NEW HOME!

The blog is moving to a new home!

I've been busy creating a new website with a fresh new look. This means my portfolio, products and blog can now all be found in one place. So please head on over to the new look rosiesimons.co.uk and take some time to look around the site and at the new designs in my portfolio! There is also a little welcome post on our new blog.

Plus, don’t forget to add our new blog location to your blog reader!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2014

Pattern Find - Betty & Walter

Sometimes my passion for pattern can be difficult to live with, I'll spot an amazing pattern on a dress across the street or a handbag in a supermarket but never know who made it or where it came from. The latter happened the other day, I spotted an amazing handbag but I didn't want to interrupt the lady doing her shopping to ask where it was from. Then by chance a picture came up on Instagram and it was a small purse in the same print, at last I found out who made it! I was overjoyed to finally find out!

It turns out the bag is made by Betty & Walter, a lifestyle brand with patterns by Lisa Levis, seen below!

 

Isn't it gorgeous?! The pattern is called Sgt. Pepper, a 60's inspired print, with a bold colourful floral blooms. There are other products in the pattern shown below, only problem is now I want them all! 

Clasp Purse £18 // Flat Purse £9 // Mini Shopper Bag £28 // Flat Purse £9 // Coin Purse £14

Rosie Simons Newsletter

I've been busy creating my exciting new newsletter! It will be full of news, new work and more! So if you want to hear what I've been up to lately or be one of the first to see my brand new Valentine's Collection, sign up here and it will drop into your inbox early next week! Below is a sneak peek of what you can expect..

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2014

Surtex Prep Update

I've been super busy lately planning and preparing for Surtex so I thought I'd do a little update of where I'm at!

Don't forget, I'll be in Booth #250!

Surtex has turned me into a list and spreadsheet crazy woman! I'm keeping myself organised and on target with goals, lists and spreadsheets.

I've booked my booth, made many many spreadsheets, budgets, quotes and more! I've got a list of friends booths and designers I would like to visit, lists and lists of things I need to do and get, business cards, banners, postcards, and of course loads and loads of work!

A few things that are really helping me through:

- Khristian A. Howell eBooks and Trade Show Checklist
- Todoist · An online task management and to-do list app. This allows you to add tasks, within different projects, with due dates and creates a productivity graph as you tick items off!
- iDoneThis · Great software for recording what you've done each day, so you can see what you've achieved so far not just what you've got left to go!
- Surtex Webinars from Elizabeth Olwen and Tara Reed
- The Surtex show manual and adding all the important dates to my Todoist Calendar
- Lots and lots of organisation
- Targets!

Hope to be back soon with more to share!

My brain has too many tabs open

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it summed up my current state..

Not just my brain, but my browser too! I've been very busy planning and creating new designs for Surtex.

I'll be back soon with an update of my progress!

Image source: A pair of pears

Tropical Fusion Bloghop

Today I am taking part in a bloghop with more than 40 designers from around the world. We have each created mini collections featuring Pantone Colour of the Year, Radiant Orchid, based on the theme 'tropical fusion'.

If you're following the chain you will have joined us from the wonderful blog of Virginia Njeri Kamau, I hope you are enjoying your hop so far! If you have landed here you can follow the link at the bottom of the post onto MaJo BV's post to continue looking at everyone's Tropical Fusion designs!

For those who aren't familiar with me and my work I'll give you a little run down! I'm Rosie, a graphic and surface designer with a passion for colour and pattern. If you want to see a bit more of my work please feel free to take a look around or pop over to my website for more!

Last year in our bloghop I set myself a big goal, to achieve my first licensing deal, which I achieved and more! This year I am pushing myself even further and attending Surtex in New York in May! You can read all about my announcement here. I will be in booth #250 if you're attending, I'd love to meet you!

Thanks for visiting, I'll now pass you on to the fabulous MaJo BV, enjoy the rest of the hop!

Big thanks to Mary from Groovity designs for organising this hop! If you want to do the whole hop from the beginning, you can head to Mary's post here.

P.S Apologies for the image quality, Blogger has made every file I uploaded blurry and I can't work out why! Hope to get it fixed soon.

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2014

NEW Mugs from Society6

A little while back I showed you the awesome new Tote Bags with my patterns on your can buy from Society6, and today I have even more great patterned products to show you!

This is just a selection of some of my favourites, you can see the whole mug collection on Society6 here.

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Colour of the Year: Radiant Orchid - Palettes

Bringing you some colour inspiration today featuring Pantone Colour of the Year, Radiant Orchid. It's great how it works with so many different colours to create such an array of palettes to suit many different styles!

Don't forget to check out designs made with Radiant Orchid as part of our Tropical Fusion Bloghop!

Tropical Fusion Bloghop

On Saturday I will be taking part in a bloghop with a group of super talented designers. We have all created designs for a "tropical fusion" theme featuring Pantone Colour of the Year, Radiant Orchid, so hop back here on Saturday to see the designs and escape this winter weather for a few minutes!

I'm going to SURTEX!!

So.. I told you had some exciting news and here it is! I'm going to be exhibiting at Surtex this May in NYC!

It's always been a dream to exhibit at Surtex and I am super excited! There's lots to plan and lots of work to be done but I've never been so excited to work hard! I'll be in Booth 250 so if you're coming to Surtex please pop in and say hello and view work or contact me via my website if you'd like to book an appointment beforehand!

Things might be a bit quieter than normal around here in the next few months while I work on lots of exciting news designs to show but I will keep you updated with my progress and some new work along the way!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2014

Hello 2014!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas/holiday and are ready and raring for 2014!

It was a great time to look back and reflect on what I achieved in 2013, much of which is thanks to the support of you lovely people, and what's to come in 2014! I have some great posts this week, including some exciting news and plans for 2014 so pop back soon!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2014