Friday 27 February 2015

Things that made me happy in February...

Here's a bit of February happiness...
Listens, feasts, shares, wants and more!


Listened to...
Caro Emerald - Jack Savoretti - George Ezra - Jessie Ware
Begin Again soundtrack (Lost stars - Adam Levine)
Texas 25 - Blur

Feasted on...
these orange ginger salmon packets
this curried sweet potato bowl
this sausage and kale gnocchi bake
(lots of new recipes this month, yum!)

Discovered...
XHIT fitness videos
Maddinka blog

Loving...
the new collection in Paperchase, as featured on print & pattern blog (a little Paper & Cloth special!)
this London High Tea kids party...wow
the colours!

Buying...
another plaid blanket scarf (obsessed)
the best mascara EVER!
lots of lilacy, and soft cornflower blue basic tees..this being one of them
(spring is just around the corner...well at least my wardrobe thinks so)
new pens for doodling
(ooh its like the excitement of a new term at school all over again)

Wanting...
pixi glow tonic
this lovely coat
a second Olivia Burton watch

Sharing...
this definitive guide to healthy eating found on a house in the hills blog
this beautiful artwork by Anna Bond aka Rifle Paper Co. celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Crushing on...
the colours in these artworks by Katy Smail

Watching...
Begin Again (soooo good) 
The Amazing Spiderman 2 (the boys choice, but not too bad to be totally honest)
Sex Tape (don't bother) 
Pretty Little Liars (the guilty pleasure continues...)

Following...
this instagram account
(probably the most beautiful feed you will ever see)
this pinterest user
(pastel heaven)

Inspired by...
all this loveliness

Admiring...
the work of Angela Smyth

Laughing...
at this...tooo funny

Baking...
this caramel banana upside down cake
(too good for words!)

Wearing...
my new plaid blanket scarf

Enjoying...
pop sugar fitness videos

Favourite things that happened...
a beautiful wedding and time with wonderful friends

So, that was a round up of my month,
how was yours?


x x x
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Wednesday 25 February 2015

Etsy shop find...a chat with Eloise Renouf

I'm really excited to share the very beautiful work of Eloise Renouf with you today.
I'm sure you're familiar with her work, and her distinctive style, but maybe you don't know an awful lot about Eloise?
Well, I'm here to solve that problem!
Grab a cuppa and settle down for a few minutes and read all about this very talented lady...


1. Can you tell us a bit about you and your background...
I did a degree in Printed Textiles at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was lucky enough to be "spotted" by a studio when I exhibited at New Designers. 
So I went straight from university to a job in London working for the Timney Fowler Design Studio. 
It was very creative and I learnt an awful lot in a very short space of time about the "real world" of art and design. 
After two years there, some of my colleagues and I talked about the idea of going to New York to work. 
I loved the notion, so booked a weeks holiday, put together a portfolio and went! 
I made appointments with studios, showed them my work, and one of them offered me a job.

I lived and worked in Manhattan for a year, designing prints for fashion. 
Undoubtedly one of the best years of my life. 
This was followed by six months in Toronto, Canada, where I lived with my then boyfriend (now long-term partner) and freelanced for a New York studio. 
We decided we wanted to live back in the UK, so moved to London, where I took more freelance work before eventually deciding that I wanted to have my own business. 
At the time I was very interested in stationery and, unlike today, the ranges available weren't terribly interesting. 
So my partner and I started to design and publish our own greeting cards as Eloise R Designs. 
It took a while to get going, but at the peak of our business we were distributing cards to the US and Canada, Australia, and many European countries, as well as supplying UK stores such as John Lewis, Liberty, Heals, Fortnum and Mason and Fenwicks. 
We did this for about eight years, but eventually lost interest; the market became a lot more competitive, and a growing family was demanding too much of our time.

I took a career break for a couple of years to reassess. 
Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do, I opened an Etsy shop just to experiment with work, and have an audience for the things I had started to create. 
I began selling limited edition prints in November 2010. 
My work began to sell, and I was also approached by a number of companies who were interested in commissioning me to create work for them, which wasn't something I had anticipated. 
A little over four years later, I am still producing my own artwork, and also spend a good chunk of my time designing for other people. 


2. What books/ magazines are currently on your coffee table?A new Lucienne Day book by Andrew Casey, Print and Pattern Geometrics, and there will be the latest edition of Uppercase magazine 
(once the local stockist has received it's copies!).


3. Who is your design hero and what keeps you inspired?It's rather a cliche to say it these days, but it has to be Lucienne Day. 
Her work is immensely satisfying - commercial yet edgy. 
I've yet to find an example of it that I don't like. 
What keeps me inspired is seeing so much creative work out there, and wanting to contribute! 
I draw and paint because I love it and need to do it for my happiness. 
I get grumpy if I don't have a creative outlet.


4. Tell us about a typical day for you...

A typical day for me is a big juggling act as I have three young boys, and one who is still at home during the day. 
My partner and I split the childcare, so I usually have three days that are "mine" to work. Early mornings are taken up with school preparations, and then once the big boys are off, I usually start with some desk work; answering emails, doing admin, and packing orders ready for the post office. 
The rest of the morning and afternoon depends greatly on what I have on. 
It may be commission work, it may be designing for myself, it may be photographing and listing items in my shop. 
No two days are the same. 
I usually stop work at about five to have some family time, and then start again at about eight in the evening. 
A lot of my work is done at night, partly to cope with the volume, but also because it is free of interruptions!


