My work
I’ve always had a passion for anything creative, hence my day job (interior designer!) But my creative world doesn’t stop at work, wherever I am there’s always a pen/pencil/paintbrush at hand whether I am doodling the person sat opposite me on the underground, scribbling ideas for the next illustration or bringing my familiar characters to life ready for another card and occasion. Below is the result of what I do in my most creative moments (with only a few injuries along the way).
Cards
Anyone who knows me will tell you I have a bit of an obsession with cards, but then again so does my mum – it must be hereditary!
A card can make a smile appear, a tear trickle, or a laugh escape and that’s why I started making them to give to friends and family for any and every occasion.
The rest, as they say, is history…
My cards are available to buy on Folksy, with more being uploaded on a regular basis, so please help make someone smile whilst helping creatives who are still making cards by hand!
Weddings
After my own ‘whirlwind’ engagement resulting in my very handmade and local wedding in Yorkshire in July 2011 I have got the bug to continue with creating something special and personal for happy couples. Here are some examples of the handmade appearances at our own wedding, resulting from many an evening, lunchtime and weekend being spent creating and making in every spare second. I wouldn’t change anything about our special day but in the process learnt a lot to make things easier for handmade weddings in the future. Watch this space for my next wedding related challenge coming soon…
Surface Pattern Design
I’ve always had a love for sketching, doodling and illustrating and never go anywhere without my sketchbook, but it wasn’t until recently and the discovery of MOYO magazine (dedicated to surface pattern design) that I thought this is something I’m going to try. I’ve never been taught how to create a tiled repeat pattern or where to start with surface pattern design, all I have to go on is inspiration from designs I like and my style from the various illustrations and sketchbooks I’ve filled over the years. So, here is the start of my journey, and who knows where it may lead!
Illustration
I started illustrating in April 2009 when I entered the Picture This competition after being made redundant and it was the moment that got me hooked on illustration and motivated me to keep the creative juices flowing and not give up on my passion for all things arty. The ideas were there to start with but unfortunately the technical knowledge and experience didn’t quite match, but never one to turn down a challenge and thanks to the support of friends, family and the Illustrapedia community I am constantly improving, and hope to continue doing so!
Clothing
Following on from the fun I’ve had so far with my cards I decided to scale up some of my designs and add them to t-shirts, and baby grows which seemed like a natural step for using my illustrations. This combined with my love of fabric and sewing also led me on to thinking about children’s and and baby clothes and my latest challenge is making baby booties with the start of my first range now in my online shops. Watch this space for further creative challenges this year to increase the types of clothing and accessories for children including hats, bibs and blankets…
Art
Art was always my favourite subject at school, with a particular interest in textiles – I love sketching with the sewing machine despite getting the needle stuck through my finger in my GCSE art exam – but I never really made the most of my passion for painting until I broke my hip and was bed ridden for several months with only an easel and canvas from my dear friend Vicks for company during the day – and along with my sketchbooks became a record of many moments of frustration, daydreaming and insanity!
Interior Design
Since graduating from Nottingham Trent University with a BA (Hons) Interior Archtiecture and Design degree I have specialised in reatail designr in London and Manchester, with clients including JD Sports, Fred Perry and Oskar. Unfortunately because most of my work is owned by the companies I have worked for I can’t put much on the site, but here are a few personal projects.
Please keep falling by as there will be more coming soon!