bexhill on sea

On Saturday I escaped London and spent the day in Bexhill on Sea with my daughter who was researching for an A level photography project. We visited the splendid modernist De La Warr Pavilion with it's amazing staircase, ate fish and chips in a cafe with ice cream coloured anaglypta wallpaper, and crunched along the beach photographing whatever the tide had left behind; including the rather sad stuffed elephant. 

seaside palette

I picked up this painting of a Scottish harbour scene at the boot sale along with some old wooden cotton reels. The little bit of red in the seaside colour palette was just what I needed for my mermaid print. The print is in my Etsy shop now and  in my web shop later this week.

work in progress

I have been printing a new design today, this was inspired by some vintage fabric that I made into cushions. They were very popular and soon sold out, so this is my version.  I am still choosing colours, can't help being drawn to the bold and bright, I like them vibrant! 

These are printed onto unbleached linen but I am also going to print onto natural linen, they should be in my shop soon.

inspirational book

I have to admit I didn't know much about American print maker David Weidman. I had seen some of his work in a print gallery in Colombia Road and loved it so I ordered this book. It arrived this week and I am smitten. A glorious catalogue of his colour saturated screen prints and pop posters from the fifties and sixties. I am now saving to buy a print of my own.

loud storage jars

This week I found a new charity shop, this counts as great excitement in my life! For £1.00 each I found some storage jars that shout at me every time I go in to the kitchen, a more polite teapot all the way from Paris and a little ceramic bird to go with one I already have - how sweet!

the nautical look is back!

Finally some new designs! This well dressed mermaid is the first of a few that I have been working on. These cushions are printed onto natural or unbleached white linen. They are for sale in my Etsy shop for now, updating my website is more complicated! I'll also be making this into a 400x500mm print.

colour palette

I have been looking around the house and putting together colour combinations for some new designs. These colours are inspiring me at the moment. Aqua blue and sand, fresh and a bit seaside. The Penguin poetry books are the start of yet another collection, first published in the 50s they all have their own lovely pattern on the cover. The bird book was the first vintage book I ever bought, way back when I was a student, it's a King Penguin, I have a lot more now! 

frosty day

In reply to my earlier question about spring, the answer is no - it's back to snow and icy mornings. This frosty little collection was sitting on the table at our allotment, I took it with my phone as my usual camera is being repaired after somebody (not me) sat on it. I'm picking it up today so I will be able to catch up on posts and pictures of bits of junk and other finds!

Lucienne Day 1917-2010

Lucienne Day who sadly died on 30th January was my textile design heroine, she paved the way for women in the design industry and her outstanding designs based on abstractions of natural forms still influence and inspire.

One of my earliest textile memories is the Ducatoon fabric bought by my mum from Heals in the sixties and made into curtains that travelled with us from house to house. She never did get round to finishing them and I remember the rusty old pins that held up the hem. The cushions, sitting where they belong - on my Ercol sofa, are made from a short length of Rock Rose fabric I found in a flea market a few years ago - beautiful. 

more daisys

This time the real thing, bravely poking it's head through our mossy lawn. Does this mean it's spring?!

roddy&ginger down under

I am putting together a small selection of prints and textiles for my first wholesale order from Australia! These are heading for Nest Studio in Adelaide run by Carly Schwerdt and will sit alongside her brilliant range of textile designs - I am feeling a bit proud! 

book love

I picked up this huge book about the life and work of Arne Jacobsen in the charity shop. Makes me wonder why someone wanted to get rid of such a fantastic book. Anyway, lucky me, it's full of all the things I love - Scandinavian design, mid-century architecture, chairs and these lovely designs for fabrics and wallpapers that he created in the 50s.