Return of the tile

Its been a while since I blogged about tiles. But the intention for a little project has not vanished. I've recently been working on a design crammed full of personal meaning. 

5 symbols of courage, awareness, safety, peace and love -  a carabiner, a (in) tuning fork, a padlock, an olive branch and a heart - woven into a decorative square pattern. Here's a pic of the working sheet and a close up on the toward-finished design. 
The next bit will be getting it onto ceramic..

Swedish commission...

Never posted about this, and I'm not sure why because I really enjoyed drawing the drawing!  It was a carefully composed collection of 1960's Scandinavian porcelain and household-y things, mainly inspired by the classic designs of Stig Lindberg.  Completed, like, a year ago!

The project continues to resonate with me, not only because of my affinity for functional yet beautiful everyday objects, but also because it was inspired by a desire to recognise all that's wonderful about making an effort to spend time with good friends, despite lifestyles that may be somewhat nomadic and temporary.  The repetition and durability of the original designs provide much-needed connotations of balance and stability in a contrasting world.  I also LOVED the required research. Had me unearthing all sorts of eggcup and salt shaker treasures :)

Above is the grateful recipient and said illustration.  And below, is a more recent drawing, for the same person, for his visitkort (I believe that's business card in Swedish..?!) 

Henrik is a talented multi-lingual writer, with interests ranging from literature and social issues through to technology and ice hockey.  Follow the details on the card for more information...

From ground to grub...

 

Recipe book cover for a recent pitch... featuring a fork shaped plant to link in with the two-concept-title... a rustic line and offset print-making-esque colours for an earthy/one-off effect... and assembled digital collage to draw on the collective nature of the project.

Dia de los Muertos Tattoo Design

I was recently asked to design a tattoo based on a day of the dead skull, incorporating stars and a butterfly into the illustration to compliment existing tattoos.  

Even though I'm somewhat averse to needles, I thought I'd have a go...  Especially considering the client would have to really like the result to consider etching it permanently onto their skin!  So this is the chosen version..

And here's another, played with to add some colour...

If I see the finished result (on skin) I'll upload that too...

Sticky Note Set...

Recently designed an office themed set of sticky notes for Parragon Books.  Was a great little project that has vastly improved by indesign software skills!  The set of 8 sticky notes (some of which are below) fit together in a rectangular block and will be presented in a tin with the above diecut label... making the perfect gift!  Can't wait to see the finished product in the shops!

 

Zizzi Fresh Talent...

Super-fresh exciting news... I'm one of five shortlisted in Zizzi's fresh talent competition! Eee!  I designed the plate above for their ‘deliciously stylish’ brief, with a hidden vegetable repeat pattern in a contemporary colour.  Inspired by traditional damask wallpaper, the design is intended to make any food look well-presented and sophisticated, whilst the vegetables in raw form link in with Zizzi’s use of fresh produce.... See the other delectable shortlisted entries here. And eee!

Wedding Invitations for Miss Henry

 

 

Finally finished wedding invitations for Miss Lana Henry and Mr Adam Donald Walsh.  They wanted a little booklet for all the information with a handcrafted aesthetic, so I collagraph printed the bunting design onto ribbed card from Eco-craft, typewriter-ed the inside text (which was jigged around in Photoshop to fit the appropriate page of 10 then printed out) before hand stitching all 40 of them together...