Showing posts with label fabric design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabric design. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

designing

Why do we do what we do?
This is the bio I sent to Hemptech: the company who releases beautiful eco textiles in Australasia.
(My Cows and Couches design and the Footprints collection. Below with a Mooodlies cushion.)

"As a designer I work on many different creative projects: interior, furniture, product, and textile design. I work primarily as an interior designer. My passion however is: goats. I'm an absolute animal nut and yes I do talk to them too. On our 64 acre llifestyle block in the south of Otago we run highland cattle, saanen goats, turkeys, chooks and pigs. Inspiration abounds as nature is very much expressing itself on our property. New Zealand scenery is so powerful and beautiful. My heart is always outside running alongside the animals in gumboots, clad in overalls, having my hair in ponytails.


My designs reflect this happy attitude and I do adore the whimsy and playing. My desire to design for eco textiles stems from that inner sense of letting my love of living in New Zealand out. As a Dutch immigrant I am fully aware that this slice of paradise is not (easily) accesible to everyone on our planet. We do live in a wondrous place down under. So what could possibly be lovelier then sharing that magic energy at home with others?"
Why do you do what you do?
 
Photos: copyright: Mirjam Spronk and Hemptech ltd

Monday, February 22, 2010

good stuff

Good stuff is happening. I'm trying to get my act together again for designing more fabric. The phone rings: a local design store is interested to do work with me, to display and sell my cushions. They also hinted that they would like to host a wine evening and have me present there along with a furniture designer from Auckland who will be flying down. Where will my Mooo cushions sit on top of? On his lovely chaise. Exactly. Awesome.


Because the farm work has been coming out of our ears, and the calfs are sprouting left right and center, we've been a bit busy. Just a tad. One calf need bottle feeding twice a day for another 8 weeks.






Hemptech is seriously due for a new series of ass kicking design. I better get my tush in gear. Really really. The inspi juices are flowing. They need to be directed or they will go to waste.

Well I will give you a glimpse of what I have done so far. And I will do more. You can count on it. Wine evenings or no wine evenings.


Over and out.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Summer is here!

Yay! We are ready for some serious sun and icecream action over here!
Hemptech has realeased upholstery fabric 'Cows and Couches' and the cushion prints of 'Summer' featuring Pukeko birds and jandals I designed for them.


The Summer design is available in 2 colour ways! Don't they look snazzy summery perky?

Cows and couches upholstery fabric:

I think they look awesome!

I get asked sometimes, where do you get your inspiration from?
Well... ask Kate (below) and Kuddles. Nieces Cutie and Sweetie also make a dashing note. Their dad Carlin is a fullbreed Highland bull and has a face as broad as a pickup truck's wheel. Many people think he's scary, but he's quite a softie bless him.


Then of course there's the fanclub....

And my personal advisor Diva Spunky. It's true, pigs are very intelligent. She wasn't sure about those funny blue birds as she had seen them just now and again in the fields below, but she was tripping on the jandals. Get me some pink ones she said.

So finding inspiration is definitely not the hardest part of designing, it's finding the time to do it, and to make squishy cushions that are fun for you in your home.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Back to basics


I have tried to narrow down what topics I write about. Truth be told: I like quite a few things which could confuse people as I shift from one field to another.

So... what the heck do I do? Really?

A creative whizz popsicle like me tends to enjoy:

  • communicating with others: what makes you tick?
  • connecting people (network beastie)
  • design: whether it's 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional...
  • live the good life (farm)
  • writing + learn in whatever capacity

So by implementing all of the above I enjoy doing my interior styling and advice work, chat to clients, network with people both in and out of the industry, design for New Zealand fabric company Hemptech, design my new line of jewellery for Bonvivant, write my blogs and also post on Businessblogs. I enjoy looking after the farm animals, they rock, especially the goats. And I learn, every day, or as my husband says: I have my moments :)

So I'm grateful for all of you for bearing with me, as I am finding my way in building my business and work, how to shape my blog, enjoy being happy at home, and write to you about various things that occupy my whirry brain.

