We Have Moved / / New Website & Blog Launch

Here at the studio we would like to THANK YOU for your ongoing support, we have loved sharing our inspiration & daily blog posts with you. Thank you for following our blog & always leaving fab comments we really appreciate it.

Our blogger posts are no more... but don't worry! We have a shiny brand new blog over on the new Rachael Taylor website. You can still keep up to date with our fun posts & studio news there.

We hope you enjoy the new website & look forward to sharing lots more inspiration with you.

Here are a few screen shots taken from our new site.

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MICA / / Eric Leland

Today we are sharing the beautiful work of Eric Leland who I met on a recent work trip to the US! I was lucky enough to get to visit Boston & Baltimore, hang out with the team at the Lilla Rogers Studio & teach some workshops & deliver a public lecture at MICA (Maryland Institute College Of Art). It was such an honour to be invited & to teach at such a wonderful college with talented tutors such as Eric.

Eric's design career began in architecture - he spent five years working in that field in Baltimore, Maryland, & passed his registration exams in 2007. However, at the same time, he was overtaken both by wanderlust & by a growing realisation that he was happiest with the part of his work that involved pencil & paintbrush. Eric & his wife took a leap across the Atlantic, and then enrolled in the postgraduate illustration course at University College Falmouth, in Cornwall, England. Since 2009, Eric has been back in Baltimore, where he has now nearly filled his basement with obsolete letterpress printing equipment. Eric produces & markets his own illustrated greeting cards, calendars, books, prints & paper goods, much of which is printed & bound by hand, by me. For the 2013 - 14 academic year, he is also teaching part time on the Illustration Practice MFA course at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

You can visit Eric's lovely website & his Etsy shop to buy his gorgeous illustrations.

MICA / / Rebecca Bradley

Today we are sharing the gorgeous work of Rebecca Bradley who I met on a recent work trip to the US! I was lucky enough to get to visit Boston & Baltimore, hang out with the team at the Lilla Rogers Studio & teach some workshops & deliver a public lecture at MICA (Maryland Institute College Of Art). It was such an honour to be invited by the talented Rebecca Bradley (Rebecca is also one of Lilla's artists as well as myself, & a fantastic tutor) & to teach at such a wonderful college. 

Rebecca Bradley is British & studied at Chelsea College of art in the UK & Savannah College of Art & Design in the USA. She works full time at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, as well as working freelance as an illustrator. She is represented by 'Lilla Rogers' in the USA & by 'Eyecandy Illustration' in the UK. Partial client list includes 'Penguin Books', the 'Boston Globe', 'The Guardian Newspaper', 'BBC books', 'Chronicle books' and 'Hachette books'. To give you an example of the broadness of assignments that she gets, Rebecca has recently worked on illustrations for the official 'Twlight Guide' & has also illustrated soup packaging for Tesco's stores in the UK!

Below is a selection of her beautiful illustrations. You can find more of Rebecca's work on her blog!

Creative Review / / Inaluxe

I am thrilled to be able to share some inspirational art and design with you every Tuesday morning as Rachael's 'Art and Creative Writer'. This week, I'm featuring the creative genius of the design team, Inaluxe.

Inaluxe is a collaboration between two Australian designers, Kristina Sostarko and Jason Odd. Their studio is based in the Grampians, Victoria where they are inspired by the natural flora and fauna around them. 

As children of the 70s they have a retro feel to their work which successfully manages to blur the lines between surface pattern design, illustration and art. Their consistently eye catching colour palettes, use of texture and clever composition make their work instantly recognisable. Definitely going on my wish list! More eye candy next Tuesday, Justine x

Artist Review / / Ekaterina Koroleva

I am thrilled to be able to share some inspirational art and design with you every Tuesday morning as Rachael's 'Art and Creative Writer'. This week, I'm featuring the watercolour illustrations of Ekaterina Koroleva.

Ekaterina is a Russian born graphic designer and illustrator, now based in Berlin. She works with watercolour inks to create quirky portraits with a contemporary edge, often depicting women with an elusive, mysterious quality.

