spring fever - fanny shorter's birds...

maybe we can all will spring to get here!!  have you seen fanny shorter's fantastic birds?  these sweet screen prints are available from design supremo.  she also does great allover prints and illustrations.

artist interview - inkling prints...

SWOON!!  We have all fallen in love with etsy great Inkling Prints.  Designer Kiran was kind enough to give us the scoop on what inspires her, where she's been, and where she going...

Hi, I'm Kiran and I started Inkling Prints in July last year. I used to spend time doodling in my sketch books, not knowing what to do with my doodles. Then one day, I was browsing through Amazon and I came across a book by Lotta Jansdotter. I ordered it immediately! It arrived one beautiful spring morning. I was sat on the sofa, by the window, with the sun streaming in and I was totally inspired to create my own hand printed items. After months of researching and experimenting with different paints and fabrics, I finally opened my Etsy shop in November 2009.

what three to five words would you use to describe your work?
bold, colourful, simple

what inspires you?
I was born and lived in Singapore til 5 years ago when I moved to England. The colours, the vibrancy, the intricacy and detail that you find in almost everything there has inspired me. After moving to England, I realised I was also very much drawn to nature. I love looking at all the different flowers, plants and trees. And then waiting eagerly in winter for spring when everything is fresh, green and colourful again.
what was your first job? when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?
My first job was as a graphic/product designer at a shop designing stationary for children. We had a little office at the back of the shop and I designed all sorts of things from posters to t-shirts to trimmers to hang on walls. It was good fun as I also got to meet my young customers sometimes.
My late dad used to draw with me. He very much encouraged and supported me throughout art school, staying up late with me to finish off projects, encouraging me and believing that I could do it.

finish this sentence. I could eat___ all day.
waffles with ice-cream

design books/blogs you can't live without
Books: Lotta Jansdotter -  How to Print with Anything and Lena Corwin - Printing by Hand
Blogs: http://jezzeblog.blogspot.com/ and http://camillaengman.blogspot.com/

what do you do when you are not doing art?
I'm running around the house chasing my 2 year old daughter Jill, with my one hand pulling my hair out, the other hand trying to grab her and screaming 'Nooooo!!', all at the the same time and finally tripping over the dog and falling.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.
When I was young, I found a can in my dad's tools cupboard. It had a cute elephant on it. I went into the cupboard, shut the door, opened the can and found this yellow gooo in it. I sniffed it. Wow! I was caught by my parents and warned, never to sniff glue again. I was only 7. So, I wasn't punished. Maybe that's why my brain is slightly messed up now - I'm so totally disorganised! :P

finish this sentence. If I could time travel, I would arrive...
In the 1940's to meet my husband's grandmother Tirzah Ravilious, who was a brilliant artist. Her husband was a war artist and she had to cope with being a mum to 3 kids. But she also produced such beautiful art in her short lifetime. I'd like to know what inspired her.

what's next?
New designs. Prints on paper. New studio space. Hopefully, somewhere which will give me enough space to print and lots of space to store my products. In the meanwhile, I am trying to
concentrate on photographing all my work and also launching my own website.

artist interview - pawling print...

Janet & Trisha Snyder are the sister duo behind Pawling Print Studio.  These newcomers have burst onto the handmade scene with their gorgeous prints and patterns for the home.  The recent grads opened their etsy shop this past fall.  The inspiration for the studio name is drawn from their grandfather who shared his love of photography and painting when the two were young.

what three to five words would you use to describe your work?

Clean, Simple, Graphic

what inspires you?

Janet:  White space

Trisha:  Travel.  We lived in Singapore when we were younger and our parents took every opportunity we had to visit places they knew we'd never make it to once we moved back to the states.  I love the different smells and sounds.  I love people watching and busy marketplaces.  I love all of the time and skill that went into ornamenting old architecture and I love local handicrafts.

what was your first job?  when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?

