Do What You Love

This month’s theme was Summer. Very appropriate – it was baking as I made my way from the little train station to my Sensei’s house. I have never noticed the colour and texture of blueberries in a way I did when photographing them for this session.

The good news just keeps pouring in for our fantastic graduates of ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design (the e-course)’! The lovely Suzanne Washington has been signed by Wallpapered.com and has created a collection of 6 beautiful designs for them! You can see her fantastic designs below. This was a direct result of Suzanneread more >>

A couple of days after we arrived in Kyoto, my man and I went on a long cycle across the city (hence the dodgy outfit in the photo below!) and out west, through rice paddies and bamboo forests under a huge blue sky. I wanted to show him where I lived for a formative yearread more >>

*** Today’s *shared stories* come from Teresa Metts and Liane Wakabayashi *** Teresa Metts Mom To me doing what you love is the greatest expression that you value and love yourself.  I have had people in my life that put off what it is that they dream of doing until it is too late. Myread more >>

The other day we got up really early to go to a famous temple so I could take pictures before all the tourists arrived. But when we got there we realised it didn’t actually open until 9am. So instead of hanging around, we got back on our bikes and went for an impromptu 2 hourread more >>

One of my favourite little paths in Kyoto is the Tetsugaku-no-michi (‘The Philosopher’s Path). When the cherry blossom is out it is one of the busiest places in Kyoto, but I like to think that is because everyone is a philosopher, and they all have so much to philosophise about! We snuck back the other evening,read more >>

‘Hollywood dream’ rollercoaster  – Hollywood nightmare more like! On Friday my man skyved of school (shhh) and we sneaked away to Universal Studios Japan – a surreal expanse of movie sets and theme park rides near Osaka. I am totally terrified of roller coasters but made myself go on most of the rides and surprisedread more >>

It’s the rainy season here in Japan. That means it is hot and wet. That means mastering new skills of cycling whilst holding an umbrella and pedalling in flip flops. That means puddle splashing and ice cream in the rain. That means chilled Saturday nights playing cards and drinking beer in cafes that used to beread more >>

We are here in Kyoto for six months. A long time. A short time. Depends on your perspective. It’s an interesting amount of time, because it is long enough to get familiar and settle into routines, but short enough to want to make the most of every moment. We have a big monthly calendar postedread more >>

Pretty ‘Summer Flutter’ by Susan Driscoll Yet more of the talented work from the graduates of Module 3 of ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design (the e-course)’ for you today! We have been so impressed with the quality of work from the graduates! We are also proud of the testimonials from the surface pattern students here!read more >>

My monthly photostyling sessions are like a marker in my calendar for my time in Kyoto. Six months. Six lessons. And it’s time for lesson three already. Last month’s theme was Spring (above and below). My teacher inspired me to buy a new lens for my camera and it has made a huge difference. The trickyread more >>

Every Monday this space becomes a place where brave and inspiring souls share their stories about doing what the love – whether they are doing it now, or whether they are still striving to do it. I would love to share your story here, and give you this platform to help you reach a newread more >>

 Character motifs in ‘The Rockies’ by Kirsti Davidson Sharing some more work from graduates of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. Module 2 ‘Creating your professional identity’ starts on Monday June 18 – find out more and register here to dive into the wonderful world of surface pattern design! Pretty & naturalistic ‘Enchanted Garden’ by Katy Hackneyread more >>

Sunny days are made for picnics, and no-one makes a packed lunch quite like the Japanese! (Check this video out to see what I mean!) I have never seen such a variety of lunchboxes – fabulous products for surface pattern design (you can tell polka dots are big in Japan this year!) Here are some I found inread more >>

  I wonder where these little fellas keep their tickets?  Cheeky mountain monkeys on the station at Ichihara…

 Sketchy ‘Pink and Lime Dots’ by Ellie Fidler Some more lovely work from our very gifted graduate students of Module 3 from the surface pattern design e-course. We are so proud of how far they have come! From entering live briefs to winning & becoming finalists for competitions such as the recent Elle Decoration Rug Competition & the Fabric8read more >>

Digitally manipulated ‘Painterly’ by Ange Yake Recently Rachael Taylor and I wrapped up Module 3 of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, and celebrated with our first cohort of graduates! We are so proud of them all – as they go out into the world of professional design, we have already celebrated licensingread more >>

 Veena Solanki Absolutely thrilled to share the news that one of our surface pattern design students WON Elle Decoration/Rugdesigner’s  national rug design contest – congratulations to Veena Solanki! Her winning entry is above. And if that wasn’t enough, students Liz Smith (ElleJaneDesigns), Bethania Lima and Simon Reeves were also runners up!  You can see their designsread more >>

  Me holding a silkworm cocoon (image: Emma Omote) During my time at Kawashima Textile School I was lucky enough to join a demonstration with silk artist Mayumi Terakawa. Not only did she share an insight into her process, and let us touch her delicate works, but she also showed us how to get silkread more >>

  One of my favourite things about Kawashima Textile School was being surrounded by colour and texture – on the walls, on the desks (works in progress of other students), in the teachers’ rooms… esepecially the rows and rows of silk threads lining the shelves. A colour feast for the eyes… (and perfect for testing out weddingread more >>