Tuesday 29 November 2011

Commission Prints.............

Evening All,

With a few things pencilled in for the rest of this week it is more than likely that the posts are going to take a little back seat !
I have a few things on the go & need to take the time to really concentrate on them to make sure I do the best job possible ! I did however want to leave you with a snippet of a commission print I completed recently that might be of interest ! This particular design was printed on to canvas paper & I loved the grain effect created. I have taken special words that best describe Gemma to develop a one-off print for her 30th birthday! 


Stay tuned as I hope to show you more of these commission prints I have been working on some time soon x Another thing to add to my never-ending to do list x
 he he x

Monday 28 November 2011


Hello peeps,

As some of you may have noticed I have had a few days away from the office but am back & ready to get designing again! I have been away to Poland & had an amazing time ! We went to Krakow & it really is a very pictureque city & I got chance to capture a bit of it all . So stay tuned over the next few weeks for a few colourful images to inspire. But for this very brief post I leave you with my buy of the month !!! At a bargain price of around £12 this amazing treat was purchased at one of the market stalls in Krakow & I love it !! It somehow managed to fit in the case on the way home too so even better ! It's a sewing box that opens up so you can add all your sewing threads & any other delights you fancy !! I'm easily pleased ! he he x

Stay tuned for more inspiring posts later this week !
di x

Thursday 24 November 2011

I must interrupt...........

Sorry to interrupt my Thursday morning post today but I came across an amazing article that was very inspiring & I must share !! Fiona Jenvey who is the CEO of the most fabulous Mudpie posted a link this morning on the Mudpie group via linked-in that I went & investigated further. It's left me feeling very inspired & excited for the day ahead !  woheeeeee............

Click here to view the amazing article ! Brought to you by the amazing Businessoffashion website.


Now to go back to Mudpie a little bit, this website is mainly for subscribers, which is upsetting for the likes of me but it would take too much out of my pennies budget to be apart of it at the moment. But everythings good as they also have a trend journal that anyone can view which gives a little insight in to the fashion world free of charge ! 

Oh & look what I noticed ?! The SS13 Trend forecast colour image above is very similar in appearance to my Italy photos I posted on Wednesday ! How funny's that ! It's all about being inspired by everything that surrounds you & capturing colours & design ideas from anything that catches you creative eye !



 Right I really must get back to the real work ! x


More designs................

Thursday all ready ? How did that happen ?! So I received my Asos Jan12 Magazine yesterday & what a treat ! I am not quite sure how I started receiving this free mag but I'm guessing as I am a regular shopper at the site , I must have got added to the mailing list ! I am certainly not complaining though as this is a great mag & not just for the latest trends from the very influencial website. It has allsorts of interesting articles.



So as I was reading through it , I came across 'an essential guide to the 2012 new trends, inspiring faces, film, music & fabulous beauty'


So the first thing that stood out for me straight away was the mention of the Olympics !

Titled in the Asos mag as 'Olympic fever' I think that is very apt ! I have already noticed a lot of design takes on the british flag out & about on the high street & this is set to continue for 2012. I personally think it is going to be really on trend for practically everything ! Clothes, accessories, homeware, stationary etc...... etc.......... 


It also mentioned how the catwalks from this August / September (S/S 12) had a lot of Sports references happening which again is surely influenced by the 2012 olympics!


I actually designed a quirky print idea inspired by the british flag when the Royal wedding took place with Wills & Kate. I made it my own by playing around with the teardrop shape & then added it to some bag templates.
                          Do you like ?!

Now this particular design hasn't been selected, however all work on here is still subject to copyright. If you are interested in a particular design please email : ms.diane@hotmail.co.uk.


Now......after my travels post I did yesterday I thought I would mix up the colourways a little bit further & have a bit of fun with the palettes! See what you think !



There are so many vibrant colours visible in this image & I have only taken a small selection but had a little play around with shades.



Which is your favourite ?

I like the one below which I think is a little bit funky!
My eyes are actually going a little blurry from looking at these for far too long ! x


Oh & do head back tomorrow as I have a bit more information to add in from the Asos mag which might interest some of you !


Wednesday 23 November 2011

My travels.............

Well helloooo.

You know when you are having one of those days, where you have tons of ideas & thoughts going on in your ickle brain & just not enough time to develop them ! 
I am having one of those months actually ! I have so , so ,so ,so much I want to get on to here to showcase my style of work & experience but I can't quite get it all on here quick enough ! 

