George and the Dragons from Hole in My Pocket

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King George by Alice Gabb

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George from The Snail Emporium

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George, Hand Embroidered Brooch from Bird & Bridge

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George Bear Plushie from Dotty Daisies

I’m not the most patient person so it’s been quite hard telling myself that building up a business from scratch is not going to happen overnight. The biggest problem being that when I set up as a freelance graphic designer, it did literally happen overnight. There were a few dry spots, but for the most part since the day I left my permanent job I was pretty much set for work. I never really had to do any marketing or self-promotion, pretty much all my clients came through word of mouth, ex-colleagues etc.

But this is something new, something more creative, something more flexible, something that not many people know I can do. Most importantly something that will exist with and around my family. There will still be late nights and short deadlines but these will have to happen around playground visits and the (actually quite loud) pitter patter of little feet. I’ve been doing a few stationery designs here and there when I have time, but everything has been feeling a bit all over the place. So over the past couple of days I’ve been having a good think about what I will create, who would be interested and what it will hopefully mean to them. I’ve had a few good chats with a very good friend who is in pretty much the same place as me and that has left me feeling very inspired. Yesterday my head was buzzing with all the things I want to do, but I was feeling pretty tired. I told myself if it was earlier than 9.30pm then I’d start creating something. It was 9.24pm so two hours later and I’d finished my first little steps:

I dragged out my favourite thing, my sewing machine. As much as I love my Mac and all my pencils and paper, there’s something much more satisfying about my sewing machine. I know I don’t use it how you’re really supposed to. I probably sew more paper than cloth, my lines are never straight, my tension is all over the place, I’m more of a sketch sewer than a fine artist, but the results end up feeling really ‘me’. So the little steps I started last night are the beginning of a new ‘little bulldog’ shop banner. A couple need redoing, in fact I’ll probably redo all of them, but it’s a start and it’s a huge step away from the client-led retail designer I’ve been for the past few years. It feels right, so we’ll see.

Yes I need some of this. This is what’s missing, it’s so obvious when I look at the collections of designers who have it. Here’s who’s inspiring me to be more coherent:

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Charlotte Macey Textiles:

Beautiful linen homewares with line drawing embroidery. A simple but strong and recognisable style.

oatmeal ‘coffeeee’ cosy

navy beach huts tea towel

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Isak:

I love everything from Isak. I’d deck out the whole house in all their things if I could. Instantly recognisable, bit retro, very Scandinavian. They make me want to move to Sweden.

blue penguin wallpaper

lovebirds tray and mug

123 wall decoration

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The Linen Cat:

Beautifully made, simple, timeless. All created by one of those incredible full-time mums who still manage to create wonderful things and run successful businesses.

Linen Cat in Pink Russian Doll Print Dress

Ellie Floral Bunny Lavendar Bag

Hungry Bear Plate from James Ward

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Chocolate Cake Coin Purse from Dinky Daisy

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Alice in Wonderland ‘Eat Me’ Cake Toppers by Crafty Pagan Designs

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Apple and Pear Card from Little Bird Too

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Cream Egg Cosy from Charlotte Macey Textiles

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Now I’m even more hungry.

]]> http://bonbah.co.uk/2010/07/16/folksy-friday-hungry/feed/ 3 http://bonbah.co.uk/2008/12/09/hooray-oliver-jeffers-studio-aka/ http://bonbah.co.uk/2008/12/09/hooray-oliver-jeffers-studio-aka/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:41:30 +0000 joanne http://bonbah.co.uk/?p=35 Christmas just got a bit more exciting! Studio AKA(my favourite animation studio) have teamed up with Oliver Jeffers (my favourite kid’s book illustrator) and created a short film of one of his books, Lost and Found. It will be screened in the UK on Christmas Eve on Channel 4 at 2.30pm and on Boxing Day at 12.30pm. Not sure when it will make it outside the UK.

Ever since I started working freelance about a year and a half ago, I’ve been having an extended “you know, I think I used to be quite creative and artistic” moment. So I’ve gone on a long-term journey to rediscover my long hidden drawing and creating abilities.

My first step on this relearning process was a three evening course at CityLit called “Drawing for Textiles”. I had no idea what to expect but was incredibly excited to walk into a room full of easels and sticks and paint and to meet my tutor, Charlotte Hardy. The three evenings were not nearly enough, but I came away with a new lease on life and remembering all the reasons I did an art degree years ago. And it was so nice to have paint encrusted under my fingernails rather than computer lint. And a wonderful feeling of  “I can make anything I want, anything!”

I’ve taken longer printmaking and drawing courses at CityLit since then – and they were both brilliant, but last week I did another 4 evening textiles course. I walked in on the first night and was really thrilled to see that there had been a change in tutors and I was back with Charlotte again.

Charlotte is an absolutely brilliant teacher, she has a way of encouraging you with your strengths without making you feel badly about the things you’re not so good at. But she’s not just a teacher she’s also an talented professional artist. Having met with her a few times now I can really see her lighthearted, honest personality in her designs.

There’s something really lovely about the way she takes everyday things and gives them a presence so you feel like you’re looking at your granny’s favourite things and all the memories that go along with them. I’m off to see Charlotte at the Urban Art Fair in Brixton. It will be really nice to see some of her work in person although unfortunately I can’t afford to buy anything today.

I think I’ll definitely be taking Charlotte’s drawing class again this year

see more of Charlotte’s work here – www.charlottehardy.co.uk

find out more about CityLit here – www.citylit.ac.uk

for more on the Urban Art Fair – www.urbanart.co.uk

Julia also has a really interesting blog on book illustration – Book By Its Cover – I’ve only just discovered it but it looks like it will become one of my regular reads. She also has a design agency with a brilliant website – Also – that looks to do really lovely work.

see Julia’s website here – www.juliarothman.com

read her book blog here – www.book-by-its-cover.com