Fabulous florals

I recently designed this collection for Makower UK called Revival which was inspired by the stylised florals of the Art Deco period. There were two colour palettes used and this is the brighter version which comes in vibrant shades of turquoise pink, orange and lime green.

The main design is a large floral which has a wide variety of flower shapes and decorative leaves. This colour version comes on a turquoise background.

The co-ordinates were designed to enhance and use along side the main design and I used colour combinations taken from the main design. The co-ordinates included leaf sprigs, packed florals and a geo fan design, reminiscent of Art Deco motifs. The selection above come in a juicy selection of pink and orange.

The design above was created to include a softer tone of the collection within the group.

A multi colour stripe is always a good inclusion in a collection and can be used as binding on a quilt or as a contrasting lining for a bag.

The main floral design also comes on a white background. This would be great for making apparel or accessories with.

These co-ordinates are the same designs as the pink and orange versions, but come in a shades of turquoise and green.

I love this detailed floral outline print, great for using as a lining fabric or backing to a quilt.

This tessellated print is beautifully bright and uses all the colours from the collection in it. It is also great for using as a backing for a quilt or as an edging.

 

Decorex 2017

London Design Week is in full force and it's always difficult to decide which show to go to in a busy schedule. This time I chose to dip into the Decorex show at Syon Park. It's actually very close to where I live, but I'd never been to it before. It was great to dip in and get inspired about upcoming interior trends both for print and pattern, but also for colour palette and home styling.

As soon as I walked in the door I was met with a sea of vibrant colour on the Mathew Williamson stand. He has designed a stunningly rich home collection for Osborne & Little which you can see above. I also loved the rich colours on Margo Selby stand which you can see below. She uses fabulous geometric designs in woven fabrics.

In contrast, the Barneby Gates designs use a lovely natural linen to print bold images and geometric designs onto, using bright pinks and corals.

They had hung their pretty coral fabrics against an ivy design wallpaper in soft greys which you can see below. Such a lovely colour combination.

Fanny Shorter also used a similar style of simple two-colour designs in interesting colour combinations which you can see below in reds and greys. I like the use of block printing influences in both designers. Check out her website to see some beautifully bright and rich colour combinations using nature-inspired prints as well.

Woodland animals are still a popular theme and I spotted these jolly cushions at the Prestigious Textiles stand. 

I also saw a lot of nature-inspired floral prints and loved the oversized floral designs by Abigail Borg that come in a soft colour palette of pink, green and lilac.

Charlotte Gaisford, below, used a traditional design inspiration of Indian woodblock prints but with a fresher colour palette that is very easy to use for the home.

I love the designs by Mini Moderns and their stand (below) stood out as being simple and modern with a fab fun colour palette of orange and yellow with a shot of grey.

The Santorus stand was quite a contrast to the Mini Moderns one, with an opulent colour palette and dramatic imagery, using elephants and tropical birds.

Nancy Straughan

I recently came across this shop on Etsy and was immediately drawn to the beautiful textile designs. London-based Nancy actually creates these prints digitally, yet they give the impression of being hand printed. Very clever and beautifully simple, and all printed onto organic linen, so eco-freindly too!

You can check put more items here.

Patternity

I recently discovered this fab website and wanted to share it. It's called Patternity and they describe themselves as being born from a unique vision: to redefine pattern and shape. They have images of pattern found from all over the place and there is an amazing selection of delightful items on show and much foraging to do. I especially like their tights, which are on sale through their website. These ones are their Trademark design, but you can check out others inspired by totem poles, amongst others, here.

Frumafar

I recently created a treasury on Etsy using birds as my theme - something I have been meaning to do for a while. On my search for lovely images to use, I came across this shop called Frumafar, where the image of circling birds caught my eye. Frumafar was set up by Mariko who lived and studied in New York before returning to Tokyo. She uses her Etsy store as a showcase for her and her friends' original custom-made fabrics. Each piece is printed onto light and smooth weight cotton, ideal for creating bags and pillow cases. One of my favourites is the beautiful gingko leaf, a classic and timeless Japanese image. You can see my treasury here and view more of Frumafar here.

Indian influence

Summer is in the air and I'm being drawn to Indian fabrics at the mo. These ottomans caught my eye. They are made by Danish designer Mette Hay who picked up gorgeous vintage sari fabrics on her travels around India and then patchworked them together to create uniquely beautiful pieces.I also love the sugary shades of these fabrics by Welsh company Elanbach. They were inspired by an array of tiles, textiles and artefacts during a visit to India and would be perfect in creating a bright and breezy mood for those long summer evenings.

Thackeray West

I love these clean, fresh fabrics by design duo Thackeray West. The duo consists of Rachel Heritage and David Eldridge, designers who enjoy the relationship of pattern to form and appreciate the craft of printing and how the creative process continues to the final piece. They also offer a selection of covers designed to fit over upholstered plywood chairs - an easy way to add colour and style to plain painted furniture.