i love those mad men, i do

this weekend i was away in edinburgh celebrating with my friend on her hen do. a lovely weekend had been arranged - a gorgeous apartment, silly games, lots of food and drinks - and on the night out the dress theme was Mad Men. everyone made such an effort with their outfits! 

so the plan was to do a post based on the Mad Men fashion and lovely accessories...but then i found a Mad Men poster. things changed. i LOVE these graphics! makes me wish i was a graphic designer. love the simplicity and colours and texture. something i think i'll incorporate into my own designs. in fact the more i do these posts the more i am realising i definitely have a style i am honing in on - look at my post 2 weeks ago - the doodle monkey says it all! there's a clear graphicy-simplistic-block-colour-with-texture-thing going on. that's the best way i can describe it. you know what i mean. don't you? ...!

anyhoo, onto these wonderful artists...

1 - made by radio

2 - minimal movie posters

3 - olly moss

4 - malota

from the Design Library . . . Olle Eskell

i think it's time to reopen my library. it's not fair that all the pretty books on my shelf are not shared any more...there's too much goodness on there for just little old me!

so with that i'm going to bring this feature back every 3rd Saturday of the month. starting today with a brand new purchase - 'Olle Eskell - Swedish Graphic Designer'. i've chosen this one to start us off as last weeks post was about my desire to really start drawing again.

i stumbled across Olle's work, i can't quite remember how now though. i just loved the drawing style, but i think it was the colours that caught my eye. there's a bit of a palette that runs through one collection which is just 'mel' all over! 

it can be a bit difficult to follow the chapters simply because it's either written in Swedish or Japanese - neither of which i am fluent in - but throughout the book his illustrative skills are shown in  a variety of projects - advertisement, postcards, packaging, books...he pretty much covered all bases! 

my favourite collection is a 1930's range of illustrations (top right ad bottom left below) featuring city scenes. i've got a mega itch to do some myself, i have had for months, and i must must must do some! i have some beautiful photos to work from from my travels and i need to venture round London to get some of the local life snapped up too.

* the book can be bought from amazon for only £20 (sure it wasn't this much 2 weeks ago!!)

* and i found a bit of a shop full of Olle goodies!

this drawing dream all comes at quite a good time - i'm in Edinburgh this weekend which has some amazing architecture. lots of higgle-di-piggle-di housing and cobbled streets winding this way and that. should make for some interesting sketches.

let's unleash the doodle monkey!!

it's all about the doodle monkey

i've come to the conclusion that i need to draw more. i definitely need to draw more. i doodle. a bit. and then make it into a pattern but i want to do more illustrations and placement prints than repeats.

and so i shall.

i've bought a few design books recently and i can see a bit of a theme running through them. i think i'm getting more of a clear idea of the styles that i like to look at compared to the styles that i can actually do myself. there are so many talented designers out there at the moment i wouldn't know where to start on naming those i'm inspired by so i'm looking at some old skool faves. recent book purchases have included Olle Eksell (of which there'll be a more thorough looking at next week. top right), Charley Harper (how have i only just found out about him?! bottom left), and Angie Lewin (top left) who i just love (ok i've had her book for while now but it's still delights me like it's the first time i've looked at it!). and i've recently discovered a mr Peter Donnelly (bottom right) who is just awesome.

i started drawing last year and have aimed to do a #doodle-a-day. this did not go quite according to plan. at all! i managed about 9 days and then it just belly flopped. so i'm not going to be quite so outrageous with my own demands this time, instead i will aim to just 'loosen up' first, get into it a bit and see where it leads me. but i have set ideas in my head that i really, really wanna do so i'll end up going in that direction regardless!

i've also been inspired by Jo Clark (left) and Flora Chang (right) who both use markers so need to get some of these bad boys involved too.

i've seen some of other peoples so called 'doodles' on facebook and twitter. let me tell you - they are not doodles...they are amazing! so it's given me an additional kick to get on with it again and stop being scared at not being able to draw what i want and for it to come out how i want it. it's all part of the growing process and who knows what happy accidents i may stumble upon.

here are a few of my 'doodles' from last session that i hope to expand on, in particular the amsterdam architecture. hopefully the more i do the more my style will develop and this will inspire some new amazing collection of designs!

ps - i have no idea where 'doodle monkey' came from, but i quite like him. he can stay.

