Feature Friday - Natalie Alexander

Today I have a real treat for you! Our feature friday designer is Natalie Alexander.

Natalie Alexander is a graphic and surface designer and fellow ABSPD graduate. When I first saw Natalie's work I was instantly drawn to her gorgeous colour palettes, fun florals and delicious use of texture.

Natalie describes her style as contemporary with a raw element, she likes her designs to have a slightly unpolished appearance and really enjoys working with bold colour palettes.

The unpolished, raw feel to Natalie's designs is one of my favourite things about them, they feel so free and passionate but lighthearted and uplifting at the same time.

To find out more visit Natalie's website, or follow her on Twitter or Facebook

Images copyright Natalie Alexander 2013

Colour & Pattern Inspiration from Jnr Joules

I was browsing the Joules website and came across this lovely floral pattern on some of the Jnr Joules girlswear.

The print has lovely texture and even features colour of the year, Emerald!

Images sourced from joules.com · Top · Sweater  · Dress 

Collage image copyright Rosie Simons 2013

New designs on Society6

I've been adding new designs to my Society6 shop. Below are some of the new patterns available.

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Do What You Love

If you've been following the blog for a while you'll probably know that I took 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' e-course from Do What You Love and Rachael Taylor back in September..

I've been meaning to do a follow up piece about the course since it ended in October, but the opportunities and briefs the course gave me were so incredible that it doesn't really feel like it has ended!

The course was fantastic, 6 weeks jam-packed full of behind the scenes information, all the business and technical sides to design world that they don't teach you at uni, amazing live briefs and much much more!

My favourite thing (besides all the amazing information we were given) is the community created by the course. I have met some really fantastic people, and it's great to be able to share ideas, get feedback and bounce ideas off other likeminded people, who all have different experiences in and around the design industry.

Another thing that I loved about the course was that it really encouraged you to be yourself, to do what feels right to you, whatever that may be and people will love you for who you really are.

The course encourages you that if you believe in yourself you can free yourself and live the life you have always dreamed of. It also encouraged me to get back to my creative roots and that was how the inspirational illustrative prints in this post came about. They show my passion for design and determination to live the life I have always dreamed, which without ABSPD I thought could never happen, and I want to share this inspirational feeling with others. So a MASSIVE thank you to Rachael and Beth, for giving me this opportunity and for creating such an amazing ongoing community of designers and creatives.

If you are thinking about taking the course, do not hesitate, it really will change your life!

The prints featured in this post are now available to purchase from my Etsy store! A great print for your wall to keep you inspired or a great gift for inspiring others!

All images copyright Rosie Simons 2012

New Boys Designs

I recently worked on a brief to design for boys. This is not something I normally work on and when I started the brief I thought I would really struggle. However once I had decided on a theme and a colour palette the design started to flow and I am SO pleased with how it turned out!

I am going to develop the collection further adding new placement and repeat prints using the same motifs and colour palette. Who knows where Tom will go next!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2012

Little update

I've been very busy working on lots of new designs and product ideas recently so I thought I'd share a few today. I've added a few new and updated designs to my Society6 shop and mocked up my patterns on some other outcomes I'd love to see.

I really love seeing my designs mocked up onto products or (almost) real life situations!

I am currently available for freelance work or commissions, my designs are also available for licensing, contact me for more details. You can contact me on twitter @rosie_simons or facebook or via my website.

First up, a new design I shared as part of the passion4pattern blog hop, inspired by my recent trip to Canada, Beauty Wood.

Next up is a design I shared a little while back, Blow me one last kiss, but updated with a different colour background and a cute little polka dot. I think this pattern would be perfect for the lining of a little girls coat!

All images copyright Rosie Simons 2012

New Paperchase collection

If you're a regular reader of this blog then you'll know I'm a Paperchase fanatic. I find it so exciting when a new collection comes out and my dream has always been to design a collection sold in Paperchase..

I was browsing the website and noticed this interesting new collection.. the 'block press' collection.

I normally find myself drawn to the bright, fun and generally floral patterns in Paperchase, but this one is different and I love it! The pattern is designed to look like it has been block printed (maybe the original pattern was, who knows!) but the I love the outcome!

The use of textured papers and fabric help enhance the great texture of the print, the mix of colours and hand drawn style are fantastic and the texture of the print, as if it was a fresh block print, is so exciting! (yes, print nerd here!)

You can check out the range online here or in Paperchase stores, I bet it looks even better in person!

All images copyright Paperchase

New design - Blow me one last kiss

I've been busy adding lots of new designs to my Society6 shop and my Spoonflower shop!

There's now lots of exciting designs for you to buy as art prints, framed prints and canvas prints, iPad, iPhone, iPod and Laptop skins, iPhone cases and stationery cards.

Below is my new design 'Blow me one last kiss' a super fun colourful print available now!

'Blow me one last kiss' is also available to view on Spoonflower, I hope to have it for sale soon, but I need to order a sample before it can be bought as fabric.

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2012

Another exciting delivery from Moo!

I recently took advantage of the 30% off summer sale at Moo and ordered myself some mini cards and stickers. The previous items I ordered were so fantastic I thought it would be good to have a smaller less formal card to give out to people with my website and twitter on, so ordered a pack of minicards, with 8 different designs on the backs, 6 of my best/favourite surface designs and 2 traditional backs like my existing Moo business cards.

Again amazed by the quality, appearance, feel and attention to detail of Moo products. The colours have some out perfectly, the paper stock feels incredible and they come so beautifully packaged too!

I also ordered a client's business cards and stickers from Moo and they have also arrived so expect a post of more Moo gorgeousness next week!

I absolutely adore the mini cards with a selection of my designs on the back, it's like a mini portfolio!

  

All images and designs copyright Rosie Simons