Bolton News

I made into into the Newspaper! Be it only the local Bolton News paper but it was my 15mins of fame. A photographer came and took pictures around our Degree Show and as he took quite a few I didn't think for a second he would of chose mine to publish. But low and behold ... 

There I am proudly standing by work  :)

The article was written excellently and did our show proud, after all our hard work it was nice to hear the appreciation. 

If you click here, this link will take you directly to the online article. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Leanne x

Bolton University Degree Show

Sorry I have been very MIA from this blog, have spent the last month or so finishing of my final project and bringing together to put up my degree show :)

After 4 long years, it has been a long time coming but I am more than pleased with my final outcome. I got plenty of interest in my work on the night and am now very excited to be taking my work to New Designers in London! (if anybody out there is going please pop by our stand and say hello :) ).

Seeing a final result and putting my work together has been very exciting and I'm now very enthusiastic about my future within design.

Anyway enough of me rambling, here are some pictures from the show.

Me and Sammy Kenny 

Me and Jamie bentley :)

Nearly There....

I am nearing the end of my degree and its such an exciting time. I printed out 3 of my designs last week on the digital printer for the show and was such a releif just seeing some kind of result rather than a design on a computer screen.



These two designs are for children aged 5-9 duvet covers, size 90x150cm.  I will be making samples for the backs to show that they can be reversible also and pillow cases. hopefully my show will have a full collection for childrens interiors along with some wallpapers and storage boxes.

This design  printed size is 120cmx272.58cm so a huge print for any kind of furnishing fabric, could be used for blinds/curtains or covering chairs and beanbags for example.

I will try and post pictures of the printed fabrics for you asap, they look really good and im very pleased with them. It was really good to see them actual size, as when on the screen you can't really get a feel for how big the images will be. Overall a productive day :)

I see your true colours

Just a quick post to introduce you to a few pictures 'ive gathered for colour inpiration on my main collection. These images are from WGSN a trend forecasting website, I cant image doing this course without it.
If you access to this website make the most of it!!



All of these pictures give a sense of fun and childhood. My work always tends to consist of bright, bold block colours and I feel this combination is very modern and on trend.

I chose this colour pallette to work from, although changing it to my own tastes slightly I feel I have got the look I was searching for.

(I LOVE these mini cars :) how amazing would it be to create your own design on your car!! )



Don't Dwell on it!

I have just come across a beautiful American boutique online,  Dwell Studios. They are a unique designer baby boutique and modern home decor shop.
They sell chic kids room decor, there products are very modern and contemporary and consist of a wide range of variety from bedding and wall decor to stationary and cards. They sell some very simple yet modern toys and activities for kids ranging up to around 10.

Set up by a mother of two, Christiane Lemieux, she was inspired mostly by her own children but also by design and travel. The business was a way of introducing adventure into family life, the website also has its own blog, which is very inspiring and updated daily with good quality pictures and interesting topics.

Toys

Room decor

Rugs

I really enjoyed browsing through this site and gaining knowledge and inspiration for my own collections.

As well as children's decor they sell bedding and furniture for the home, with gorgeous pattern and contemporary designs this one is definitely one to check out. 

Really glad I came across this site and will defiantly be returning again and again. Go check it out!!

Gadgets For Boys

I began introducing gadgets into my designs, changing everyday objects into something exciting. Children these days are becoming more and more aware of technology. I thought that by introducing this subject into my work it would help catapult my work into something that is not yet seen on the commercial market.

Designs I have come across on the market for boys ages 5-10 are full of TV characters or the not so original spot and stripe variations. I began to mix together my previously drawn robots and the gadgets I had changed on the computer to create my own quirky characters and hopefully inject something different onto the market.

I am now very much looking forward to creating my finished designs using these images. I think they are really contemporay and different to anything I have seen during my research.

Key Trends

WGSN has noted that a key trend for children's stationary and interiors in S/S 11 is:

• Everyday out of the ordinary characters.
• Faces with quirky personalities and distinctive features. 

WGSN

The robot designs i've done for gift wrap link closely with this theme. I've recently started to scan in my work to start creating characters from my own drawings.

I plan on taking these characters and using them to help me create childrens bed covers, wallpaper and furnishing fabrics for an ages range of around 5-10.