Janet:  I knew I wanted to be an artist after a brief stint as an engineering major in college.  My freshman chemistry course had me running to an art advisor.  I had many different jobs while I was in school, but haven’t snagged one since graduation in the current job market.  In many ways, I like to consider what I am doing right now my first job.   It is the first time I feel independent and responsible for what I am doing.

Trisha:  My first job was as an ice cream scooper at Andersen’s of Denmark and my first design job was as an intern architect at a small design/build firm in New Jersey.  Art actually scares me.  For me, I am the least creative when I have complete freedom.  I prefer the challenge of solving a very specific problem in a beautiful and efficient way, which is probably why I went to architecture school and why I love the Arts and Crafts movement so much.  I think I'm much better suited for design than for art.



finish this sentence.  I could eat___________ all day.

Janet:  I will eat a whole bag of Xochitl corn chips if there is salsa or guacamole present.

Trisha:  Tacos!!

design books/blogs you can't live without

The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones

of paper and things

simple + pretty

living with white

swissmiss

we love typography

what do you do when you are not doing art?

Janet:  Make lists.  My lists include everything from doing laundry to learning Spanish.

Trisha:  Clean.  I am Little Miss Tidy.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.

Janet:  I will eat and enjoy almost anything that is put in front of me (really, I challenge you), but recently discovered I don’t like watermelon.

Trisha:  I was in version 2.0 of the Great Singapore Workout, a government propaganda video to promote exercise.

finish this sentence.  If I could time travel, I would arrive...

Janet:  I like to think I would make a pretty awesome MGM dancer in a 1940s/50s musical.

Trisha:  I’d like to study under Anni Albers, but I'm about 60 years too late for that.

what's next?

Hopefully lots!  We are launching our linen line this month.  The first products that will be in the shop are handmade tea towels and throw pillows, with placemats and napkins to follow.  We just purchased a flash dryer to speed things up.  Heat setting all of our items is definitely the most time consuming and least fun part of our job right now.  We'd like to spend that time experimenting with color and new patterns instead!  We'd also like to expand our paper line to include blank journals, art prints, and wrapping paper.  And on the business side of things, we would like to pursue some wholesale orders and get our own website up and running.

artist i love - jesse breytenbach...

This week's feature artist comes to us (virtually of course) all the way from Cape Town. Jesse Breytenbach has a host of goodies in her etsy shop including wonderful fabrics, tea towels and lovely ornaments just in time for the holidays. She has been kind enough to share a bit of herself with us today. Enjoy!what three to five words would you use to describe your work?

graphic, detailed, precise

what inspires you?
It's hard to say exactly; sometimes it's just the light in a room, sometimes it's a scrap of fabric. Sometimes it's a need to know how something is put together that makes me want to draw it. Knitting inspires me to draw as well - the textures and patterns just make me want to make something, urgently.

what was your first job? when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?
My first job was with a new publisher, illustrating educational books. The authors were new to the whole thing as well, so we all just learned as we went along. I remember looking at illustrations in magazines when I was little, and realising that someone had drawn those. That was the first time it occurred to me that it might be possible to draw for a living!

what media do you work with?
Pen and ink, and linocut prints.

design books/blogs you can't live without
I love http://printsy.blogspot.com/ for the variety of work that gets shown there. And I pretty much can't live without knitting sites;http://www.twistcollective.com/collection/ is one of my favourites.

what do you do when you are not doing art?
I knit and read. I've been trying to garden, but mostly that just involves throwing water over anything that sprouts and seeing what survives.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.
Often, far too often, I get back into bed after my morning coffee. Twenty minutes later, I'm ready to start the day again properly.

what city in the world best describes you?
It would probably be a small city, one that only technically qualifies as a city. A place where you could walk anywhere you needed to get to, where strange and sometimes scary things lurk around most corners, a place that looks peaceful and quaint until you've lived there for a while, and discovered that everything is exactly what it seems and that that's constantly slightly unsettling.... oh, wait! I've just described the town where I grew up!

what's next?
I'm hoping to find enough time in the next few months to work on a comic I've written; new prints in various stages that need to be finished; prints on clothing, that I'm really excited about; and possibly, if I can get it to work, a drawing project that will involve as many other bloggers as I can convince to take part.

artist interview - ashley a. dailey of pop + shorty...

