Do What You Love

Bright illustration in ‘Vectra and Aqua’ by Marta Spendowska Today we have the penultimate showcase of work from Module 2 graduates of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design! You can find out what exciting things have been happening for the students in our Student Buzz’ image album! We couldn’t be more proud of all their hardread more >>

Going to Paris with Rachael Taylor in February was always going to be a good idea. Getting industry insight from the Indigo and Premier Vision trade shows, striking a deal with Stylesight to give our students access to some of the best trend advice in the world, taking hundreds of photos for the blog, ‘compread more >>

As we come to the end of our time here in Japan (only three weeks left!) I have been thinking about our reasons for coming here. Spending six months in Japan is expensive. It’s an upheaval. And if you are studying Japanese like my man, you even get grammar tests. So why did we doread more >>

Naturalistic ‘Morning Walk’ Collection by Petra Kern Yet more exciting work to share with you today from our wonderful Module 2 e-course students! They are moving into Module 3 next Monday September 3 – and we still have a few places left if you want to join them for ‘Monetising your designs’!

Every now and then we all need to be a bit silly and I just couldn’t resist this…

“I love the richly layered flower on the left. The opalescent paints really make it shine. Lots of fun hurling paint as the music played!” Lesley Fountain It never ceases to amaze me what profound transformations take place in Flora Bowley’s classes – and I am continually bowled over by the beautiful paintings that emerge too! As we prepare forread more >>

These past few weeks we have been on a series of adventures around Japan so I thought I’d share some pictures with you, starting with the lovely island of Miyajima. It is home to one of the most famous red torii shrine gates in Japan (Itsukushijima Shrine), which stands proudly in the sea.

Decorative ‘Poppyful’ by Julie Hamilton Today I want to share some more work from the talented Module 2 students from The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, who have just finished working on collections and branding in ‘Creating Your Professional Identity’. The students are doing us proud with their fabulous designs! If you want to diveread more >>

‘Discover’ stitched postcard by Hope McCarra Our biggest ever Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap – with the theme ‘DISCOVER’ produced a feast of gorgeous postcard-sized art which has been whizzing its way across the world over the past couple of weeks. You can find out who won the stationery giveaway, get a peek at my postcard and seeread more >>

E-fish is a funky riverside design café in the south of the city. Laid out over two floors with huge windows opening out onto the water, E-fish is a cool place to escape the hot summer days.

Illustrative ‘Sakura’ by Chloe Windle More fantastic work to showcase today from the Module 2 students of the surface pattern design e-course, who have just finished up ‘Creating Your Professional Identity’. There have been some wonderful and diverse submissions – take a look!

Today is a special day in the design industry… it sees the launch of MOYO, the world’s first online magazine dedicated to surface pattern design! Packed with interviews, design briefs, colour challenges, art reviews, student showcases, design tips, inspiration, trends and more, this free resource will be published quarterly, and you can read and downloadread more >>

The best bit about The Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap is the moment that a lovely piece of stitched postcard art arrives on your doorstep from a new friend somewhere on the other side of the world. This time I was thrilled to receive this gorgeous piece of tiny art from Alexandra Charlap in California.

Abstract ‘Avant-Garde 3′ by Cara Holland As we put the finishing touches on our preparations for the next round of  ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design (the e-course)’ (which starts with Module 1 next Monday) I am excited to showcase some of the fabulous work from our Module 2 alumni. Each one of our participants is making greatread more >>

Every August throughout the Japan people are on the move back to their hometowns for the annual custom of Obon, a Japanese Buddhist custom to honour one’s ancestors’ spirits.

Intriguing sign at Nijo Castle When do ideas morph from a gentle puff of a thought to a whisper of an idea, to a fluffy ball of a concept, to a living, breathing thing?

Great pizza, big sofas and cocktails or coffee! Just a short bike pedal from Ginkakuji Silver Pavilion, Boogaloo Cafe Hyakumanben is a great place to chill out for hours.

We have decided to have a tiny wedding in the Spring, followed by a big party for friends a few weeks later. I enjoyed spending hours making these special requests to the bridal party, asking my favourite little people and my best friend to be part of the big day. Fingers crossed they all sayread more >>

There are many ways I might describe myself but refined is probably not one of them. I am always too interested in getting out and doing things to be bothered to be made up perfectly on a normal day, and these days I am more likely to be fresh off my bike with windswept hair. But from timeread more >>

  I came across another handmade craft fair, this time at Shimogamo Shrine. The setting was lovely but this one was smaller than the one at Kamigamo Shrine, possibly due to the threat of heavy rain, but there were some lovely stalls nonetheless…