in the shops 2

......and here they are, rocking horse prints in my etsy and online shops now.

These are hand screen-printed by me onto lovely thick 285g italian paper using vibrant water based inks.

rock on

It's the second weekend of open studio and I found time this week between drawing lions and designing puddings to make a new screen inspired by my mid-century rocking horse. This one is a little more plump and is sporting a fine Welsh blanket. I will see how it goes over this weekend it should appear in my shop next week.

We are open today from 11am to 6pm details on the Open House website we are number 157 on the venue map.

russia with love

On the subject of Russia, I found this poster in a Charity shop in Brixton. I think it's for a puppet theatre.  So I now have a picture hanging dilemma. The lovely green three tree print is by Guusje from Guusje's Appaltaart, I really love her work. We did a print swap a while ago but I haven't found a home for it yet. Her latest tree print over on her blog today is really nice.

amateur photographer

I've been trying to photograph some products for publicity and price lists - it's not easy getting the colours right. I am blaming it on the camera and gloomy weather conditions but really I think its just me. After a fair amount of Photoshopping this one is not bad. The yellow forsythia is from the garden - the first flowers of spring always a welcome sight, and the life size white china pigeon was from the charity shop - he's lovely!

monoprix update

I didn't have a moment over the holidays to report back on the Monoprix story.  I had a fairly quick response from the Director of Homewares. They recognised the 'similarities' in the design, and told me that the product was purchased from one of their suppliers in India and they were going to question them about its origin. In the meantime they promised to withdraw the product from their shelves, which I hope they did. A later email informed me that they had had no explanation from their supplier, I wonder how hard they tried?
I don't think there is much more I can do, although I did point out to them that it is the retailers responsibility to make sure that the designs they purchase are originals and their suppliers are honest. Also, why not commission original designs from real designers? A quick look on the internet shows an overwhelming amount of creative talent out there. But of course that's exactly what the unscrupulous producers in India and elsewhere are doing - we must all beware.

Now - here are some originals! I have just put these daisybird screen prints into my etsy shop on sale at $30. The little ceramic bird belongs to my sister - I wish it was mine!

a good day for drying

I love it when it's sunny enough to dry my prints on the line. Mermaids, pirates, birds and origami patterns for Kids.Modern.  All rather last minute as always!