Tree Towels

I was just having a browse around the Finders Keepers blog and saw these little 
gems amongst their top picks for textiles... tree towels! Cute, don't you think?





They are by London-based graphic design duo, Pui Lee and Gemma Stanton, 
who produce goodies like these under the label Our Workshop. They have a 
graphic design business under the same label called Our Work and then a retail 
outlet called Our Shop.





Profits from their shop are put back into product development, which they call 
"a continual labour of love".





Well, I love them :)





They have many fab things in their shop... 
but the tree towels, you can find them here.

Just thinking...

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... about map themed bedrooms for children...

... with a shameless plug... ;)

Wouldn't Cath's new cushion be perfect? Find it here.

My Creative Space - Meterage

I'm playing along with Kirsty's My Creative Space meme today. Visit Kootoyoo to join in or to see other spaces.

Experimenting with meterage and wanting to try something simple and graphic; something suitable for lining perhaps. This is from a block I carved a couple of weeks ago now. 

Originally, I wanted it to go with my other block - something to make it a bit more interesting, less twee... but now I'm thinking it stands alone pretty well :) 

Of course, I couldn't resist trying it with that other block (I don't really like it I have to admit!). My Big Girl calls it the 'Bunny Ears' design. 

Hope it's a good day for everyone. Don't forget I'm having a collar giveaway!

New Design Bag

It was always destined to be a bag I suppose.

I like how the black + white stripes contrast with the pattern, but I am now questioning my choice of fabric for the lining... it has a bit too much of a 'boudoir' suggestion I think ;)

Can you tell I watched Marie Antoinette last night?

New Design

So, the first design element to come out of my doodling... I love how different it looks to the original drawing... the unexpected effects of different mediums :) 

The background block in citrus was a result of my wanting something to counteract the floral nature of the top design... and just because I love lines, of course. Note to self: make sure they line up next time ;)

As much as I like the lines I really wanted to develop the design, to make it 'fuller' or something... but I haven't been able to bring myself to covering them all just yet ;)

What do you think... edgy enough or just a bit too twee and chintzy...?

Architectural T-shirts

This is not new (I think it hit the blog world last year), but it's new to me and I am swooning :) I'm loving the architectural constructions in these t-shirts. The T-shirt Issue was the brainchild of Mashallah Design and Linda Kostowski, who digitally scanned three people and combined this data with a digital twin of the body that reflected a particular thought or memory. (Sounds quite incredible - don't ask me about the validity of this technology!)


Anyway... apparently the 3D data from the scans was translated into a 2D sewing pattern and pieced together using sweatshirt jersey to form the embodiment of these memories into a garment especially for them... wanting to be raised by wolves... the air in one's bathers... and memories of a special encounter.


You can find out more by visiting Mashallah Design or The T-Shirt Issue websites.


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Ceramic lace + organic skirts

I've just received some yummy crafty post :) I'm a hopeless case when it comes to resisting a beautiful brooch. These lovelies are the latest creations of talented ceramicist Kim Wallace here in Brisbane. Had to have them and how could I possibly choose between them? Kim is also the driving force behind the creative e-shop Udessi... have a stroll around and see all the fabulous goodies she has on offer.

I had coffee with the lovely Mady yesterday and she hand-delivered one of her divine pieces... I'm totally in love with this skirt :) Mady creates these pieces from organic cottons and hemp which she dyes herself. You can see her shop here and she has two fabulous blogs, Abundance and Mady Dooijes, as well as a gorgeous Tumblr site.

Inspiration: Lucienne Day

It's been quite an active week for me. I've been chasing designs in my mind with screenprinting and with silversmithing... I haven't been able to plan them on paper, they seem to just flitter away whenever I try. So I've been working these ideas like a collage, taking parts and playing with them until I see what I want. In this process I realised the strongest design aesthetic that seems to inform my choices is the ever-inspiring Lucienne Day. I've posted before about her appearance in my subconscious ;) Thankfully, this time, the pieces I've been working on don't stray into that questionable grey area of inspiration verses appropriation.... Anyway, an inspirational feast of Day... what I've been working on can wait until tomorrow :)

Click on the above images to see the stunning detail in her designs - they're 'hi res' and enlarge beautifully :) For more information on Lucienne Day, who passed away in January this year, there is an excellent biography on the website of the UK Design Museum. Also worth mentioning that digital reprints of her fabrics can be purchased these days.

Textiles: Orla Kiely

I was going to leave the textiles thing alone now but there are a couple more that do deserve a mention I think. Firstly, Orla Kiely... can you think of a better example of someone who was in the right place at the right time? Somehow she has come to embody the universal love affair with funky retro. Her designs grace seemingly everything from fashion to homewares and furniture to luggage. Good on her, I say. Love her designs and her spirit in providing us all with so much beauty :) Visit her website here.

Textiles: Becky Earley

And so we come to one of my all-time favourite textile designers... time to worship at the altar of the incredible Becky Earley. I first discovered Becky's work when I became interested in fabric cyanotype printing also known as photograms where you use the sunlight to print indigo blue images on fabric or paper. It totally captivated me and I intend to spend time this year creating photogram fabric designs. The amazing Earley is my inspiration.

Just about every article you read about Becky Earley cites that she's "not as famous as she ought to be". She's had thousands of photographs of her work in major fashion magazines and yet very few people have heard of her. Currently the Associate Director of the Textile Futures Research Group at the Chelsea College of Art and Design, she is a pioneering innovator in a myriad of new fabric technology and, more recently, is forging fresh directions for old and recycled fibres. She is a complete legend.

Below is an image of a Becky Earley "Pins" photogram piece worn by Bjork.

Earley has been lauded for her commitment to sustainable textiles. She was one of the first designers to print onto light-absorbing fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, and she broke fresh ground by developing eco-friendly printing processes and even came up with a new paradigm of garment recycling. Her latest group venture, Ever and Again, was an exhibition on experimental recycled textiles last year.

Visit her amazing website to see more.

Textiles: Clare Tough

Apologies for the late posting today... not sure if there's been a big April Fool's joke on the internet but ours has been down all morning. So, the next installment in Textiles Week... constructed textiles and in particular the amazing work of Clare Tough...

British designer Clare Tough was a knitting superstar even before she finished her MA degree at Central Saint Martin's College of Art & Design, London, in 2004. Her reputation as a visionary in constructed textiles has only grown since then with her keenly juxtaposed combinations of oversized, extravagant shapes and streamlined, thought-provoking details in her silhouettes. Her winning combination of traditional techniques used in a modern application provide at once the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of the new. I guess this is all a very formal way of saying that she's an experimenter and a bit of an outlaw and I love that :) I wish I could post all the images I found of her concoctions - yarn mixed with silver thread, metal chains, divinely-edgy embroidery.

"For me, knitwear gets interesting when you find something unusual in it. The contrast of a soft structure and a piece of metal is unexpected, so it's fun to wear." (Clare Tough)

What I love most about her work is that her textiles are the outfits... the construction of the textile is integral to the construction of the design of the clothes. That's more than just a bit cool I think :) Find out more about this innovative textile designer at her website here.