Exciting News: Shop Opening Soon!

Over the past month or so I have been busy creating an online shop and now it is almost ready to launch! I have a beautiful selection of fine art prints just waiting to be sent off to new homes and soon an exclusive range of original paintings will be available too. After a few final tweaks to the design and layout, the shop will be opening its virtual doors next Monday, the 27th of July. Keep an eye on my Instagram where I will be sharing an exclusive discount code to celebrate!

Dulux Let's Colour Awards 2015

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the awards ceremony of the Dulux Let's Colour Awards 2015 at The Magazine Restaurant in Hyde Park. It's a fantastic venue, designed by Zaha Hadid, and the buildings sinuous white ceiling looked beautiful illuminated with coloured lights in honour of the event.

Image Source

Image Source

Somehow we managed to end up sat on the front row, in very distinguished company, and right in front of the podium where Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum was presenting the awards. Naturally, I was more than a little star struck and excited to see my own name and artwork popping up on the screen as a nominee in the Young Designer category. And the winners that evening were...

Best Use of Colour in Homes & Interiors - Raw Edges, The Lake Collection
Best Use of Colour in the Arts - Dan Tobin Smith, First Law of Kipple
Best Use of Colour in Fashion & Beauty - Psychedelic Clothesline
Colour Innovation in Technology & Design - Plastique Fantastique & Marco Barotti, Sound of Light
Best Use of Colour in Commercial Architecture & Buildings - Aberrant Architecture, Rosemary Works School
Contribution to Colour - Jonathan Saunders
Young Designer - Kit Miles
Colour Moment of the Year - Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

It was a really impressive line up of nominees and winners and I feel very grateful to count myself among them! Well done to everyone involved, it is so refreshing to see such a variety of different people and industries brought together by one common element, colour.

Further Reading:
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red
Laura Thomas Interior Design reviews the Awards
tssreviews at the Let's Colour Awards
Material Lab looks over the winners
Karen Haller on the ceremony and winners
The official list of winners from Dulux

Deyan Sudjic

Deyan Sudjic

Deyan Sudjic

Dulux Let's Colour Awards 2015

Recently, I found out that my degree collection "Panoramic Details" has been nominated for a Dulux Let's Colour Award! The awards are the ultimate celebration of colour, in all its shapes and forms across a range of industries and it is really inspiring and gratifying to be a part of it.

 "In every aspect of our lives, from the homes we live in to the clothes we wear, we’re surrounded by inventive, original and imaginative use of colour. Now in its third year, these awards are designed to recognise and praise the talent which make the world a brighter place through colour."

There are 8 categories in this years Let's Colour Awards including Colour Moment of The Year which will be decided by a public vote and Young Designer, the category in which I have been nominated. A prestigious panel of judges from the design world has been judging the awards and I feel a little star struck that they have been considering my work in such depth! See the judges here and watch the video below for an insight into the judging day.

Next week I will be going down to London for the awards ceremony. Last years event looked amazing, as you can see in the video above, and with such an impressive list of nominees and judges I'm sure I will come away feeling inspired. Wish me luck!!!

Further Reading:
See the full list of nominees and judges including my nomination
Read my interview in Dulux Let's Colour magazine
Watch videos from previous awards
Listen to Louise Tod and Katie Treggiden talk about the Young Designer nominees
Interesting article on colour from judge, Katie Treggiden of Confessions of a Design Geek
Colour moment of the year nominations from judge Karen Haller
The Independent celebrates the power of colour in Britain
See my colour inspiration on Pinterest

It's Been A While...

Despite my best intentions it's been seven months since my last post, and what a busy time it's been! So much has been happening in my little world that I haven't taken the time to write about all the changes that have been coming my way. However, being a natural archivist, I have been keeping a record of things over on Instagram and recently I have been going through my photos to reflect on the last few months.

I exhibited at the Dulux New Design Talent Show ; moved to Nottingham ; began a 6 month placement in the Romo & Black Edition Design Studios  ; explored my new neighbourhood ; visited Wollaton Hall ; tried new cafe's with friends and family ; settled into a routine at work and spent the weekends outside as much as possible ; avoided the crowds of Christmas shoppers; collected natural Christmas decorations ; appreciated the frosty mornings ; enjoyed movies and pizza with my friend Beth ; helped with the successful launch of several new Romo collections ; visited London to see Late Turner at Tate Britain ; ate tapas with the design team ; battled snow and public transport ; my boyfriend Joe moved to Nottingham to start a new job ; visited Birmingham ; appreciated lighter mornings and the start of Spring ; discovered Attenborough nature centre ; painted a wren for Mothers Day ; watched a solar eclipse ; finished my placement at Romo with a huge mix of emotions and was surprised with beautiful thoughtful gifts, homemade cheesecake and a chip shop lunch ; had my work featured in Dulux Let's Colour magazine ; caught up with my friend Alice at a new favourite restaurant ; went book shopping ; enjoyed a scenic Easter with my family in Wales.

And that, in a nutshell, is the highly abridged version of what I have been doing since my last post! Fingers crossed I won't leave it so long next time!

Misty Morning

I love the transitions of the the seasons and always get so excited when I feel the air and light begin to change. At the moment, the days are still hot, Summer is clinging on. But at night it is cold and a big yellow harvest moon hangs low in the sky. The early mornings feel crisp and fresh, promising Autumnal days ahead.
 

