Last year we went to Vanguard Bristol Street Art Exhibition, which was really interesting.. it’s not all just Banksy you know! While we were there we saw a beautiful painting by Inkie, I loved it so much and was pleased to see that they were selling limited edition prints. I bought one for my husband, we have finally got it framed, and I love it! I see it every time I leave my workspace
The pink chair
I got this chair for free last year (on probably the hottest day ever!) and it was sat in the garage until we moved. I was told it was a 1930’s dutch chair, which I think must be accurate as my Grandpa found some dutch guilders in the chair. It was quite sunk and missing a leg, so again I set my wonderful Grandpa on the task of re-upholstering it! And it wasn’t an easy job by any means! The fabric I bought didn’t have much give in it despite it being sold as upholstery velvet, but the biggest challenge was the frame. As the frame is metal and not wood, it meant a lot of hand stitching as the fabric couldn’t be stapled like it normally would. We are really happy with how it turned out and it adds a lovely pop of pink to the bedroom! I have 2 more victorian nursing chairs to be re-upholstered but after the challenge of this chair I think I will give my Grandpa a little break for a while.
Another cupboard transformation
Onto the next cupboard transformation! I found this cupboard on facebook market place but it wasn’t quite right it had 1 shelf and no doors. I originally painted it the same colour as the bedroom walls but it looked neither here nor there so I decided to paint it dark to match the wardrobe. My Grandpa made me some shelves and some doors and I found these lovely peacock handles to set it off!
The cupboard of wonder (A.K.A The world's most extra portfolio)
So a year ago when we were trying to buy another house in Gloucester I spotted this cupboard on Facebook Market Place and decided it would be a perfect upcycling project for the new house. It started off rather cheap at only £60 but by the time I had hired a van and finished it it worked out a lot more! None the less I love it now it’s finished!
It sat in our garage for the good part of a year and then when we finally got moved (to an entirely different house) it turns out it didn’t fit anywhere. So I had to go back to the drawing board, I wasn’t prepared to get rid of it after all the hassle of moving it in the first place! My Grandpa cut a section out of it and shortened it as well as put shelving in it, this meant I could put it in my new workspace and use it as storage for my many products I have designed and accumulated over the years working for WH Smith. Once it had been shortened I actually felt it looked a lot nicer and more natural like that..
I found a pot of paint in a cellar from our front door and loved the colour so had another pot made up and set to work in the garden painting it. It took quite a while by the time I had ended up doing all the doors and shelves. But then the next problem came… getting it into the attic room! We got it up the first set of stairs fine but the next set are pretty tight and steep, as much as we tried (and scraped paint off it) we just couldn’t get it to go so ended up dismantling it again! I never thought I would actually see the day it made it to my room! I am so pleased with how it turned out despite all the effort it makes for the most extra portfolio for all my product designs!
Also how gorgeous are these little handles I got from Sass and Belle!
The next project is a chest/trunk which I managed to get free from Facebook Market Place, this one requires paint stripper!
And the upcycling begins!
We have recently bought our own house in Nottingham. As sad as I was to leave Bristol I absolutely love the house (and Nottingham for that matter!), the house prices in Bristol are absolutely crazy and there was no way we could have gotten our dream victorian town house there. Being our first house, the idea of decorating is pretty daunting! I have already changed my mind a million times and find choosing colours especially hard as I love every colour! Designing a house is certainly a different kettle of fish to designing stationery!
So to start with I thought I had best start small… with a set of mini drawers! I have had these ikea drawers since I was around 10 and they have already had a few paint jobs! My work space is in the attic and I have decided to go for a pastel ice cream theme… basically my 9 year old self’s dream room. I originally wanted gold heart handles but seeing these little red heart ceramic ones I actually really loved the red/pink colour combo. I am in the process of finishing a cupboard too which I will post when it’s done. I got a free chest the other day which will be next on the agenda. Then I will have to be brave and start painting the walls!
WH Smith Fashion and gifting stationery
Here are a few of the ranges that I have worked on this year for WH Smith
(The photos are from WH Smith and Whitcoull_nz’s instagram)
The Lexington collection is a brand new gifting range for 2021
Moderno Woman everyday refresh for 2021
Moderno Woman 2020 gifting range saw the addition of silver to compliment the gold
Day dream back to school collection 2021. I worked closely art directing Marissa Kingsbury from Peagreen who illustrated these patterns, and then I designed the collection
Sparkle Pop - this is from back to school 2020, but I thought it would be nice to show some of the refreshed products for this collection - including this crazy rainbow haired unicorn pencil case!
God's own junkyard
A neon wonderland!
