right up my street!

another great selection of ceramics were on offer from my show neighbour Jane Sarre - i'm always a sucker for that olive colour, and putting it on beautiful vases...well, i'm not sure how i resisted! 

and of course Katie Victoria was my very lovely and very Welsh neighbour for the show. gorgeously bright and bold knitted scarves, cushions and a rather lovely bobble hat i had my eye on all show!

East London Design Show

hosted for the second year at the Truman Brewery there were over 100 stands selling homewares, jewellery, prints, furniture and...ping pong games!

the stand to catch my eye the most was from the lovely Winter's Moon, a combination of mid-century finds and new retro inspired prints on an array of homewares - my ultimate weakness!

i caught up with Sophie Home who i first met at the Wimbledon Art & Design Fair earlier this year, once gain selling her yummy geo knits

winner of the Best Stand was Reclectic, a company that sources vintage furniture to hand paint with imagery inspired by that era. we happened to be opposite so could gaze at it all day!

The StockMKT

i'll be honest - this was by far my favourite market - the atmosphere was just amazing and the dj's and live Voodoo Love Orchestra were bloody fantastic! the first time it has been held at Spitalfields but it went down a treat.

now unfortunately i was so caught up in the dancing that i didn't actually take any photos! but probably a good thing otherwise i'll end up giving away some of the Christmas presents i have bought people!

we make london and co.

monday was the start of my 6 weeks residence in We Make London based in Camden Lock. i went in to set up the products they will be promoting (and hopefully selling!) for me and also help man the shop alongside Mary. whilst there i also had a good nose at some of the other designers work and here are my fave pics of other surface pattern and prints:

funky purses and bags - miesje chafer

awesome plates - para sites cermaics

2 of my favourite prints - alfamarama

great gift sets - victoria eggs

just made me laugh - benjamin rothery

fun! - lightboat jewellery

love the breaking bad RV! - kate rowland

me...well i had to share one pic didn't i?!

work in progress from illustrator linda skoglund. she has been commissioned to complete 7 maps around Camden and was just starting today...next time i go back they should be complete so i can post the final pieces!

Top Drawer Spring 2014...the review!

what can i say? Top Drawer and Home London were AMAZING! they did not fail to impress - so many talented people on display launching their new ranges, some previous exhibitors and some newbies...like myself! it was my first trade show and i LOVED it! can't wait to do the next one!

lots of interest across the three days, every day was a bit different - Sunday was the smaller boutique-y shops looking for exciting new stock, Monday i had chats about commission work and some press came and took some pics, and Tuesday was a bit of a mix too - a few shops, as well as other trade shows and pop up shops offering chances to showcase my products.

one of the nicest things to hear was when someone said they had spotted my products in the pre-show mag or on the website and they had tracked me down. it took a few goes to get used to talking to people but then you realise they just want a bit of a chat and it's easy peasey, haha.

i got to meet lots of people from the ABSPD course - Suzy Washington, Wendy Flynn (finally!), Trina Esquivelzeta, Jess Wilde, Kathryn Pledger, Kathy Schicker, Poppy Westwell, Jess Williams, Esther Cox...i hope i haven't forgotten anyone...sorry if i have!

take down was fun. i say that sarcastically. all hell broke loose. 5 o'clock and everyone has 5 hours to take everything down and get the hell out of the building! our slot for packing up wasn't until 7 and we couldn't be bothered to wait so we decided (foolish or not) to walk everything to the car parked 10 minutes away. 3 trips between 3 of us (thank you to Alice who only came to visit but ended up helping with take down!). i think i speak for all of us when i say Wednesday morning lie in could not come soon enough!

but that wasn't all the work done, oh no. straight on to following up all the contacts made at the show and now we wait replies. some goods news to share very soon but i'll keep you waiting for that ;) 

i did manage to have a quick look round Top Drawer and Home and met fellow ABSPD-ers Zoe Atwell and Hannah Nunn, but unfortunately missed Cara Holland (Patternbooth) and Anna Dent. here are a few of my favourite stands and the lovely designers themselves.  feast your eyes on this little lot...

Sian Elin - pretty eye catching wouldn't you say? nothing needs to be said...

I Drew This - cutey character cards were my favourites

Blooming Briony - i went to school with her! small world :)

Jessica Hogarth Designs - new summery card ranges

Stitch and Story - was opposite this stand so could stare at the loveliness all day long...

Rocket 68 - retro style caught my eye walking passed. unfortunately Jill was a little camera shy :p

i would also just like to say a few thank you's -
Liz Smith (Elle Jane Designs) for helping me throughout this project;
Jess Hogarth for giving me so much advice it's ridiculous;
Jen Whitham for her advice too and also for introducing me to Jess in the first place when i was doing my first Spitalfields market;
Deb Velasquez for all her printing tips;
Sam Nesbitt for the photo shoot;
Quincy Lampshades for making the designs into the fabulous shades they now are;
all the ABSPDers for their support and encouragement;
and of course, friends and family.
i'm sure there are others but my brain still isn't back up to full speed so i apologise.

gosh, that turned into a bit of an awards ceremony speech didn't it?! sorry about that!! i just wanted to say thanks dudes, it means a lot :)

christmas delights

i was very lucky this christmas and was spoilt by my friends and family. i got lots of lovely things - some crafty items, some designer maker goodies and i even found some vintage treats for myself. i thoughts i'd share some with you...

