The Challenge Cup Challenge...

Having been 'brought up' on Rugby (League and Union) since I was a nipper, I thought I would challenge myself to create a new pattern for this weekend's Challenge Cup Final.

My home town - Warrington - are in the final of the Challenge Cup. A feat which, when I was little, was near-on impossible!!

However, since the whole super league thing, and changing from The Wire, to Warrington Wolves, they seem to keep winning stuff, if it's not the League Leaders Shield, it's the Challenge Cup - so here's hoping they can win it again!

(Although, after last weeks performance against London Broncos I'm slightly worried!! But we wont go into that!!)

I wanted to create a pattern which reflect the proud and celebratory atmosphere that's in the town at the minute - even the town hall has a Warrington Wolves Flag flying...

Anyway, even if you haven't a clue what I'm on about, I hope you like the new pattern. It's totally out of my comfort zone (i.e. it's not the seaside or camper vans!!), plus the colours aren't my usual palette of subdued blues and greys - but that's because the colours of Warrington are Primrose and Blue :)

Just...

So, the Olympics has been and gone :(

The only cure for it, is to doodle some more!! So I've started a very basic collection called "Just..." It does what it says on the tin and over the next few weeks I'll be doodling many patterns. The first couple in the collection are Just...Hearts and Just...Starfish.

I know, more seaside symbols - who doesn't love the seaside though!!!

Just...Hearts

Just...Starfish

Circles in the sand....

A recent brief I worked on, was to use Circles and only 8 colours.

Circles are a doodle favourite of mine - no sharp corners and very doodle-able.

As for choosing the colours I always head over to Design Seeds to pick a palette of colours - in particular colours of the ocean, shells, and the seaside...

Colouring-in-cake

So, a while ago I designed a wallpaper pattern, which came runner up in the Ideal Home Show Wallpaper of the Year Competition.
Here's me on stage talking to the lovely Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen.....

I didn't think anymore of it, until someone pointed out to me that they'd love that wallpaper in their kitchen!! This got me thinking and looking at what is out there at the minute. The idea behind my wallpaper was that kids could colour it in (and it's wipeable!!).

Who would have such crazy wallpaper - turns out no one has, but I really thought this kind of idea would go soooooooooo perfectly with the patterns that you find at Ikea (also one of my favourite shops!!)














So, I got a pic of an Ikea-like kitchen and super-imposed my wallpaper on it.....

What do you reckon?!? Would you have Colouring-in-cake wallpaper?????

And if you know who chooses the patterns that Ikea use, do you think they would use it?????

All this talk of cake is making me hungry.........

Doodle Exhibition

This week is a lot about the Warrington Collegiate Annual Exhibition at The Gallery at Bank Quay, so rather than creating some new patterns this week, I've mostly been printing, gluing, sticking, tiling, sewing new exhibition pieces, using some of the patterns I've been creating over the past few months - here's a sneaky peek at some of the tiles I've done, with my beloved Campervans on....

All I need now are frames for everything - which I intended getting at the weekend, from Ikea. But, as those of you that live near Warrington Ikea will know - getting anywhere near Ikea has proved a tad difficult!!!

So here's hoping I can get there today!! I love Ikea frames - they're not too fussy, and let the artwork do the talking!!

So if you want to get yourselves down to the Warrington Collegiate Annual Exhibition - the opening night is 12th July 6pm - 8pm and then it's there until 24th September (when it will then be getting ready for the Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival - but that's a whole other blog post!)

The Lighthouse Keeper

As a lover of all things by the seaside, these patterns are inspired by Lighthouses. The remoteness of Lighthouses fascinates me, not to mention their 360 degree view of the ocean, and the collection of seagulls that seem to hang out around Lighthouses !

Along with Beach Huts I do have a bit of an obsession with Lighthouses, and would love to live in one. If anyone knows of a Lighthouse that's for sale, with the option to be converted in to a house please let me know! Although it might be a bit of a walk/swim to the nearest local pub!

New Adventure

I am sooooooo excited, I can now reveal that I'm working in collaboration with the fantastic Believe Creative Studio and as if that wasn't enough...... this collaboration means that my patterns will be winging there way to Paris, as Believe CS are going to Indigo Paris (the place to go for surface patterns and designs) Believe Creative Studio will be on Stand U49 in Hall 5.

Needless to say I'm more than excited to be working towards this amazing opportunity.......