She works freelance illustrating for magazines and has a portfolio online where you can find out more about her work. Have a lovely week! Justine x

Happy Times!

We are always having so much fun on the studio & we love to share the fun with you! Currently we are preparing for a work trip to the US by creating a 'look book' (more information & images to come soon!) We are also super excited about being picked to be in the running for 'Triumphs Next Maker' in association with Stylist Magazine, where you can spot our 'lampshade stack'. So to celebrate these happy times here is a little inspiration for you!

Why not leave a comment & let us know what you are happy about?

USA Work Trip / / Boston & Baltimore

Happy Thursday everyone, I hope you have all had a fun week so far! Today I am super excited to announce that I'll be visiting, working & teaching in the USA very soon! Having only visited two places in the US so far (Las Vegas & New York). I'm thrilled that I will be able to discover both Boston & Baltimore for work, I LOVE MY JOB!

Firstly I'll be working with & hanging out with the talented team at the Lilla Rogers studio & I hope to squeeze in a little sight seeing around the wonderful city of Boston. This will be the first time that I will meet the team in person (since joining the studio at the end of last year). I'm so EXCITED!

After a five night stay in Boston I'll be flying to to Baltimore to teach workshops & deliver a public lecture at MICA Maryland Institute College Of Art. It was such an honour to be invited by the talented Rebecca Bradley (Rebecca is also one of Lilla's artists & a fantastic tutor) to teach at such a wonderful college.

"MICA has become the leader in the education of artists and designers by fostering a community of talented, creative individuals committed to redefining the boundaries of art and design and to expanding their own vision and perspective through rigorous study.

• Ranked in the top 10 of MFA programs in the visual arts, #3 in Graphic Design, and #5 in Painting/Drawing by U.S. News & World Report
• In each of the past six years, MICA has been listed as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars among specialty schools by The Chronicle of Higher Education, and was ranked No. 1 in 2008-09 and in 2012-13
• Named one of the top two studio arts programs in the country by Parade magazine
• Listed among the 25 best U.S. design schools by ID magazine
• Selected as a top 20 U.S. design school by GDUSA magazine
• The Princeton Review named MICA a "Best Northeastern College" each of the last seven years
• Enrolled 100% of Presidential Scholars in visual arts and photography who selected an art college in 2008 and 2012—consistently enrolls the most Presidential Scholars in visual arts
• Founded in 1826—the oldest continuously degree-granting college of art in the nation"

Stay tuned as I will be sharing news, images & blog posts from the trip along with writing a full article in issue six of MOYO magazine.

(The public lecture will be held at 12.15pm on Thursday the 24th of October, Graduate Studio Center Auditorium). 

 

Beautiful examples (above) from Rebecca's portfolio

Dream Large!

Happy Monday!

We hope you are dreaming large today & feeling motivated!

Rachael & Kelly :)

MOYO Issue 5 is here / / The Anniversary Special!

MOYO Magazine is one year old, and we are celebrating with our biggest ever issue: Issue 5 - the Anniversary Special! Since we first dreamt up the concept when on a plane back from a trade show in Paris, we have loved developing, designing and publishing our very own online magazine dedicated to surface pattern design. We are hugely grateful to all our contributors, and to all our readers (over one million views in our first year!), and hope that you continue to find MOYO inspiring and valuable. Every issue we pack in a wide variety of content, from industry interviews and advice through to design briefs and trend information. And in this bumper 100+ page Anniversary Special we have really gone to town. Inside Issue 5 (which is completely free) you can find:

• An exclusive interview with internationally acclaimed designer Clarissa Hulse
• Insight into greetings from industry giant Hallmark
• A DIY Celebration guide (make your party personal!)
• The UKTI Guide to Exporting
• Unveiling of our brand new directory site the MOYO Directory!

PLUS: A sneak peek behind the scenes at our weddings!

This is the party issue, and you are invited! Check out the latest issue of MOYO here.

SHARE THE LOVE!

MOYO is completely free and we want to delight as many people as possible with the wonderful world of surface pattern design. Please feel free to share the magazine on your blog/social media and tell your friends about it!