Evolutionary Endeavours...

Every so often, we stubble across a new designer that gets us very excited, and we want to work with them immediately! So today's graduate showcase is of Duncan of Jordanstone Textile graduate 

Claire Corstorphine.

Claire specialises in digitally printed textiles, which enables her to manipulate her photographs, and vintage finds to create an explosion of colour, and quirky imagery in her range of silk scarves.

For her graduate collection entitled 'Molluscs, Microbes and Mutants', she took inspiration from Darwin symbolism to create her own hybrid of the natural world. 

Although she presents a palette of bright zingy colours, on peeling back the layers of silk, a darker undertone of progressive natural selection is revealed, and her patterns show an abstraction of the core of life itself, fragility and strength seem then, to work in harmony...

On the Up...

 

We're excited to bring you an interview with talented designer and up-cycler Yinka Ilori, a recent graduate from London Metropolitan University who caught our eye a few months ago, and have been keeping an eye on ever since.

We were interested in his aesthetic approach to design, and how he has pretty much turned the idea of up-cycling on its head to create these rich, but simply crafted creations.

In the lead up to the African and African-Caribbean Design Diaspora in London, we managed to catch-up with Yinka to find out a bit more about him and his work...

Did you always know you would do something creative? 

Yes, I always knew that I would do something creative because when I was at secondary I was always good at drawing and really enjoyed Art GCSE and Design & Technology GCSE. I remember my teachers always telling me my work was good and always using my work, and homework book as an example to show the other pupils what their work should look like which was flattering, but at the sometimes embarrassing!

Did you have any early inspirations/ inspirational characters that informed your creative path? 

Yes, I remembered studying BTEC in Art and design studies at London Metropolitan University and we had an end of year exhibition. I had been setting up all day and had to go home and change my clothes. When I had arrived back I had noticed that I had been nominated for a Sir John Cass Art & Design Award, although I didn't win, for me, knowing that I had been nominated inspired and made me believe that I am doing something right.

What inspires you/ any particular places you draw inspiration from? 

What inspires me is everyday things in life, that have a story to tell and I try to incorporate that into my up-cycled furniture, because my ethos for up-cycling furniture is all about re-loving and telling the story of how the furniture was re-loved:) 

I am also really inspired by the African culture, as you may have noticed African prints from Ankara to Aso-oke are mainly used in most of my furniture. I also love old vintage Scandinavian furniture I think they are beautiful, and sometimes draw inspirations from there too. 

Currently, I am really inspired by MBE artist Yinka Shonibare, I think he is an amazing artist who curates moving, yet at the same time interesting installations. His installations are very powerful, with a strong meanings behind it, hence why he has inspired me to do an installation at this year's AACDD (The African and African-Caribbean Design Diaspora) Festival at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, London SE1

19 – 30 September 2012 my installation is titled 'Head of the House'. Hope to see some of you there:)

What first led you to working with old furniture as opposed to creating pieces from scratch? 

When I did a project at university called 'our chair' where we had to do a partnered project, and find two old chairs making it into one chair, using all the pieces from both chairs!

I absolutely loved that project, and it was from then onwards I knew that I wanted to make up-cycling my career because I loved the way each piece of furniture tells its own story, for me furniture with a story is beautiful.

What's been your biggest achievement to date?

Wow my biggest achievement to date would be exhibiting in New York in May 2012 at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and also selling one of my pieces of furniture to a High-end contract furniture company called 'D'Apostrophe'. 

It still feels nice to know that my piece of furniture is now somewhere in New York and will now become a story for someone else, now to tell! So yes, selling a piece of my furniture in New York has been my biggest achievement to date:)

What are your plans/ goals over the next 12 months? 

My plans and goals in the next few months would be hopefully to have a pop-up shop dedicated to my brand, not sure on location but that's something I would like to do over the next 12 months, who knows it may even be longer than 12 months.

What advise would you give to any new designer starting out on their own, or someone considering studying (furniture) design?

