Splendid Curtain Fabric Design

July 29, 2016 Leave a comment

mid-century curtain fabric

mid-century curtain fabric

Splendid Curtain Fabric Design

I’ve been looking at 1950s designs recently but I had a little break just now to create a rather splendid mid-century curtain fabric.

This is intended to be a modern design although it uses mid-century type motifs and also uses contemporary colours. The circles – there are three types – zig zag up and down to give height and a way to the fabric. As can be seen, they are similar in intensity so that they confuse the eye to create an all over type of design. That, at least, is the idea.

I used two sets to showcase them and you will see that the two images show them at slightly different scales. On balance (although it is a fine line) I think I prefer the dining room scene.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

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Special Living Room Wallpaper

July 28, 2016 Leave a comment

Special Living Room Wallpaper

Special Living Room Wallpaper

Special Living Room WallpaperThe period immediately after the Second World War produced some outstanding design and artwork as the world began to settle into peacetime once again.

Much was due to innovation and invention but there was also considerable input and cross pollination from the modern art trends which were surging forward with a rush of talent from art schools. This pattern reflects that period and it’s values and yet it also has a modern feel to it as you can see from its use as wallpaper.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

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Modern Useful 1970s Wallpaper

July 27, 2016 Leave a comment

Modern Useful 1970s Wallpaper

Modern Useful 1970s Wallpaper

Modern Useful 1970s Wallpaper

Modern Useful 1970s Wallpaper

The 1970s was a time of excess, that is true, and it was especially so in the United Kingdom where limits were pushed as far as limits could go.

However, not all the mid-century patterns fall into this category because many people wanted something much more restrained but which still looked modern and up-to-the-minute.

Drawing on these ideas I have created the pattern above (which is so new it does not yet have a name). I have tried to combine a lot of the feel of that era but at the same time I have attempted to make it much more suitable for modern day living. I have, however, been careful to keep to British mid-century colours to help preserve a mood of authenticity and to make it suitable for use in a retro inspired mid-century room.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

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Flower Power Feature Wall

July 25, 2016 Leave a comment

mid-century 1960s flower power wall

Flower Power Wall

The 1960s was a time of great experimentation and innovation although, it has to said, not all of what was produced was good.

One thing that people did experiment with which was beneficial was scale and colour. In particular, they produced colours that had never had a life before and applied these to designs in sizes that sometimes where considered shocking.

But there was another innovation that is not perhaps so well appreciated. The designers of the time began to reduce elements to their most basic shape and line. In many cases gone was any pretence of making elements look real and in their place was a representation of what was intended. The classic example is the 1960s flower which appeared in time for the start of Flower Power and all that went with it.

Using these ideas, I have created a wall covering using brightly coloured 1960s flowers against a darker background as the feature wall of a modern apartment. Teamed with it are poppy red, plain curtains along with a plain canary yellow wall to create a spacious-looking, light, bright, modern living space.

The design has not yet been made into wallpaper although this is probably going to happen in the next few months once I can sort out the backlog of designs I already have.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and our other work on our Flickr page which is here.

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Quaint Pastel Oulton Mugs

July 24, 2016 Leave a comment

Redbubble Oulton Pastel Mugs
Redbubble Oulton Pastel Mugs

This is a deceptive design that looks simple but in fact took quite a lot of work over quite a long time to materialise.

It came about by my taking an element out of a more complex pattern which was too involved to use commercially and trying to make a pattern out of that. I tried a variety of different designs, using the element with others and in the end I realised that I need only just use it by itself.

The actually pattern was created by chance really using Illustrator’s new pattern options and it was then that I realised that it had potential.

I decided to use it as a pattern for mugs on Redbubble because, having purchased some of the mugs, I was impressed with the look and workmanship of them (and anyway, I like designing mugs). Having got a scale I like, I decided to use mid-century original pastel colours taken from the British Standard in use at the time. Pastel colours seem to suit mugs so well and set off the colour of the drink (in my case green tea). A bit of experimentation produced the following colours, porcelain blue, shell pink, vanilla and lovely yaffle green.

If you don’t know, yaffle seems to be the local English name for the woodpecker so it’s really woodpecker green which sounds maybe nicer, I don’t know.

You can find them (and buy them) at my Redbubble shop which is here. Also, you can see larger versions of this and our other work on our Flickr page, here.

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Fried Egg Wallpaper

July 22, 2016 Leave a comment

A Modern Wallaper Design

Apart from the colour of the ‘yolk’, one of the first things that I thought on finishing this design was that it resembled a collection of fried eggs!

To be honest, the thought of this almost made me delete it and start again but I’m glad that I left it for a week or so to ‘go off’ before looking at it again (I do this with most of my work). When I did, I still thought of fried eggs but I also saw that it had potential as a feature wallpaper and it is in this guise that you see it now.

As a single wall covering, it has a lot going for it, the pattern is big and bold and, as well as being eye-catching, it gives size and structure to the wall, as you can see. Although technically still in the development stage, there is every chance that this will end up as wallpaper on Spoonflower.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and our other work on our Flickr page which is here.

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Four Midcentury Type Fabrics For Cushions

July 21, 2016 Leave a comment

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Four Midcentury Type Fabrics For Cushions

I am currently working on (between breaks for sunshine) four mid-century type fabric designs intended to become cushions eventually.

I appear to be doing these all at the same time because they are all variations and extensions of work that I had done previously and which all looked likely candidates for home soft furnishing. The UK is having some nice sunny weather at the moment which makes it hard to concentrate on work but, nevertheless, I am doing my best and this is the work in progress image for later discussion.

Hopefully, these will be finished by the start or middle of next week. As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and our other work on our Flickr page which is here.

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