Today I decided to look through all my photography files & see what sources of inspiration I have hiding away on my computer ! I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of travelling since finishing Uni in 2005 !! I have been to some amazing places & captured very colourful & unique images that I really should be using as inspiration for my colour palettes & pattern ideas.

So for today I just wanted to show you a few photos that I am going to try & use some way or another in my next line of print designs ! Here goes :


These where taken when I went travelling around Italy. We went to a little Island off from Venice & the colours surrounding us were amazing !!

I was planning on cropping this picture below to be the same size as the other two but love it just as it is ! Even the brick work underneath the pavement is full of colour.
I'm looking forward to trying some ideas out on these! Stay tuned & enjoy your day x
 

Monday 21 November 2011

Hello peeps !

Well I have just had an ickle time-out with a nice cuppa & a gossip mag , I noticed a few trend alerts that I needed to share ! Let talk S.T.A.R.S !

After Dolce & Gabbana flashed it about on the AW Catwalks at the beginning of the year , the high street have been quick to get their own inspired versions in store asap !! 

I decided to do a little product board just on Topshops 'Star' inspired garments & accessories & as you can see, it's S.T.A.R- Overload !

There are so many different ways to use star graphics on products. Print designs / sequin embellishments & even laser cut stars details!  



I actually created this little print board below a few months ago for some childrenswear clients in mind. But as stars are out & about as we speak in store, I best let you see it.

So here goes.....da da............


Do you like ? x

Look what I found .............

Morning all,


I was doing a little bit of research over the weekend & I came across an interesting blog when I was on twitter. Now the blog itself doesn't look like it has been running for very long but the content is interesting for any garment designer !! It will be great to keep track of this blog to see what other treats they plan to share with us over the next few months !


Now all the imagery below has been taken from their blog which you can click on here : .http://stylerightblog.wordpress.com/ 


They are also on twitter so check them out ! I am a 'new-be' follower ! he he x  

These images are taken from one of their newest publications for SS13 !


I love trend forecast boards & am always inspired by layout / colours & illustrations used ! These StyleRight forecast books have been available for several seasons at Mode information & the blog must be a new addition to getting noticed !

 
I am liking all the geometric influences showing through !


Make sure you go & check their blog out x


Friday 18 November 2011

Back again...............

Me again ! ( just giggled to myself, don't ask ! Long day ! )

While I know I shouldn't be posting these as they are hot off the press, I thought what the hell as it's important to show you snippets of work I am currently developing ( Note: this particular design haven't been selected from any clients so that is why I can show you ) Anyway.......... here's two boards so you can get a little flavour of what I have been upto !! Enjoy x

Click on image to make bigger !

 

I have several different trend forecast resources which helps me in creating new & upto date collections. The body silhoutte for this particular garment design has originated from one of my trend styling 2012 /13 books which includes vector files. But of course I have altered it accordingly to make it my own, taking inspiration from key designers & strong looks about on the street ! This garment was orginally a gilet outline & I have made it a full sleeved version with contrast fabric panels to sit in with the influencial Burberry designs currently available in store. 


All work in progress but thought it would be good to get a few on here ! Would love to know what you think ?!

As you can see from my blog my design work is quite varied which is always a good thing when trying to secure new freelance work ! I love trend forecasting & this then makes design work flow so much easier over multi-products as I make sure I have done my research ( I am obsessed with research )
Goodnight for now & I will be posting a few more thoughts next week ! 
Night x 


So cute .........

Well Hello !

Ok, I have gone in a completely different direction from Wednesday's post & want to show you a few of my new print ideas. I have been working on some toddler prints on & off for the last few weeks now so here are just a few for you all ! What do you think ?! My colourways still need a little bit of work but not a bad start ! Do you agree ?!


I always seem to go for soft tones in colour , but I think I need to be a little more daring with my colour palette ! Ye, after re-looking at them, I may just have to play around with the colours a bit more & maybe show you a few more options in the next few weeks !


I love the repeat print of the cute caterpillars ! I think this design would look adorable on some babygro's ! Bit girly for my ickle Spencer so maybe I should also do a more neutral palette that can be for either girl or boy ! hhhhmmmmmm, think I will add another thing to my never-ending list ! he he

Enjoy your weekend peeps x x

Thursday 17 November 2011

An ickle Thursday Treat...........

Today is a very brief post as I have a selection of work I must focus on as well as begin the creative exercises on the #Surfacepatternecourse.

So I leave you today with a little pick me up ! Enjoy x

Wording is unknown. Styling is by me !

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Retail Research................

Good Morning All.

