Country Feedback

Hello, I’m back! After a busy couple of weeks I’ve finally got around to finding some images to post. I was wishing I could show you the things I did at Tigerprint but that is strictly against the rules. Security is taken very,very seriously; you needed a special pass to get from the main Hallmark area into Tigerprint because M&S guard their exclusivity jealously.” This is not just a card factory…etc,etc!” Anyway, despite the huge corporate feel of the place it was a really nice atmosphere to work in, with everyone covered in “flitter” (tiny glitter) and having serious sales/design meetings with armfuls of teddies as well as clipboards!

I was working on a Christmas trend for 2009 and combining some CAD work with a lot of hand embroidery and beading.The other placement people included Anri Moolman who won the New Designers prize and Emma Daniel from Manchester whose hand embroidery was beautiful and delicate.We stayed in a cottage in Cottingley and I became a little obsessed with looking for fairies… unfortunately I forgot to take my wellies.

Meanwhile, away from the drawing board… Sunday the 24th was REM day which I’d been looking forward to for ages.The stage light show was fantastic, I’m not sure who it was doing the graphics and animations but The Heads of State have been involved in doing some of the limited edition posters for sale on the website and I love the simplicity of their designs which I first came across at college.

I don’t care what anyone says,REM are one of the best live bands you could see, and Micheal Stipe singing into his megaphone on Orange Crush gave me a flashback to another night in 1989 at Newcastle City Hall…. hell,was it really so long ago!? We also got a “special set” in celebration of Manchester Gay Pride Week and highlights included an acoustic version of Let Me In, audience participation with”portable phones” on Electrolite and a rage against US governments past and present with Ignoreland.

Now its time to return to the matter of designing and finding a way to make a living, so farwell until next time.x

808 State

I’ve been trying to get enthusiastic about Illustrator by printing out my feeble early attempts on to silk and then stitching into them. I’ve also bought a book and had a little lesson from my brother who directed me to Veerle’s blog which has some tutorials by an artist/graphic designer specializing in Illustrator.I’m looking forward to seeing what Lyndsay McBean has been up to at Hallmark, she sounds like she’s been having a good time and learning some new stuff so I’m starting to be quite excited about my week there from the 18th of this month.

Digging out some images to post I can’t help thinking “handmade” is a much more satisfying way to work…if only there were money in it. I think I need to find a way of expressing the subtle qualities from my hand-done pieces in CAD work, this probably involves YEARS of practice and makes me even more amazed that we were never shown Illustrator at college.

Here’s my chair in the garden, just waiting for a sunny day and a big pot of coffee.

I Like…..Birds

Here is one of my first attempts at designing using Illustrator. Its good fun but I’m starting to think its really not me. Well, I suppose if I became totally fluent using it, but at the moment it just looks very flat and unsophisticated. Ah, well, early days.As you can see I haven’t even worked out how to save the file properly as this image shows the whole work space not just the printable part!

I’ve had some good feedback from New Designers this week- a weeks work placement at Tigerprint and an invitation to work with an agent based in Cheshire. Tigerprint design all the gift ranges for Marks&Spencer and are a branch of Hallmark so it should be interesting seeing how that industry works. The agent also sounds really positive, she seemed to really like the work she’d seen in London.

Its difficult at the moment because of the school holidays. I really want to get on and DO something, work on a project, start the rest of my life post CCAD, but its too tempting to be distracted by the children and the garden. Everyone seems to want feeding all the time and never at the same time and never the same thing!

I had a look at Carl and Lyndsay’s blogs and they both seem to be busy being creative.Carl is working on T-shirt designs which will be for sale at Darlington Creative Market…I’m not sure what or when this is so I’ll have to find out more because it sounds like it might be worth a day out. Lyndsay is about to do some work placement at Hallmark.

Time for coffee and making plans.