5. Can you give us an insight into your creative process?Everything I do starts with drawings, or mark-making, or painting. 
I may have a theme in mind, for example trees, which is one of my favourites. 
I then start drawing and painting lots of different versions, using lots of different media to see what happens. 
For every few that I like, I'll reject a whole stack. 
I then scan my images and play around on my Mac. 
Sometimes a design will come together very quickly, other times I have to go away and come back. I tend to work in cycles. 
If I do a lot of computer work, I always find I crave doing some hands-on painting or collage. 
After a spell of doing that, I feel drawn back to the computer.


6. How would you describe your style?

I guess it's a mix between mid century and contemporary styles. It's usually quite colourful, and largely based on pattern and mark-making. 


7. Any big plans for 2015 that you can share with us?

I'm determined to make 2015 a year when things really happen. I have so many ideas, and intend to make this a year when at least some of them come to fruition. Larger scale art and more fabric-based products are definitely on the agenda.


8. What are your top three blogs?
If I'm honest, I don't follow a single blog(!). 
I know there are MANY fine ones out there, but I have no idea where I'd find the time to actually read any. 
The only blog I've ever really found myself dipping into over the last few years is Print and Pattern, mostly due to the kindness of Bowie Style featuring my work on it. 


9. Why do you like being an illustrator/designer? (in 10 words or less)

Because it is what I wanted to be when I grew up. 
(Sorry, that's twelve!)


10. I particularly love your lollipop trees design and also your limited edition grey birds and blue fish. 
Do you have a favourite item for sale in your shop? 
And what’s the most popular? 

Thank you! My favourite item is usually one of the most recent pieces I've created, so at the moment it is my Treetops print. I'm liking the colours. It's hard to say what the most popular is, as people buy quite broadly, but Blue Bouquet, a floral, is doing well at the moment. 


Thank you so much to Eloise for taking some time out to share a bit of her world with us.
You can keep up with her goings on here...


(all above images are copyright of eloise renouf)

x x x


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Monday 23 February 2015

Moodboard Monday...

Nothing brightens up a Monday after a grey, miserable kinda weekend, than some good old mood board loveliness right?



1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 

x x x



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Friday 20 February 2015

Beneath the Sun...

I recently discovered the shop Beneath the Sun, a homewares and stationery company offering gorgeous items for your home full of colour and happiness.
I've picked a few of my favourites from the website but there is so much goodness to be found, you should head on over there now and have a little looksie...
Leah Bartholomew is the designer behind the brand of locally produced products, including ceramics, pillows, art prints and much more.
















 (all images above copyright of beneath the sun)

x x x







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Thursday 19 February 2015

This & That...

This gorgeous embroidery with a bit of sparkle...
That beautiful succulents bouquet...


x x x

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Tuesday 17 February 2015

It's only bloomin' pancake day!

Oooooh how I love a good pancake!
As you can see here, here and here...

So, today is officially a happy day, it's pancake day!


I recently came cross this recipe for apple, cinnamon crepes on Julias album blog and they look AMAZING!

Pancakes..
tick
Apples...
tick
Sugary, toffee goodness...
tick

You can't lose right?
I will be definitely be trying these out

(image above copyright of julias blog)

x x x



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Monday 16 February 2015

Lovely links...tropical flowers, beautiful colours and a little bit of Bowie!

Following on from last months shiny new feature
here are some more lovely links, 
hope you discover something new!



This gorgeous tropical inspired post found on longina phillips blog.
Loving this image; a photograph mixed with drawings.

I adore the colours in Pegge Hoppers work, found on the jealous curator blog.
This is just one of the many images in the post, have a look, they're gorgeous!

Ziggy Stardust found on Little Gatherer blog - on influencing your children's music taste...love a bit of Bowie!

Little spaces found on Little Gatherer - gorgeous spaces for your tiny tots

Printable Valentines cards for kids on handmade charlottes blog -  so cute!

These illustrations for the zodiac are just lovely! 
Found on trend land blog, the artwork is by Katy Smail and she uses some amazing colour combinations in her work, love, love love!

x x x
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Saturday 14 February 2015

Three lovely (Valentines inspired) things...

I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of Valentines Day.
So, rather than do a lovey dovey post full of hearts and flowers, (there's a hint of both) 
I thought I'd have one ever so slightly inspired by it instead.
So, whatever you're doing this weekend, have a good one!



x x x


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Paris calling...

Last week, we packed up the portfolio and headed off for another trade show.
Pop on over to the Paper & Cloth blog for the latest post and on getting ready for indigo in Paris 
(now with a shiny new name; Premiere Vision Designs).

Here's a little peek at the flyer...


(image above copyright of paper and cloth design studio)

x x x
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Friday 6 February 2015

Whistlefish Galleries...

I first came across Whistlefish Galleries when I bought some beautiful cards by Hannah Cole a few years ago on a holiday in Cornwall
and have since seen more of their artists work on the internet.
They have galleries across the south west of the UK, 
including Dartmouth, Newquay, Falmouth and Padstow.
Their galleries sell wall art, greeting cards, accessories ands gifts by some very talented handpicked artists.
I've selected a few of my favourite prints from their website, including the work of
 Hannah Cole, Liz and Kate Pope, Claire Henley, Fiona Woodcock, Natalie Rymer and Daniel Riely but there are lots more.
 Click here to have a look at their site.











(all images above are copyright of the whistle fish galleries and their respective artists)

x x x
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Wednesday 4 February 2015

Colour crush...

It's that time again.
Let's show a bit of love for some yummy colours...



1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

(clockwise from top left)

x x x

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Monday 2 February 2015

My brain has too many tabs open...

This is definitely how I'm feeling at the moment...
I had a little chuckle to myself when I came across it recently.

A good one for a Monday right?
Anyone else feeling the same...
too many ideas and just not enough bloomin' time!


(image above found here)

Hope you all have a good week and that your brain doesn't get too tab-tastic!

x x x

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