Well today & tomorrow I plan to make a few tweaks to the blog to make it a little more appealing to the eye as well as develop a selection of blog posts for you all to view for later this week. 

I have been trying to organise my design files on the computer hard drive so they are a little easier to find & came across some design pages I developed earlier in the year. I never ended up showing these at my workplace at the time due to other customer workload taking priority & it looks like my design thoughts are actually on trend at the moment !

For instance :



Back in Febuary I made a point of researching some of the very influencial retail stores including : ASOS / Topshop & River Island ! Now these guys turn products around so quickly & take key injection trends & get it instore well before other high street chains have even got a sample back from their overseas factories ! & that's why they do so well & sell so much stock !

 The design teams for these stores also take inspiration from the Catwalk collections for Autumn /  Winter (AW)  & Spring / Summer (SS) and then a few months later have their own inspired versions in store for us fashion conscious victims to buy ! The turn around is F.A.S.T !

So I do find it important to always research high street stores as well as designer of course & see if I notice anything in particular that is going to be in big demand for the following season !

& Firstly we have FUR TRIMS !!


Now the wording I have used on these boards wont make sense to some of you as I had orginally developed these for my outerwear freelance role but then never go round to presenting them ! Too busy as usual, silly me!

But as you can see FUR TRIMS where showing back in Feb of this year. Go to the stores today & you will notice FUR elements everywhere, not just in Outerwear garments !



These garments above are from mainly ASOS & the mac options is still available at Il2l. Again these images show how mixing different fabrics is the new big thing ! With Heritage themes showing through for Ladieswear, this is where the influences have originated from.


So are you looking for your next outerwear piece for this Winter ? Then the Quilted styles are very on trend & while these were visible in store at the beginning of the year they are EVERYWHERE now with lots of fun variations to the stylings & details used. So take your pick !


 

Also see below for one of my design development boards ! Now from this I have sketched up a selection of designs but of course I can't be showing you these as I would be giving all of my design thoughts away ! he he x

As a designer I get inspiration from all that surrounds me ! I do take inspiration from other garments , Taking elements from certain styles & altering to make my own design !


Over the next few weeks I plan to do a little bit more researching into the main high street stores to see what else is out there so stay tuned for more design boards x & maybe one or two of my design sketches for you to view ! ( you can see past season CADS in the tab rrf : Porfolio )

Now as I have mentioned above these boards where done back Feb so the majority of these jackets won't be in store anymore. Do have a look though at their current collections as there are some great outerwear pieces available this Winter !

Do you like ?!

Tuesday 15 November 2011

#Surfacepatternecourse

Hello all, I am home from my little birthday vacation to Stratford-Upon-Avon & it really was a lovely relaxing few days with my family ! So back to the drawing board & I am very excited to have registered for The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design course which is a collaboration between Rachael Taylor &  Beth Nicholls. Please do click on the two links to see more information on these two very inspirational ladies !

So I'm in are you ?


It started on Monday the 14th of November & while I am yet to get creative, involving myself in the exercises, I have been able to take a sneak peak into the first two lessons while I was away. I am very excited to see how the next 4 weeks classes unfold ! yippee x

There are 3 seperate Modules which can be taken in a combination or individually!

Module 1 : Designing your own way !

This is the first of 3 which began on Monday & runs for 4 weeks ! Don't worry if you have just missed out on registering for this peeps, I have heard on the grape vine that they will be doing this again next May !
Image created by Rachael Taylor

Module 2 : Creating your professional identity!
(4 weeks, beginning Monday 16 January 2012)So as you can see loads of time before this begins so do click here for more information !
Image created by Rachael Taylor


Module 3 : Montetising your designs!
(4 weeks, beginning Monday 20 February 2012) Again click here for more information

Image created by Rachael Taylor

Do you like the sound of this ?! Well get registering &  I will see you in the classroom ! With so many people already registered for these modules, I am looking forward to seeing what scrumptious designs others create x

Night all x





Wednesday 9 November 2011

The BIG 30 !

H e l l o   A l l.


Sorry I haven't done any posts for a few days. It was my 30th birthday yesterday, gulp & I had an amazing day celebrating with my hubby. I wasn't looking forward to this birthday, but I have decided it is actually a very positive turning point for me & have lots of new things planned going forward.


I started off today by sorting out my wardrobe & making room for a new me in the form of colourful clothes !! I hope to be back on here early next week once I have got my birthday bash plans out the way & can give this blog a little bit more TLC x

Spk soon

di ( now of the mature age of 30 )

Saturday 5 November 2011

Tate Liverpool ..........