What I would advise any designer starting out on their own is to keep pushing because no one said that it's going to be easy, but the main thing is that if you enjoy what you do and your truly passionate about it, never keep up, because it's really important to do something that truly makes you happy, that's what got me here today:)

What's the ultimate dream?

My ultimate dream would be to have my own shop, with all my furniture inside it, and a few other designers works that I also like as well...

You can see Yinka's work at The African and African-Caribbean Design Diaspora Festival at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, London SE1 from 19 – 30 September 2012

Some real gems...

As this year's degree shows come to an end, once again we have been bowled over by the variety of creative work and diverse and interesting collections that have caught our eye. We found some great talent, so here are a few of our show highlights from the class of 2012...

First up is a selection of stand-out sparkly bits from New Designer's Part One...

Natasha Thorogood has just graduated from Nottingham Trent University specialising in Decorative Arts. Her collection of organic rings drew us over to her stand like a couple of magpies! They have a painterly quality, almost Monet-esque, and the combination of aquamarine and ochre mixed with metallic accents of copper, silver and gold were perfection...

Beth Jones, a contemporary applied artist based in North Wales showed that jewellery can come from the simplest of forms. Under the name Mine is Thine, her combination of sculptural and wearable pieces explores domestic references, and experimenting with techniques like enamelling, maintains a minimal aesthetic...

Victoria Thay ticks all the boxes for our love of pretty much anything geometric and structured. Throw in a touch of gold and silver and quite frankly we'll want to buy it all! A graduate from Central St.Martins, her surroundings in the capital become the inspirational backdrop, but rather than take literal references, she has explored the architectural landscape and the skewed perspective of buildings you often see when moving around the city...

Amy Logan formed part of the showcase of designers in the 'One Year On' space and in complete contrast to the work by Victoria above, her current collection takes inspiration from the drawn line. The translation from paper and pen to crafted metalwork makes each piece unique with its hand-drawn to hand-made quality...

Nicola Crawford was also showcasing her latest collection as part of 'One Year On' which took inspiration from the nostalgic routes of letter-writing. She came across a letter in an antique shop penned during World War Two, and used this as her basis for her 'Lost Words' collection...

And finally, Mairi Burrow of Mustard & Peaches, produced a stand-out collection as part of the consistent high-quality that comes out of Duncan of Jordanstone at Dundee University. We were already familiar with Mustard & Peaches through our link with Vanilla Ink, and we were excited to not only see Mairi's collection, but to meet the lovely lady herself. Her thoughtful and considered approach to her work was stunning, and tapping into a subject matter such as Alzheimer's was inspiring and heart-felt...

Look out for our round-up of our top finds in textiles, print and ceramics in the next few days...

Transferrable Skills...

Zoe Alexandria Richardson, a London-based jewellery designer approached us as she embarks on her new venture under the name Dual Nation Jewellery.

Having already completed a degree in fashion design and marketing, she needed another creative outlet, and enrolled in a diploma course for creative jewellery making at the London Jewellery School.

When she approached us with her collection, it was something we hadn't really seen before, and were intrigued to find out more, so we set up a meeting last month to meet her, and see her pieces first-hand.

Zoe uses a material called poly-clay, a plastic-based substance to form the decorative parts of her jewellery, and applies transfers she finds interesting to finish the look. Using a simple colour palette of gold, silver and bronze, she creates an interesting mix of uniquely shaped statement pieces with a vintage postcard quality, as well as drawing inspiration from her British and Australian heritage.

With her perfect mix of fashion, design and marketing skills, we see big things for Zoe as she has also talked about extending her ranges with her own illustrations, as well as looking to collaborate with other illustrators too.

We have a small selection of her work available through the Look Like Love store, so head over to take a closer look...

All things bright and beautiful...

Jessie G has been on board with us for the last couple of months, but we thought we would do a bit of an official introduction...

Jess works as an interior designer in London, but ever since being given her first silk screen as a child, she has been addicted to the process and the wide-range of results that can be achieved.