All I can say is: I hope you're enjoying your life as well! Feel free to email me if you fancy a catch up or chat online: I can be found on different social media for your convenience. Have a good one!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Fabric & Jewellery Design revamp


Well I have finally finished shushing and updating my (fabric & jewellery) design website Bonvivant. Hurrah! A big thanks to James my webmaster for getting it all to work. The orderform is the last to join the party, will be up soon.
The feedback so far has been wonderful: "bubbly and playful" was one of them, as was "funky" and "cool". I can live with that!
What is probably funny is that most Kiwis have a very hard time pronouncing the name. Ok here goes: bonn-vee-vahn. Wrap your vowels around that. Yes it's French. The meaning of the word Bonvivant is a person who is enjoying living the good life. Sometimes it's also used in a sort of bohemian cheeky kind of way. Again, I can live with that too. Should it have been a Dutch name on account of my genes? Maybe, but DROOG was already taken.... ;)
Anyhoo: thanks for letting me know what you think. The plan is to create an online store within 6 months that accepts paypal so this will be the go in the meantime!
Have a good one, bon chance, bonjour, bon vivant etc.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Moooh!


Today the theme is cows people. Above is a design I did, made out of 6 mm thich whiteboard. Moooooh!



And that's one of the cushions released of my 'cows and couches' design .... there's a new release in the pipeline featuring a New Zealand native bird so I will keep you posted. If you're a retailer and keen to stock it order fabric here and if you like to get the cushion yourself you can order them from your local interior store. I have discussed designing something for a lady who owns a fashion boutique in town so will see how that goes. I'm keen to do a lot more fabric designing and have met some wonderful people recently. My work continues to be quite busy so will see how it all pans out. I'm trying to streamline more activities as things can get a little hectic owning a lifestyle block, working fulltime in a furniture/interior store and also trying to get my necklaces and fabric designs off the ground. The good news is: the weather has been fabulous for winter in the last few days so everything feels more like spring!




We had a wonderful weekend hanging out with the animals. (Pictured above is Cutie one of our half breed highland girls.) Poor Kuddles the 4 month old wee mancalf got castrated by us. (To clarify: that doesn't happen with nasty cuts and blood gushing everywhere, it means getting a steel scissors like tool and using that to put a rubber ring around his bits. It's still not very pleasant but beats the old fashioned way by a 1000 miles.)


So onwards and upwards! And not to worry, whatever happens, I'm not going to use transport means a la above in future.... I know it's hila but I'd rather ride a quadbike.
So have a great week and enjoy. Moooooooh.....

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Fabricness


The fabricn and design continue. I'm sorry: if you're NOT into Design then please feel free to go to Youtube and watch this. (Monkeys outsmarting tigers - always a hoot.)



Ah there you are! You are still with us bless you - good on you.
Today my dear readerettes I give you the good and famous Marimekko.



The new designs by Marimekko spring 2009. In case you thought they sound like a whimsical winemaker brand, alas no, it's a fabric manufacturer instead. The best Finnish one on the planet and they have been around since 1951.

Below are some of the designs they are renowned for the world over. So who the heck are these guys?


Marimekko Corporation is a leading Finnish textile and clothing design company that was established in 1951. The company designs, manufactures and markets high-quality clothing, interior decoration textiles, bags and other accessories under the Marimekko brand, both in Finland and abroad. They have developed fabric for Ikea as well (below).

Most of their designs are very bold, big swooping clear lines and bright colours. I have found a few more deinty ones among them.


Sanna Annuka is one of the designers for Marimekko.

I mean.... that's awesomeness right there.

She says about her work:

" I’m an illustrator and print maker with a love for nature and folklore. I’m half Finnish and half English. I spent many summers throughout my childhood in Paltaniemi, a village in Finland, swimming and fishing in Oulujarvi and exploring the forests. I also travelled to Lapland, camping by arctic rivers enjoying the midnight sun. The forests, lakes and wildlife of where I grew up heavily inspire my work. Lapland is one of my favourite places on earth.

Another major influence is Finland’s national epic known as The Kalevala, a collection of folklore songs that are quite simply magical. My Spring/Summer 09 collection for Marimekko depicts some of my favourite parts of the Kalevala.

I graduated with a BA Hons in Illustration from the University of Brighton in July 2005. My speciality during the final year of university became silkscreen printing. During this time I created a range of limited edition silkscreen prints of my ‘Maiden’ designs (now every year two new ‘Maiden’ characters will get printed as an ongoing range).

I started selling prints at a design shop called Hygge in Islington, London. From one lucky sale to a friend of British band Keane led me to my very first commission which was to illustrate Keane’s second album ‘Under the Iron Sea.’

I have since joined creative agency Big Active and set up my own company printing limited edition silkscreen prints of my artwork. Over the coming years I will look to expand my product range from fine art prints to other printed goods such as fabric wall hangings, other textiles (including clothing), wallpaper and stationery. I’m also working on my first picture book."

Obviously we are looking at the works of a multi talented lady.

The bag...... Ok : I'm going to keel over now with admiration. Beautiful work.

So there you go: fabricness fabs!