Something to make you giggle!

I just wanted to post these as they both made me smile! The first image is a card I recently bought as it just made me laugh as that's what I look like most of the time! The second image is a snapshot I took when walking across a the bridge outside the Tate Modern in London. I love the fact that someone has stuck the Superman sticker on there, funny! :)

More Yummy Cakewalk Goodies!

More images to come!

Introducing Cakewalk!

Happy Monday everyone! I want to introduce you all to a super, fab, amazing shop in Ilkley, West Yorkshire called CAKEWALK!

The lovely Emma Straw from Cakewalk has recently become one of my new stockists in the Yorkshire area, I was invited along to the grand opening of the brand new larger shop on Saturday. I was WOWED by the lovely layout, quirky & welcoming vibe the shop has. It really is jam packed with goodies from lots of super talented design makers. It also stocks lots of lovely vintage items too. I also spotted lots of quirky items designed & made by Emma herself.

I could buy the whole shop! If you ever in the area it's a must see place to go! for more information on CAKEWALK you can go to their lovely website here

I took lots of  images of so great products & designs, so please visit the blog tomorrow for more lush inspiration!

  

Home Magazine Feature

One of our oven mitts got a lovely little feature in today's home supplement in the Sunday Mirror!

Here are a few snapshots taken from the magazine :)

B&W Etched Floral Range

I'm pleased to announce that I now have a complete B&W Etched Floral range! My oven mitts are finally ready which completes the set. You can buy tea towels, aprons & mugs in this B&W design too along with greeting cards & bespoke canvas prints.

To view this collection you can just visit my online shop here

When the Leaves Leave

Hello Everyone it's Thursday again and it is an unavoidable fact that the Summer is over and the Autumn is finally here. The mornings are darker, the days are shorter and we've all surrendered to covering up and putting away our colourful clothes.

On the brighter side, the Autumn is a beautiful season. The magic of having multicoloured trees and bushes as you pass by, the newly refurbished pavements with carpets of leaving leaves.   

I don't find the Autumn to be a sad season at all. If anything, it's the perfect ending to a summer and a dramatic start to the cuddly season.

This is why today I want to pay a small tribute to all of those leaves that leave us now.  We won't be seeing them on trees for a few months, but we will surely be able to find them in loads of amazing prints and products. Here are a few fun and pretty examples. 

So bye bye Leaving Leaves, you will be missed, but we will decorate our lives with "you" until we get you back! Hope you enjoy today's post, love Moni x

50's Inspired quirky print by Rachael Taylor Designs

-Three Trees with Birds- by WowWall at Etsy.com

DIY Flower Clock at Urban Outfitters

Sliced Persimmon Salad Plate at Anthropoligie

Lotus Embellished Square Slouch Bag by Accessorize

Borough Market

Here are a few inspirational images that I thought I'd share with on the blog today. I visited Borough Market in London for the first time & really enjoyed it!

Team @rachaeltaylordesigns (part 2)

The plans for the new studio are in motion & the demolition & build starts in just three weeks! exciting stuff! (more on that to come)

Following on from last weeks blog feature, I'd like to introduce you all to another member of the team.

Introducing Fiona...

I first met Fiona at the BCTF Harrogate, when I was introduced to her by the lovely Hannah Nunn after I'd been on the search for some much needed PR help.

I decided to employ Fiona in the last few months on freelance basis. She now looks after all my PR for me. Fiona has been great! it's been so lovely, fun & exciting to have her on board.

About Fiona:

"I have been in working as a PR consultant now for 10 years, and I decided to set up my company happy4pr.com five years ago and I have never looked back. 

I love seeing companies like Rachael Taylor Design grow and flourish into successful businesses. I enjoy being a part of Rachael's team and believe in her products. Since working with Rachael we have managed to get double page spreads and also be a part of a wonderful tv show. I know my work with Rachael will grow more and more, and I can't wait for the next challenges. 

I started my career working within the newspaper world, then I went on to studied Drama and Writing at MMU. I have done my share of treading the boards and have performed a few times at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in front of the French deputy prime minister (but that's another story)
My first PR job was for a boutique in Hampstead, where I got to work with up and coming designers  and get to know the world of celebrity. I have worked with the likes of Kelly Rowland, Prince, Kelly Osbourne, Karen Millen, Joan Collins plus many more in my time. I love doing what I do, as I get to work with many different businesses and personalities. I love the challenges I face every day and no day is the same. For example I was finding Davina's bb outfit and chasing after the Prince of Wales the other day - I never know what to expect, but its fun".