She takes inspiration from her travels around the capital, and her trips a bit further afield too. Her bright, and bold graphic approach tunes into a style akin to mid-century modern, and her pieces whether a print or cushion wouldn't look out of place on a G-Plan sideboard or Ercol daybed!

Most weekends you will find her brightening up a Designer-Maker Market in London with a kaleidoscope of colourful wares from greetings cards to poppy prints, she brightens our day and will brighten a room in any home too...

Find some of her beautiful prints at our shop...here...

Animal Magic...

We might be heading off to places in the sun, but we still keep a look out for any talent that catches our eye, it's been a long time, and we are excited to get back to showcasing one such designer.

Julia Kisselmann is a designer who graduated last year from the University of Bedfordshire in Illustration. Her work leans towards nature, with a hand-drawn aesthetic, and a bold use of colour and scale.

We particularly like pieces from her Transmutation collection, where animals themselves cross-over into nature, and the exploration of flora and fauna become intertwined.

With the creation of her brand, and business in mind, her creativity doesn't wane, and its great to see a range of strong products being built around a true talent...

Just New...

A new year always brings a sense of optimism, a fresh set of challenges, a new creative project, an energised and motivated approach, and for us this is no different.

We start though with bringing back our showcase of some of the great, and the good work that goes on out there by graduates and part-time designers...

Art School Disco are an illustrative collective based in the UK is made up of six designers that each take their own style, and apply that to a new theme each week.

Made up of Ben Phe, (we featured his work back in August in 'Just Super Cool...') Simon Abbott, Ed Brown, Johnny Ace, Keiron LeVine, and Katie Allen, their individual interpretation makes their blog an eclectic mix of creativity, sometimes a little quirky, and maybe even crazy at times.

There's a definite sense of a dark undertone, and a touch of morbid humour with some of the works, but this all adds to the appeal for us, and showcases pure creative vision at it's experimental best...                             

Reading between the lines...

When it comes to maths, we're not the best, (well, me as the designer half of the duo anyway!) But in a genius cross-over from maths to design, today's featured designer has managed it.

Lizete Druku has recently graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Textiles, and has taken the structural qualities that exist in mathematics to create her own collection of textiles, as well as collaborating with jewellery designer Sarah Cunningham using polyhedra as a starting point.

"This project aims to resurrect the relationship between mathematics and pattern through aesthetic experience and to highlight the ethereal qualities of mathematic principles. By using the imagery from some of the seventy-five uniform polyhedra, forms from numbers and grid structures, the visual narrative creates a metaphor for the changing relationship between fashion and mathematics..." says Lizete about her inspiration.

In truth, the possibilities seem to be endless, and we are lucky enough to have a small collection of limited edition fine wool scarves, and etched jewellery pieces on offer in our shop. These are truly beautiful pieces, and it's proving to be very difficult not to buy them all for ourselves...check them out here before we do!!

Pause for Thought...

What's lovely about researching and showcasing different designers, is discovering their inspirational connections, and how they translate them into their chosen specialism...

Today, that unexpected collaboration comes in the form of Liva Cabule and Emma Walker...

Liva, graduated this Summer from The University of Bedfordshire in Illustration. She has always had an interested in a variety of artist styles and genres, but her real passion lies in screen print and creating hand-made books.   

One such book, The Fairy and the Seed, takes inspiration from Jack and the Beanstalk to explore the moral tale that warns of the dangers of GM plants, which she displayed at the recent Emerge exhibition as part of London Design Festival. 

As well as creating her own books, Liva was awarded second prize at the Penguin Design Awards in the Puffin Children's Book Category, for her illustrated design of James and the Giant Peach...

Moving from one 2D specialism to another, Emma Walker's photography is a continual exploration into the relationship between the Human and the Natural World.

A recent graduate from Arts University College Bournemouth, Emma's work investigates the concepts of beauty that surrounds the subject of nature, with an edge of sublime and surrealism.