The other morning I woke up early and went for a walk across the fields near my house where the sky was hazy and bright with early morning mists. I love the way the light just catches the harvested fields, turning the stubble golden while the horizon seems monochrome. It was so quiet and peaceful, just me and the birds...

And this hot air balloon drifting above it all. I can't help but wonder about what the view was like up there, what a misty morning looks like from above. I imagine a patchwork of fields, houses and gardens, broken up by hedgerows and trees, and maybe little me wandering around with my camera.

The views were amazing, layer upon layer of trees gradually fading into the bright white misty sky...

As I walked back home (for tea and toast!) the mist was already beginning to lift and the day was getting hot, by lunchtime I probably could have been convinced that I'd dreamt up such an Autumnal walk in the early morning!

I can't wait for Autumn to really set in so I can wrap up in layers of knitwear, trample through the crunchy leaves, collecting conkers then back home for homemade soup and crusty bread, I do love Autumn!

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

A Little Update...

Things have been a little quiet around here lately as I have been attempting to navigate some big changes in my life. It's been almost two and a half months since New Designers and since then I have been focused on working out what I am going to do now that I am no longer a student. Having been in education since I was four, finishing university has been both exciting and terrifying. I am the sort of person who needs to have a plan and although I was ready to finish university I definitely felt more rootless than I expected and suddenly the world seemed much bigger and scarier than before.

Luckily for me I have been helped along the way by some of the lovely people I met at New Designers and it wasn't long before I felt like I had a purpose again and could start making plans for my next adventures. The biggest and most exciting change is a move to Nottingham to start a 6 month placement in the Romo & Black Edition design studio! After meeting Gillian Edwards from Romo at New Designers she invited me to their studio to show my portfolio to herself and Emily Mould, the design director. After the interview I was offered a 6 month placement, an opportunity which I am so excited about as I will be able to gain some hands on experience of the design industry and work within a company that I really admire. I will be starting in a couple of weeks and will be sure to keep you up to date on what I get up to.

At New Designers I also met Marianne Shillingford, the Creative Director of Dulux who seemed to really love my work, saying some very kind things about me on Twitter. I was so flattered by her interest, especially as my work is painted predominately in Dulux paint! After our first meeting Marianne has invited me to the New Designers Talent Show, where me and 13 other designers and artists will be able to meet Dulux Designers and members of the Dulux Colour and Design team and show them our work. At the moment I don't what (if anything) this event will lead to but I am looking forward to going along and meeting everyone involved. Here is a video about Dulux's previous talent show.

As well as all of this, on 1st September I graduated. It was a great day, very surreal but lovely to mark finishing university by getting dressed up with my friends and family.

Not everything has been "career focused" over the last couple of months! I have also been camping, had a weekend away in Glasgow, enjoyed being back in the countryside with lots of walks on the Chase, read a lot of books and caught up with my family. I have a lot of inspiration stored up and ready to share in a few new posts and will also post some updates on the Dulux Talent Show and my placement with Romo.

It's been a strange Summer, both busy and quiet at the same time but as Autumn begins I am ready to get into a new routine and enjoy being a graduate, working in the design industry.

New Designers 2014

It's the start of a big week for me as today I begin preparing to exhibit my work at New Designers in London. Since I found out that I had been chosen I've been busy getting ready, mainly preparing press material to give out at the show. Promoting myself and having the confidence to talk to other people about my work is something I struggle with, but I'm trying to push all the little worries and doubts to the back of my head and get on with enjoying this experience! It's been really satisfying to compile the press packs, each one feels like a little snapshot of my project.However, after carefully cutting sticking and folding each one by hand I do feel quite strange about just giving them away. Hopefully the visitors at New Designers will appreciate them and feel excited about my work, fingers crossed!

The finished press packs contain my CV, press release, a CD of images, postcard, brochure and business card. Come and see me at New Designers Part 1, Stand T20 if you would like to see more!

I also wanted to share these beautiful flowers I was given upon completing my degree. Sweet Williams and Peonies to brighten up my flat through the long days working on press packs! I have been sharing photos like all of these on Instagram and will probably be sharing more through the next week at New Designers. Please do come and say Hello if you're visiting!

More information about New Designers
Some amazing work by my fellow graduates!
More about my project on Artsthread

Next Steps: New Designers 2014

It's been a hectic few weeks but I am happy to say that I have now handed in my Final Major Project! Our show is up and ready to open on Monday 9th June, it will be a fantastic show with around 70 Textile Design graduates showcasing 4 months of hard work; I would thoroughly recommend visiting.

This week I received the exciting news that I have been chosen to exhibit my work at New Designers 2014! Only 17 graduates from our course are offered this opportunity and I was shocked and thrilled to be chosen from so many talented Textile Designers.

"New Designers is the UK's most important graduate design exhibition, full of innovation and fresh thinking. The show sees over 3,000 of the most talented, newly graduated designers from the UK's leading universities come together to exhibit in one spectacular venue - the Business Design Centre, London."

So, in around two weeks I will be packing up my giant paintings and taking them to London! My work will be exhibited along with other BCU Textile Design Graduates on Stand T20, in Part One of the show. I hope to see you there!!

More information about visiting BIAD Graduate Shows and New Designers 2014, Part One.