...a couple of days before christmas i discovered a vintage shop and OMGoodness what a lot of finds! some fabric, a nice new blankie, belts, and a special war time edition of monopoly complete with cardboard counters and wooden pieces...awesome!...

...a lovely Charley Harper calendar to see me through 2014...

...my new Orla Kiely folder, my new Ellen Giggenbach cushion, and my secret santa gift - a bird whistle in a house to hold my keys which also doubles as a whistle!...

...but i think my favourite present must be my two Holly Sharpe prints...just need to get some lovely frames to put them in now...

...i also got the Orla Kiely 'Home' book, a tribal print scarf, and some flowery PJs from Thailand...love it all, so lucky - thank you everyone!!

...oh and pre-xmas i sent off lots of lovely cards from a selection of designers - Elle Jane Designs, Jessica Hogarth, Jo Clarke, and Hello Paper Moon...

i hope you all had a WONDERFUL christmas whatever you may have done and now looking forward to celebrating everything good from 2013 and are ready to welcome lots of exciting new things in 2014...see you there!

august - round up

it's that time of the, erm, month again... it's MONTHLY REVIEW time ;)

so what has been achieved in the month of augustus? well...

* the first weekend was a no-go as i had to attend the beautiful wedding of Mark and Lucy. i know, i know...such a chore.  ;) 

* my kickstarter project was more than successful, going far beyond it's target. a total of 39 backers and £509 pledged. i would like to thank EVERYBODY who donated towards this - it means so much that you have supported me and i can't wait to send you your notebooks! some quite interesting statistics - of the 39 backers 10 were close friends, 10 were design buddies from uni or the courses i have taken part in, and 20 were complete strangers! the average pledge was £13.05 with the biggest being a whopping £61...crikey!!

* i have submitted to the new Print & Pattern Geometrics book. fingers crossed my designs are accepted - it would be great to be published in one of Bowie's book again!

* i had my first product photo shoot. i can't give away the shots just yet but here are some close up shots as a bit of a sneak peak...

* i hit the magic 200 likes on facebook!

* the last product i have budgeted for the show are some tea towels. i have finalised my designs and sent them to the printer. should take about 4-6 weeks so early october i hope. then i can get selling for xmas! yes, i said it. C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S. 

* and on that note i have started researching places to sell my items, both online and offline. might even do a couple more markets this winter...


* i signed up to Monica Lee's Smart Creative Style e-course which starts 6 days after my return. i will be learning more about suitable branding and marketing techniques for my launch.

not the most satisfying month in terms of getting things done but there was a lot to prepare and i wanted to fit in a weekend at home with the 'rents.

so with that i bid you farewell for 3 weeks. 3 whole weeks on holiday. can. not. wait!!! very excited to a certain miss ruth canty who has now been travelling for, oooh, 10 months it must be, and join in her adventures. 

a perfect village wedding!

my best friend got married a couple of weeks back - hoorah!  'twas a delightful day and the perfect wedding for her and her new hubby. i wanted to share with you a few snaps from the day of all the lovely decor, flowers, dresses, cake, and of course stationery...

my brief was to produce a 'save the date' and invitation for a spring village wedding. (note: this later grew to an 'order of service' and thank you cards!). tea and cake imagery needed to play a part as there was going to be a pre-wedding-ceremony get together in the village hall with lots of delicious baked goods and vintage tea cups for a good brew. 

my 'save the date'

...and here's my invitations (2 x double sided postcards):

so the day started somewhat differently with the tea & cake reception and as it was such a lovely day weather wise we actually got to enjoy it outside on the haystacks. the bride and the 2 bridesmaids (myself and the brides sister) had mismatched floral print dresses made especially for us by soho mode...they were beautiful!

our beautiful bridesmaid (and pre-wedding) dresses

the ceremony itself was just lovely - a simple and relaxed church wedding with the most adorable flower girl! 

the last page of the 'order of service'

on the topic of flowers, alice has asked if i could do her bouquets and button holes being that i had taken a floristry course. i jumped at the opportunity - we were going to pick lots of flowers from blooming green flowers and make some beautiful accessories. then i realised it had actually been 6 years since my course and got a bit nervous...

...but it all turned out a-ok! ta-dah!

yellow for the boys to match their ties and socks

tulips, ranunculus, and ummm...other pretty flowers

and then it was back to the village hall for further celebrations, photos and of course the food and dancing! it was decorated in almost 100 paper lanterns in the colours of the all important colour palette (and to think, some people actually didn't understand the importance of the colour palette. tsk tsk...that's pain to a designers ears!!)

lots of yummy cakes baked by guests for the pre-wedding tea  & cake 

and then it was all over [insert sad face]. i received my very pretty 'favour' of a pansy in a vintage teacup (with matching saucer and tea plate) and 'thank you' spoon'. and i have just had my thank you card through the post (in normal circumstances this would have been a lovely surprise but as i designed them i knew it was coming!!) 

my beautiful 'favour'

a 'thank you' from me to them and Back again

as a last note i might as well take this opportunity to get a little shameless self promo in - if anyone is interested in wedding stationery please do get in touch - mail@melsmithdesigns.com

ta-ta for now!