I have been meaning to visit this museum/gallery/dreamland for a while now and it certainly didn’t disappoint! The collection of neon art is utterly incredible! Chris Bracey - the neon man has been making these incredible pieces of art for over 30 years for the likes of David La Chapelle (another artist I love) and Martin Creed to name a few. As well as new and used signs, salvaged signs, reclaimed neon signs, there are old movie props and retro displays. The art has been made from found objects, retrieved and renewed waste lights. The collection includes fairground (looking for a real carousel horse if anyone knows of any!) and circus lights as well as architectural salvaged signs. The museum is now ran by his son Matthew Bracey and is one of the most incredible sights to behold! Many of the signs in themselves are pure poetry in the quotes and wording they contain.
I have an urge to fill my house with neon signs now! They do workshops there as well so that will be on my list of things to do now. The museum would also make a fantastic cocktail bar!
Wreath Making
Back in November a friend of mine arranged for a group of us to go wreath making at the Town Gardens in Swindon. I have never made a wreath before and had the horrible feeling it would end up looking like a bird’s nest but I was pleasantly surprised! It was far easier than I thought, once the moss had all been packed in it came together quite nicely. I have heard that using oasis to make the wreaths is easier but this seemed ok! Of course my wreath needed a big red glitter ribbon and also pops of colour with the clementines and berries! Might even make another next year!
OMY Poster
This is a poster I was asked to do for One Mindful Yoga (I designed their initial branding a few years back now). It was quite nice to work on something different that is a bit more graphic design based as the majority of my work these days is product (which don’t get me wrong I love!) but it made a nice change.
The Cabinet of Curiosities
It’s been a long time since I have updated the blog so I thought I would start with The Cabinet of Curiosities in Haworth, West Yorkshire. We visited the shop back in august and all I can say is what a dreamy shop!
It has been restored to look like a victorian apothecary with cabinets and units that have been salvaged from grocery shops, chemists and museums. The apothecary drawers and bell jars offset all the handmade cosmetics perfectly. From the gold stars on the ceiling to the antiques and chandeliers the shop is my dream place. The whole concept is amazing and is a job I would love to do or have created the concept! I love anything that is a bit mystical/magical/macabre and victorian. Definitely worth a visit - I didn’t see it at Halloween but the decor looked something else when I saw the images on Instagram.
(I got extremely carried away and ended up spending a small fortune. I mean seriously I bought bath salts - I don’t even have a bath!)
Some of my purchases (even the tissue wrapping paper is beautiful)
Enamel Pin Badges
As part this year’s Christmas Gifting Range for WH Smith I designed these adorable little unicorn enamel pins! I want to pin them to all my clothes now!
Sparkle Pop best friend keyrings
In this years back to school I got to design some cute best friend keyrings for the Sparkle Pop range. I thought I would share the packaging, which has a cute best friends recipe on the back!
Sparkle Pop Magical Activity book
I have just bought the new magical sparkle pop activity book that’s recently launched for back to school. This was a favourite product to work on as it required so much detail. From the little stickers, to the 30+ colouring pages and the puzzle pages. I thought I would share some of the internals below!
Alcohol Ink Painting
I have also been practicing with alcohol ink painting, which is not as easy as it looks! At the moment I am using Yupo paper, which is a non porous paper with a smooth plastic like finish. Once I get the hang of it a bit more I hope to use the technique with resin to create coasters and other things.
Miso and Noffi have got merch!
Having finished my two books on Miso and Noffi, I saw that a friend of mine was making customised patches, so I asked her to make me one of each of the cats. I think they look adorable! Now I need to find a place to put them! Check out her work BoopStitches on Etsy
Miso and Noffi
Whilst being off work on furlough, I was finally able to start a project I have been meaning to do for a long time. I have created two 20 page books for my nephews Maddox and Jaxon based on my two cats. Their personalities are true, but I really hope they don’t take the scooter whilst we are at work!
I am about to begin the third book, in which they go to the hairdressers. This was inspired by an upcoming trip to the groomers for Miso, I really hope what happens in the story dosen’t play out in real life! I will keep you posted!
There are more imagines in my portfolio, but here are a few of the printed books.
Not sure if Miso is impressed or not being exploited like this!
Noffi on the other hand is a little more intrigued!
Other little bits
Last year I worked on some mid year diaries for WH Smith which are now in store! The glitter unicorn one is one of my favourites!
Picture via WHSmithofficial on Instagram
A few Moderno Woman bits
The Mothers Day card that I made for my Mum
A little plaque I made for my friend when she started her new job
Maitre Choux
When in London we came across a tiny shop selling all of these beautiful eclairs in Kensington. They tasted as good as they looked!
Pimp your Prosecco Bar!
One of our friends at work was leaving so a few of us decided to do her a 'Pimp your Prosecco' bar at her house. It was pretty much a party in a bag which we had about 15 minutes to throw together! Safe to say she loved it! I even made some glitter unicorn vodka jelly shots too!
Sketch London
In March we went to Sketch restaurant in London and I can honestly say its like no where I have ever been before! It is such a visual and creative restaurant. To start with we had cocktails in the enchanted forest themed room, followed by dinner in the pink room. The toilets were all pod/egg shaped with a very colourful glass ceiling. There were other areas too that we didn't go into, I would definitely recommend the experience!