I'm very Excited ! I was just on the Tigerprint website & they had a post about Tate Liverpools exhibition on....... wait for it .......
A L I C E  I N  W O N D E R L A N D !!
Yikes, I am too excited as it started yesterday & runs till Jan 2012 which means when I go to Liverpool next week for my birthday I can make an appearance there !

Well I am truly truly too excited for words ! Love it x


For more details visit here

Taken from the website see below a little insight into the exhibition :

''Lewis Carroll’s timeless novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, have fascinated children and adults alike since their publication over 150 years ago. Alice in Wonderland at Tate Liverpool is the first exhibition of its kind to explore how Lewis Carroll’s stories have influenced the visual arts, inspiring generations of artists. The exhibition will provide insight into the creation of the novels and the inspiration they have provided for artists through the decades.

The starting point for the exhibition is Carroll’s original manuscript, written in 1864 as a present for ten year old Alice Liddell. Carroll’s own illustrations ensured that images were central to the story, creating a visual world which took on a life of its own.

Alice in Wonderland will offer visitors a rare opportunity to view Carroll’s own drawings and photographs, alongside Victorian Alice memorabilia and John Tenniel’s preliminary drawings for the first edition of the novel. '

So I think it is only right to re-show you some design work I developed for a competition some time ago now ! I was however really pleased to see print&pattern show one of the designs as something that they liked ! Ye x x

It's based around Alice in Wonderland but with a quirky colourful twist, inspired by the 2010 film re-make !! Enjoy !

Amazing work came out of this competition & there are some really talented guys out there !

It's this above design that was given the thumbs up by Bowie at Print & pattern which made me smile ! Just look further down on the blog page for some of her faves x x






Friday 4 November 2011

Drum roll please........

So here goes.......... Hope you like my style on these print developments.
Recently my mind seems to be overloaded with print ideas. As I have mentioned before I have a little boy called Spencer , who I love dressing in cute & quirky prints ! But as I get him ready for the day ahead in prehaps is space repeat print babygro for a change, I kinda think I can do just as good a job !! & that's why I keep going a little pattern mad !

The Spoonful of Sugar prints aren't something I would dress Spencer in but I like where they are heading & could imagine a few stationary pieces showcasing these designs x


Click on the image for a clearer look of my design board !

I have been developing a few more design ideas based around TOKYO Skylines so stay tuned for more colourful pieces ! I also have a bit of an obsession with printed Hankerchiefs ! Yep, you heard me right ! When I was last in Toyko I got myself a few beautiful & unique designer hankerchiefs at a bargain price that I really do cherish !!Sounds odd I know but if you head back next week I can show you a little snippet of some of my faves & explain my case a little further! Believe me you will be impressed.

My Love For T.O.K.Y.O continued.........

So to carry on , how about an ickle pic of me in the city that never sleeps !!  Ok, so that's New York but I can imagine it's the same here !



Right, now this next photo is a bit random but it has been my inspiration over the last few days, developing a few quirky prints. The photo was taken from a window display we came across. It's unusual & really got my attention so take a look !




Check out my print developments based around this image later tonight !!

I know not long to wait is it ?! It's just I have been away from the blog for far too long that I feel the need to make up for it tonight & overload you with scrumptious design ideas.

 Here's a ickle snippet for you now though. x x


hehehe x x Do you like ?! Then stay tuned for my design board x x


My Love for T.O.K.Y.O

Me again !! 

I am v excited about the next few posts I have planned, as you guessed it , I'm talking TOKYO !

I love it there & find the culture , design world & shops A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I love to share with you a little bit of what I captured when I last visited ! So this petite post is a flash of Floral.



How Stunning is that !!


Pretty, do you agree ?




I'm back ! ......................

I know, I know , it's been a frustrating few weeks with no internet access ! You don't realise how much you rely on it until it's no longer available !
So what have I been upto I hear you shout ?! Well I have had several design posts I have wanted to share with you but because the  internet disappeared , it made things a little more difficult.

I want to continue where I left off a few weeks ago with the 
 'Say-No-To-Flowers' Theme board I produced. Based on this board I developed a few pattern ideas. See what you think!



Do you like ?!



Wednesday 2 November 2011

No Internet .....

Evening all. A very quick message to let u know that I will be back with more scrumptious posts over the next few days. I am currently without access to the Internet at home which has ended up being longer than I had first hoped! Do please keep heading back though as I have some lovely new design work for u all x exciting times x