"...the beauty of nature is but only a small facet of this fascination...the diversity, the state of being unrestrained from thought...however subtly they may be visualised..." says Emma, about her inspiration.

We have a selection from both Liva and Emma's recent collections available...just hit Shop to explore some more...

Home is where the heart is..

The nights are drawing in so naturally we are wanting to spend more time indoors and snuggle with some trashy TV, (well, that's just us!) So to address the balance, we need those little homely touches, so why not indulge in something from one of today's featured designers, Sandy Powell and Rubyshoes Rocks...

Sandy is a recent graduate from London Metropolitan University, where she studied Textile Design for Interiors and Products. Her speciality is three-dimensional stitched textiles, which is certainly put to good use in her range of cushions, corsages and bag charms.

Her inspiration comes from structural aspects found in nature, and using them in repetition. What's lovely about her work is her use of accent colours in felt, taffeta and recycled leather, adding something special to an everyday product...

Now, you may be forgiven for thinking that bunting is something reserved for Summer Fetes in the country, surrounded by homemade cakes and preserves, but Rubyshoes Rocks is on a one woman mission to change all that!

Founded by Interior Designer Jo Ash, Rubyshoes Rocks started out at a little ol' homestead in South East London, making and creating bunting for friends, then for street parties, then for shops, cafes and festivals...

"My bunting isn't all about looking pretty. I'm determined to make bunting cool, and in disposable, something you don't just hang up for Summer tea parties. I hope my bunting is the sort of decoration you'll never, ever want to take down!" says Jo...

Need something to dress up your home? Find these lovely bits and bobs ...here...

...And all things nice...

Now, we don't think we're an authority on what's hot and what's not when it comes to fashion, but we do know what we like...

So today's featured designer is Holly Mansell, a fashion graduate from Essex College. We almost feel like old friends when we talk about Holly, as we've been following her progress since seeing her work at Free Range back in the Summer. Holly had one of the stand-out collections, and even more amazing to have seen it 'live' at her degree fashion show in all it's glory.

Holly's work has an antique appeal with touches of salvaged lace, vintage buttons and ribbon, which she has used in clusters on her hand-made bespoke ankle socks, which are available through our shop, of course, we couldn't resist them, so how can you?!

As well as featuring her hand-made fashion accessories, we also have her amazing fashion illustrations transformed into the cutest greetings cards, and a few personalised vintage gift tags to complete the set...be fashionably early with gifts for Christmas we say ...Click here to shop...

I would go out tonight...

We're really excited to be featuring work by CM Carter on the shop, and for all you lucky lot, here's a preview of the collection of prints which will be available to buy in a few weeks time...

In an homage to Morrissey, CM Carter had taken lyrics and interpreted them into illustrated pieces of art. Our personal favourite, 'I haven't got a stitch to wear...' but we kind of what all of them, but will resist!

There will be five different prints available in all, here are three to whet your appetite!

A Personal Journey...

Something sparkly makes our Friday top spot this week from graduate Roisin Connolly. Here is a quick snap-shot of pieces from her collection titled, 'Africa', where a visit to Kenya was the basis for her inspiration. We love a fresh & inventive approach to any craft, & these pieces make modern-day keepsakes, literally embossed with a hundred & one memories...

A Bird's Eye View...

We start the week with a quick mention of one of our previous postings, Emma Walker. We showcased her beautiful work back in April in the post A Natural Photographer & she was kind enough to invite us to her degree show 'Paradalia' for Arts University College at Bournemouth, at Free Range last week.

It was lovely to see her work up close, & have chosen one of her other projects to showcase today, called Ave, along with the work of fellow graduate Sophie Mullins.

Sophie's unusual collection depicts a collage of found pieces taking inspiration from memory, fragmentation, absence & loss. We like the fact from a distance this pieces appear quite abstract, & then up close have a soft, patchwork effect, like looking over fields from the air, delicate & impactful...