January - round up

we're a 1/12 through the year already guys!!! say whaaaaatt?! please don't let this year fly by as quickly as  the last - there's so much i want to do and i need time!  january is normally a pretty 'meh' kinda month for most people i think, but for me this january was an exception...

* the first 2 weeks of the month were taken up with, oh what was it... i did a show, what was it called again...? oh yeah, Top Drawer! you've all heard me go on about it enough so i won't bore you again. here's the full round up if you fancy a gander...

* following the show there was a lot of following up all the leads. i made lots of contacts - some for now, some for the future and i'm very pleased to say i've had my first sales and will soon have my products in the shops - yippee!

* and with that yippee my designs are off to the printers to get more stock made up (...there's one for the credit card!!)

* also from the show i was invited to what could turned out to be a rather exciting meeting. i think i may be at too early a stage to really take advantage of the full project but i still got some top advice for my new business from some very lovely ladies. looking forward to seeing what comes from it...

* i'm part of the Textile Design Lab - a spin off from the fabulous Pattern Observer site run by Michelle Fifis. lots of workshops and tutorials to keep the brain occupied

* and just to top it off - shock-horror - i designed some stuff. i know right, i'd forgotten what that was too, but there it is ... Christmas 2014 range is all go! here's a teeny-tiny snippet...

* oh and one thing i'm quite pleased about is i've managed to stick a weekly blog post each Saturday for a whole month. well done me! i want to make this a definite thing which some regular features but also a few randomers thrown in for good measure...see you next Saturday!

what next? ummm...

now that Top Drawer is over ... i have no project. [sad face] i always have a project...this feels wrong, very wrong!  so i need to get some new projects started to make things normal again.  but i've had a quick think about what i hope to achieve this year and i've decide that:

"2014 will be the year of just going with it"

i've had a lot of great feedback from the show and lots of exciting leads to follow up. i've already had some orders through which is AWESOME and i'm so excited that i'll soon be seeing my products in shops! 

but even in these few days after i've realised i'm in a different position now and can't really plan quite like i'm used to. the past year was made up of getting a range done that was ultimately for use on products to get displayed at Top Drawer - lots of mini projects all leading to the same end result.

and now i've done that i have contacts and leads that could take me in a few directions. i can't (and don't want to) restrict myself with a tight knit plan. i'm not saying i was wrong to do that last year - i had to do that to make sure everything was ready for the show and i got the most out of it. which i truly think i did. but this year will be different! it'll be a lot of seeing what happens and just going with the flow. i have no idea what things may come from the show and i have an exciting meeting on monday which could spark something off! i'm not going to share just yet but don't worry - details will follow when i know more ... watch this space ...

i will of course be working on some new ranges - i've already started christmas, ridiculous i know! i have some ideas that have been bubbling around for a while that i'm itching to get working on ... i have my friends wedding invites to do (above was the motif for their 'save the dates') ... i have my next collection to complete for my 'secret project' ... so that's a few little things to keep me busy for the next couple of months ...

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 :)

it's finally here...the Big Plan is complete...

i can't believe it. it's here. it's tomorrow. pretty much one year in the making and in 3 days time...it'll be over.

that'll be weird, won't it.

this means The Big Plan has been completed. Top Drawer is here. you might have followed me throughout the year, and seen my journey from the very start - sourcing manufacturers, putting together collections, receiving the actual products, building a new website, starting the marketing campaign... all completed alongside various e-courses, a couple of holidays and a full time job.

the Big Plan

but there was lots of other stuff going on in the background too. i've been constantly updating social network sites, working on a licensing project, working out my trade and retail prices, getting my brochures together, organising press packs, sending out invites...it's been quite the project!

i'm not sure how many people realise but when you're setting up your own design business you aren't just a designer, you have many many hats to juggle...marketing, admin, saleswoman, accountant (i never thought i'd have to do maths again...it was horrible!!)

but it's all done now. 

and this is my official top drawer exhibitors page. very exciting!

set up went incredibly smoothly - awesome day! i had help from my wonderful assistant Liz (Elle Jane Designs) and all was complete in 6 hours. superb! 

very strange to see the hall in such chaos - boxes, wrapping, crates, tool boxes - carnage everywhere!

i popped along to see Jess Hogarth and Blooming Briony setting up their stands and excited to see there final set ups tomorrow.

i can't wait to start the show. i thought i'd be far more stressed than this if i'm honest but i'm actually quite relaxed...which is great!  here's to a fantastic show for us all!