Ashley A. Dailey is the lead designer behind Pop + Shorty (so named after her grandparents - Pop and Shorty were their nicknames). They create a wonderful range of fun cards, prints, and poster all with a wonderful quirky edge. Visit their shop here, and don't forget to check out their blog for new work and upcoming events. Commissioned work is available on the their site.

what three to five words would you use to describe your work?

Pop + Shorty creates bold, witty, and unexpected design. In other words, design that pops!

what inspires you?

I try to immerse myself in design by visiting art galleries, reading books, blogs. and magazines, and teaching myself new techniques. My husband, Matthew, is also a huge inspiration for me. He pushed me to start Pop + Shorty from the very beginning and is one of the most creative and clever people I know.

what was your first job? when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?

My first job out of college was at an advertising agency in Indianapolis. I started in Account Management, then worked my way over to copy writing. I would watch the graphic designer place my text into a project, I would dream about what typeface, what color, and what placement I would use instead. I knew then I needed to try my hand in graphic design, so I went back to school to study advertising design.

your work is so fun and unexpected - describe your design process?

My ideas usually come at the most unexpected times, so I always carry a small sketchbook to scribble down my ideas and thoughts. Sometimes I will flip through old sketchbooks and find an idea that had some potential and work from there. I have family and friends all over the country, so I fly quite frequently. Being 30,000 feet in air is my favorite time to sketch because I can't get distracted!

design books/blogs you can't live without

This answer could easily be ten paragraphs! I love the blog Grain Edit. I drool every time I receive an email with a new blog post. I am a huge fan of Communication Arts, HOW magazine, and Computer Arts in the UK. As for books, I think anyone wanting to dive into the crafting world should read the book Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco. It is not a design book; however, my favorite book of all time is called the Darkside Zodiac by Stella Hyde. It flips astrology on its head by telling you the darkside of your horoscope (and it is scarily accurate). I sometimes call my sassier cards the "Darkside" of Pop + Shorty!

what do you do when you are not doing art?

Ha ha, when I asked my husband "What do I do when I am not working on Pop + Shorty?" he said, "Work on Pop + Shorty more?" He is about right! I also love listening to music and going to shows, hosting parties for friends, and dreaming about adopting a dog. I am hoping this Christmas my husband and I can add a new addition to the family.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.

I collect chopsticks. I have over 150 pairs, yet I never use them because I am not a very skilled chopstick user! I also still sleep with a teddy bear that I've had since I was one year old. Her name is Tedra, and she wears a small little jacket my great-grandmother, Shorty, sewed. Yes, the same Shorty from Pop + Shorty!

what city in the world best describes you?

Seville, Spain. I lived there for six months and felt right at home. During the day, the city is so calm. Then at night, the entire city just lights up and goes wild! If you get to know the city well enough, you'll find hidden flamenco bars in the streets that showcase the real Seville.

what's next?

Pop + Shorty just had its six-month anniversary, so we are still newbies. Our next step to to spread our cards and products around the country by selling in retail shops. Also, I am teaching myself how to gocco print, so I would love to incorporate more hand-pressed gocco designs into the mix. Lastly, we are hoping to launch some new geeky tee shirts since our CSS to HTML tee has been a huge success.

etsy - lucie summers...

Lucie Summers is fabulous UK artist who screens her artwork onto fabric, journals and wall art to name a few. Her designs are fresh and whimsical and are sure to delight your eye as they have mine! Be sure to pop by her etsy shop and for more Lucie, stop by her blog.

Her journals come lined or unlined at your request - love this feature!

Super soft hand screened, fair trade certified organic fabrics.

Such a great idea! Lucie has screened outlines to her alphabet for you to color, ink, and applique, etc. as you wish. It's pretty great just framed up as is too. Great addition to a kid's room.