New LIMITED EDITION lighting!

While exhibiting at Home 2013 we launched our brand new LIMITED EDITION lighting collection! We had such a great response from buyers, press & of course our supportive e-course students. This is the first time our brand have showcased a British-made lighting collection so we are very excited to share them with you all!
There are now 2 designs available on our online store, but hurry over there as there is only 1 of each remaining!

Susy Pilgrim Waters

Recently Rachael announced that she is now a proud member of the Lilla Rogers Studio. For the next few months we have decided to feature a regular weekly showcase from Lilla's esteemed group of designers & Illustrators. Today we bring you the lovely Susy Pilgrim Waters.

Susy Pilgrim Waters is a designer specialising in surface design, illustration, textiles & unique product design.  Susy currently lives in Boston, USA but has also lived in Texas & London, UK.  Susy has been drawing from a very early age & has always been happy when absorbed into her work.  Susy's drawings are bold, bright & detailed although some are much simpler. It's quite nice to seem some collage in some of Susy's drawings as well, with quirky hand-drawn motifs & intricate textures. Also, Susy has recently started bringing in some quirky typography into her designs.

Susy has an ever growing client list including Chronicle Books, New York Magazine, teNeues Publishing & many more. You can follow Susy on Facebook and twitter @susypw. Susy also has a blog showing her drawings & recent updates. Enjoy, Hannah.

Scarlet Poppy Bridal Studio

We have a lovely bridal themed blog post lined up today! I have commissioned the talented Scarlet Poppy Bridal Design Studio to create my dress. Scarlet Poppy has been established since 1994, delivering beautiful couture gowns to brides for nearly twenty years.

The lovely Kate managed to whip up a wonderful sketch from my very own doodley design! We have a very unique dress in the making!

For information about the wonderful work of Scarlet Poppy you can visit their website here. You can also follow them on Facebook & Twitter. Here's a sneak peek of some of their existing & beautiful creations.

(I'll be documenting & sharing the whole process but for now it's all a secret until the big day this Summer, stay tuned for lots more Wedding dress inspiration!)

Zoe Attwell

Zoe Attwell is a wonderful graduate of 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design (the e-course)' & is a surface pattern designer based in London. She has worked in Graphic Design for newspapers from London to New York for many years but found that colour & pattern were what truly inspired her. This lead her to the e-course which she found "invaluable" for it's "amazing community that has been created with fellow designers". The course "inspired me and provided me with a solid base of knowledge from which to build upon". Since the e-course Zoe has been going from strength to strength having been featured in Issue 1 of MOYO Magazine & on the Print & Pattern blog!
You can visit Zoe's beautifully designed website, read her blog or contact her by email.

Module 3 Graduate Showcase - Part 4

It's hard to describe what it feels like when you watch a cohort of students go through a course like The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, where you can see them growing as designers in front of your eyes, watch them bond with each other, and hear back that they have more confidence, more excitement about their careers and a stronger sense of direction than ever before. It is brilliant to hear about all their commercial success (licensing deals, outright sales of designs and promotion by others on blogs, and in magazines and books) but it is even more precious to hear that the course has helped them do what they love - and has in many senses changed their life. Here is some of the fabulous work from our recent Module 3 graduates. If you want to make 2013 the year YOU make it as a surface pattern designer then join us & find out more by registering here!

"The course really helped me to open horizons, pushed me to try new things, develop my style and what I cherish the most - "hang out" with amazing like-minded souls who are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. I think this is priceless." Petra Kern

"The course has been incredibly useful to me in many ways, but perhaps the single most valuable thing I have gained is the confidence to set out on my own and launch my own business doing what I love the most." Krishnaa Shyam Sundar

"For me the wealth of information and the amount of support from not only the tutors but my fellow students has helped me to find my way as a designer." Sinead Mansell

"The course has had a huge impact on all of my design work, I feel I'm looking at everything differently and thinking in a new way about what I'm creating - I haven't felt this inspired since art college 20 years ago! It has encouraged me to work in different ways, with different media and this has been backed up with valuable career and business advice." Jess Williams

"I found the creative exercises were very useful. They encouraged me to work out of my comfort zone and try things I would normally steer clear of." Julie Hamilton

"Apart from the excellent technical instruction and the fantastic support system set in place to encourage you, I have found incredibly helpful, how the course has made clear the importance of developing your own distinctive designing style and shows you precisely how to do that. My immediate aims now are to continue exploring and developing my designing style and entering competitions as a way of getting experience in doing that." Alison Allmand-Smith

"The course is an invaluable insight into the industry. It provides so much inspiration and motivation to focus on the love of pattern and design. Most of all it has given me confidence to grow and explore as a designer!" Chloë Windle

Liesel Beukes

"The course has answered all the unanswered question from uni and taught me the business skills needed to succeed in the surface pattern design industry. It has also created a great community of like minded designers who are always there to advise, support and assist each other with designs, business ventures or in everyday life." Rosie Simons

"In addition to the wealth of information, live briefs, and technical workshops the discipline I learned throughout this class proved to be the most powerful. I now have the foundation for building a successful design career just by learning to balance essential business practices with interacting with clients and finding time to be creative every day." Emily Truong

"Where to start with how amazing this course is?! First it turns your creative spark into a hot burning fire - My willingness and desire to invest in spending daily time on my own work and designs has multiplied 300 fold! Even beyond that though, Rachel and Beth set out a foundation that I can now use as a guide to build my business brick by brick. They have created a thriving nurturing environment where everyone is given the power to succeed!" Sarah Ehlinger

"The most powerful element of the course to me comes in a package. The information, inspirations, insights, opportunities and positiveness.. opened up a whole new perspective for me in designing and gives me the skills and confidence to develop into a designer, 10 times better than before!" Sylvia Tay

"Whilst I have found every part of this course to be incredibly useful and very informative, the creative exercises coupled with the bonus technical workshops have been invaluable to my development as a designer – opening my eyes to the inspiration around me, how I can uniquely interpret it and make it digital. The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design has enabled me to expand my creative abilities and knowledge of pattern, confirming my desire to pursue this as a career." Vikki Hall.

"Rachael has enthusiastically guided us through a huge content of practical design, technical and business skills, to equip us for a career in the surface design industry. I now have the skills not only to combine my photography and drawings into unique designs but also to monetise those designs and market myself as a designer. One of the most surprising elements of the course has been the community of other students around the world and the support and encouragement we are able to offer each other in our quest to "make it" in this industry. Rachael, thank you so much for this life-changing experience." Lia Edwards

"The course has been a superb balance of the practical and inspirational. The most powerful element for me has been exploring practical exercises through which I have developed my own personal style as a designer. I never anticipated at the start that I would be ready to launch myself into the design world so quickly. I have a portfolio, website and confidence. So I have given up my career of eight years to pursue my dream. Thank you Rachael and Beth." Esther Cox

Jane Farnham

You can also join us for the next run of Module 1: Designing Your Way, which begins on the 29th of April & for Module 2 : Creating Your Professional Identity, which begins August 19th. You could be on your way to becoming a fully fledged surface pattern designer just like these graduates!