 

 

 

 

I recently came across a fantastic website for inspiration. Aptly named Pinterest its brilliant, packed with images to inspire and energise your thoughts. You can search through a range of categories from art/architecture, science, people, prints, fashion and many more. You can also type in your own words and images pinned (pinned-PINterest, I like the name idea) to that word will appear, which will then in turn direct you to people who are interested in that category creating more images for you to browse through. I could literally spend all day, rummaging through this site. 

Just to show you an example, I searched for 'kids rooms', as this links to my current project. Here are a few of the images that it brought up for me:

www.ohdeedoh.com A brilliant website/blog created around home design for children. I really like the idea of using lettering/different fonts within my work. I think its very on trend, looks brilliant and used and aimed at the right age range can also teach them as well as giving them a fabulous bedroom!!

This image led me to an interesting blog www.kfddesigns.blogspot.com which is crammed full of interior images. 

www.frenchbydesign.blogspot.com.

 I have been coming across a lot of wall stickers within children's interiors, I suppose there quick and easy to interchange as soon as the child wants something new, rather than totally re decorating. They look really exciting, the idea that children can move them around and play with them also really appeals to me. 

All of these pictures are originally from the links underneath, but sourced from Pinterest. Hope this post has been helpful out there :)

Hello Hanna

Hello Hanna is  a company designing unique products, mainly for children but for adults alike. The products look fantastic out of the pack but the company allows you to add to the creations in you own way, making them unique. Providing books and placements they also have some intriguing trinkets.

I really like the way the products are interactive, and are teaching children as well as being really interesting and modern. 

Liverpool Design Show.

Last year in our first semester we were given the opportunity to display our work at the Liverpool Design Show at St. Georges Hall. With over 50 stands and 100 designers the show was a fantastic opportunity. 

"We built on our inaugural event and doubled the number of exhibitors on show. We offered a unique opportunity to meet designers, to learn how things are made and to buy exclusive creations. We also doubled our visitor numbers with nearly 3000 people joining us, to take part in workshops, talks, networking and shopping. I believe we really boosted the local design economy and have put people in touch with each other that will go on to create new products and new businesses."

(Badami, Director of design initiative)

We began our semester by selecting our own theme, I chose children's interiors and have mentioned this in a previous post. 

My four final wallpapers were these:

For more information on next years show, exhibitors and how to exhibit yourself see this website.

Fred The Dog

Fred the Dog is a French children's home wares website that I came across through the Print Pattern Blog spot. Their website sells children's bedding and cushions, they all have very simple yet modern prints on them. I really like the colour ways as well, there very on trend, they have recently displayed at the Maison&objet trade show in Paris.

Although the designs are very simple I really like them and relate to work very well.

The company also supply Children's printed T-shirts which is something I feel I could also make to accompany my final show.

They would be simple to make, using plain coloured t-shirts and screen printing or heat transfers. 

Inspiration

As my final project is based on children's interiors, I have been looking at children's illustrators. One of my favourite websites for inspiration is Illustrator Web.

Some of the illustrators inspiring me at the moment are :

Alyana Cazalet

Alyana is a freelance illustrator and artist, working in London. Her work s created using ink, felt tip pens and brushes and sticks. I love the scratchy style in which she draws, the black and white thickness of lines. This style is very similar to how I enjoy drawing. 

Kavel Rafferty

Kavel is an english commercial artist who works in Barcelona, combining found imagery, paint and print she creates the wonderful pieces of work. Very inspiring, I really like the combination of mediums, and again the messy, scratchy drawing/print style. 

"Her inspirations and interests – like rare old soul 45s, flea markets and vintage shop signs and type – help inform her distinctively bittersweet, elegantly nostalgic style."

(Illustration web)

Her clients include Selfridges, Topshop, The Times and Penguin Books. 

Mark Oliver  

Mark is a children's book illustrator and just one of the artists I came across that has drawn robots, the theme I am using in my own work at the minute. The detail put into the drawings is brilliant and I like the way the robots are doing real life actions. 

Tim Bradford

Tim Bradford is a freelance illustrator and animator. His work is mostly done on Illustrator and photoshop and used for print and web design. The colour palette is what really stood out for me, I really like the mixture of colours, very modern and attracting to children. The simple drawing style is very refreshing and inspiring. 

Illustration Web is a fantastic website for all artists to use as inspiration, these are just a few of illustrators that stood out to me, but there are hundreds more on the site ranging from cartoons, collage, fashion and retro art work.