 *What's your favourite colour? " I love bright vibrant colours - but if I had
to choose one particular one its orange the colour of creativity".

 *Your favourite food? "I am a big lover of seafood".

 *Music your listening too? "I love music, I have performed in my fair share of
musicals and I use to be in a band, so music has always featured quite
strongly in my life. I listen to a wide range of music from the streets to
Etta James, at the moment I have been listening to Melody Gardot". 

 *Design icon? "Well it has to be Coco Chanel, I admire her so much, she was a
strong woman living in a man's world and kept her conviction throughout,
though some would not always agree with how she lived her life, what she
achieved helped to shape women in business today. She showed to her peers to
believe in yourself and go for your dreams, and she certainly lived her
life!!! A great example to all".

Autumn Time!

I had a lovely time at the weekend catching up with old uni friends. My friend Nicky now lives in London so me & Gemma hopped on the train on Friday night to catch up. Despite the heavy rain late Saturday we managed to squeeze a fair few things in (more on that to come)

I also managed to grab a fair bit of research & inspiration too! Here are a few pretty & very quick snapshots that we took just on my digital camera. Gemma is a Art & Textile teacher so she is bad as me for snapping away!

Pretty autumn colours!

New Range!

Happy Monday & happy October everyone:) It really does feel like autumn now...

I have a new line for autumn/winter, here is the first of our new apron designs. There are more colours & styles to come! so watch this space

The new B&W range has now been added to my online store here

Blog Feature

I'm just writing a little brief post to thank the lovely team at www.folksy.com for featuring me on Saturday's blog post! Thank you for the fab feedback & comments.

You can visit their wonderful blog here!

Wall Art

Hello Everyone! my name is Monica and I'll be your guest blogger on Thursdays at rachaeltaylordesigns!
You can also follow me on twitter as @MeAndaCupofTea and the rest of the week join me at my own Blog ...And a Cup of Tea. Enjoy!

Over the past few years, after a couple of decades of decorative minimalism, wallpapers have had a huge re surge in the world of interior design.  All of a sudden we have started seeing entire patterned walls fill rooms with characters in shops, on TV and in people's homes.  With this wallpaper craze has come a new generation of brilliant designers who have revolutionised the blandness of our walls.
A great example of this is designer Ximena Escobar.  She's super talented Colombian designer who creates bespoke and personalised pieces of art to stick on your walls.

Here are a few pics of her work in making homes lovely. Find some more of her work on her blog or you can visit her website.

Team @rachaeltaylordesigns!

I wanted to share my wonderful team on the blog today & introduce you to them. I've been lucky enough to hire some (much needed!) freelance help lately.

I now have Moni my super talented designer/maker (and soon to be guest blogger) Fiona my amazing PR consultant along with Chris the very clever web designer!

I would love to have them all on a full time basis (I'll keep dreaming) but for now I'm very happy to receive their part time help:) I will introducing you to them over the next few days on the blog!

Introducing Moni...

I first met Moni last year when she approached me about a work placement, she was the first placement I ever took on & was super organized, super talented & very hands on, so just what I needed! She helped me at shows, looked after trend research for me, help develop my handmade products, she does the fantastic sewing, she also introduced me into the wonderful world of blogging.

I decided to employ Moni in the last few months on freelance basis. She now looks after the handmade side of things for me (as lately I hardly get to sew nowadays :( on top of the designing that I do) I design the prints & products & Moni develops them into the handmade line.

 

About Moni:

"My name is Monica Escobar and I'm in charge of the production of Rachel Taylor's handmade line; Together we come up with new ideas and I work with Rachael's fabric & make them happen.

I come from beautiful Colombia (South America), I am 29 years old and a year and a half ago I moved to Leeds for love!  I have a BA in Advertising and Marketing and a Masters Degree in Fashion Styling. 

Like a good Latin American I love the sun and the beach.  I love colourful things, flowers, dancing, fashion and Mangos! My favourite colour is purple, I love Mexican food, writing little poems and doing art projects around my house. The album playing on my ipod at the moment is "The Dreamers" Soundtrack from the Bertolucci film.  I don't like negative thinking or rude people.  I hate airports but I love travelling to all sorts of places but often find myself wishing I was in a Caribbean Island.  

I am very inspired by fashion and art,  I love John Galliano's amazing collections, Impressionism and vintage flower drawings".

Moni is our new guest blogger you can read her post every Thursday!