birthday day

Today is a day of birthday surprises - I woke up and was showered with presents! And a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived at the door! I was presented with a gorgeous painting by my daughter and a box of chocolates, uniquely wrapped, from my son! Something I had asked for from Mum is this: Interiors Australia and New Zealand (by Mitchell Oakley Smith). It's beautiful! Here are a few snaps of my favourite pages so far.

LIttletree Designs

The last couple of weeks have been soooo crazy, what with school going back, my mum arriving from Australia and constant rain (I love rain and we need it here, but found it hard to do everything I needed to do this week), that I haven't been able to concentrate on blogging. But now I have a totally inspiring person to blog about - Rebecca Greenwood of Littletree Designs. Rebecca has very sweetly agreed to be interviewed and I'm very happy to be able to share her lovely work with you. Rebecca studied Printed Textile Design at DeMontford University in Leicester and now produces absolutely beautiful patterns and designs which feature on her blog, website and are selling like hotcakes in her etsy shop, Littletree Designs. Her blog is full of interesting topics like Rebecca's favourite Pinterest picks of the week, fabulous recipes for muffins, cakes and biscuits (accompanied by delicious photos), and homemade diy tutorials for useful items.

The Interview
What led you to study surface pattern design - what are your creative roots?- I have always been arty and drawn and painted from a young age, plus my parents are pretty creative in their own ways through, baking, craft, diy, photography etc. Originally I wanted to be a furniture designer but during a project at college I discovered a love of fabric and screenprinting so from there I took it a step further and studied Printed Textiles at University.
Where does your inspiration for your patterns come from?- I can't pinpoint exactly where my inspiration comes from, you never know when inspiration may strike so I like to have a notepad to hand incase something jumps out at me. Mainly I just doodle and ideas get developed and styled from that.
I see a bit of a retro vibe in your work - what brings it into your work? - I love anything retro - fabrics, furniture, kitchenalia etc. I just love the bright colours, simple clean shapes and patterns but mainly I just think they're happy and fun! It's not surprising that the style has influenced me!
How would you describe your work?- Quirky colours and patterns with a retro twist.
What do you hope to achieve this year and what direction do you want your work to take you?
- I have quite a few big plans this year, whether they happen or not is all down to me and how hard I work! I would love to sign with an agency or license my designs, I would love to see something in a shop with my pattern on it! I also hope to take part in a local craft/makers fair this summer too. I'm just hoping that my work will take me towards doing what I love as a full time job.
What does a typical day involve for you?- A typical day depends on whether I'm working or not as I work part time. But when I'm home I usually get up about 8 (late i know!) have some breakfast, check emails and my blog with a cup of tea probably in my pj's...then I may have a few household chores to do like walking the dog, washing etc, all the fun things! After that I check out some of my favourite blogs, leave a few comments, get some visual stimulation to start the day. From there it depends on how the creativity is flowing, I could be sketching, writing new blog posts or working up a pattern in Photoshop. If I'm really not in the mood I will just chill, read or bake, I find if I force myself to work when I'm not in the right mind set the designs never turn out right anyway and I either scrap them or change them completley later on!
Which other artists/designers/creative people inspire you and your design work?
- Oh dear the list is way to long and I would bore you al to death! Here are a few favourites...My first design crush was probably Lucienne Day, I love her fabric designs and what she did for design in Britain. The Legendary Bowie Style of the Print and Pattern blog - amazing blog, amazing books and Marie Perkins herself does great work...it is my go to for an inspiration boost. Other designer/makers include Lisa Stickley, Caroline Gardener, Jane Foster, Marrimekko, Charles and Ray Eames, Rachel Cave, Mini Moderns, Rachael Taylor, Zoe Murphy....I could go on but I won't!
What would your dream design job be?
- I would love to work with Paperchase on a range one day or in the far far future to own my own shop selling local talented designer/makers wares alongside my own.
What are you looking forward to?
- My holiday in June which is desperately needed! Up in the mountains in southern Spain with barely a soul just a few hundred goats and a book...bliss! In the longterm I hope that one day doing what I love will be enough to live from.
Which is your favourite gallery in London/ the UK?
- Love the Tate Modern, the installations in the turbine hall are always interesting and I love the Mark Rothko room, it's just so soothing. The V&A is also great for a real mix of artefacts and inspiration.
And your favourite place (in London/ UK/the world)?
-It has to be Venice...I went a few years ago now but it has stuck with me and I would love to go back, It really is like another world there. 


And here are some of my favs from her etsy shop:

And some more of her fab retro designs:

All images © Copyright Rebecca Greenwood of Littletree Designs. Please don't use without permission, thanks.

LPP

My prints are appearing on the front art page of Little Paper Planes this morning! Yay!

people fund project goes live

Here is my people fund link! Please spread the word!

Corkellis House

This home was featured on Grand Designs a couple of years ago whilst it was built. It's a very compact home designed and built by Kathryn Tyler, an interior designer based in Cornwall. I feel it's a shame that all these photos were taken with such a wide angle lens as it's such a lovely interior space, with a bit of retro inspiration.
I'm going to be spending more time blogging over at my new blog for my design work, tree hill cloud. Please pop over and have a look!

all images from Kathryn Tyler's website Linea Studio