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Do What You Love is one year old!

Posted on 2011-11-30 at 4:44 pm.

This month we celebrated one year of Do What You Love as a registered company (although the dreams have been in the works for much longer than that!) So much has happened, including the inaugural Do What You Love retreat a full six months ago – as I was reminded by one of the lovely participants who sent me a note recently saying,

“It’s lovely having that moment in time as a kind of benchmark for change and evolution (or even revolution!) It will always serve as a beautiful milestone in my life.”

I have to be completely honest and say that before Do What You Love I never thought for one moment I could create something that would have that kind of impact on an individual, and it is what makes everything feel so right – and makes me so grateful to everyone who has helped me make the choices that brought me right here, right now.

(Image: NavyBlur)

These past few weeks I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the Do What You Love journey in preparation for sharing it (highs, lows, finances, warts and all!) in January. I have trawled through a whole stack of journals, seeking the moments of sparkle and darkness, the whispers of intent and the hesitant recognition that it might just be working! I don’t normally read my own journals and they certainly aren’t written with the intention of showing them to anyone else, so to open them up to the class so completely makes me more than a little uncomfortable – but I am so intrigued by the story they tell that I know it is worth it in order to share them.

I will be sharing a few sneak peeks here over the coming weeks. For now I just want to acknowledge that this has been one of the best years of my life so far, and none of it would have been possible without the support of others – including YOU! So thank you. Truly, thank you so much.

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Stay tuned for an exciting new project being unwrapped and announced here tomorrow! You are going to LOVE it!

Weekend book club: Textiles

Posted on 2011-11-26 at 1:36 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

As a complete book addict and hoarder, I thought it was about time I shared some of my favourites with you! In each ‘Weekend Book Club’ I post about a set of lovely books, with a different theme each week. This week’s theme is TEXTILES. These are the kind of books that make your mouth water, with photos so beautiful you can almost feel the textures…

Living with Textiles by Elaine Louie

This book features my dream lounge (second image below) and explores how textiles can change the character and feeling of spaces in the home.

Fabric by Suzanne Trocme

I have to admit I bought this after falling in love with the cover. The image below doesn’t do it justice – it is a dreamy shade of green, almost metallic. Inside there are more examples of beautiful fabrics.

Textile Designers at the Cutting Edge by Bradley Quinn

This gorgeous book features interviews with emerging designers and showcases textile designs from all over the world – so inspiring!

Textiles and Fashion by Jenny Udale

A brilliant introduction to the importance of textiles in fashion, and how each influences the other.

Rinen to kurasu (Living with linen) by Kunie Dayasue

Elegant book showcasing various uses of linen in the Japanese home – the beautiful neutral palette makes you really notice the fabric textures and quality

Transparency in Textiles by Dawn Thorne

This lovely book is filled with techniques for manipulating textiles to get a variety of beautiful transparent effects

Experimental Textiles by Kim Thittichai

Stunning examples of the art you can create when you experiment bravely with textiles.

Do you have any recommendations?

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Inspired? See other Weekend Book Club posts here (on paper, pattern and sketching & illustration)

Giving thanks

Posted on 2011-11-24 at 7:06 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I’m not American and I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but I love the idea of a special day where you thank everyone you love for being in your life.

Recently I seem to have been quite hidden away from the world, busy working on some exciting but full-on projects. While this has meant I have got to do some really fulfilling, thought-provoking work, it has also led me to the point where I feel I have no idea what is going on in the life of some of my very good friends. And even blog friends – I haven’t done the rounds for weeks, months even (and more and more people seem to have blogs that are hard to comment on for techie reasons, so I haven’t even left comments on those I have visited).

If you are one of them, you know who you are. Please know that when I’m not sending you emails or letters or gifts in the post, it doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of you. Know that when I don’t come to dinner or make it to your party, it’s not because I don’t want to. It’s because right now there are a few things I need to get done. But through every moment of that, know that I am thankful for you. So very thankful.

Weekend book club: Sketching and illustration

Posted on 2011-11-13 at 5:40 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I have always been a bit scared of drawing formally (still lifes etc) but I hugely admire people who can whip out a fantastic sketch in seconds and would love to be able to do that one day. I do love peeking into other people’s sketchbooks though, and have many books which either display incredible talent or try to help me draw better myself. Here are a few of them…

(PS With ‘Weekend Book Club’ I share a different theme each weekend and archive them on the sparkly new Weekend Book Club page here.)

Beauty in Bloom by Natalie Bloom

Written and stunningly illustrated by the founder of Bloom Cosmetics, this is actually a beauty book but never fails to inspire me.

Tokyo Sanpo (walks around Tokyo) by Florent Chavouet

Having lived in Tokyo for three years I love the memories this book recalls for me. There is incredible detail in the hand-drawn observations, and it makes me want to put a pack of coloured pencils in my handbag and go out right now.

Street Scene by John Lee

This brilliant book shows you how to draw people graffiti-style

Manolo Blahnik Drawings by Anna Wintour

I love fashion illustration and no-one does it quite like shoe-designer extraordinaire Manolo Blahnik, edited by Anna Wintour of US Vogue

‘Fashion Illustration School’ by Carol A Nunnelly

And if you want to learn how to do it yourself, this is a fantastic guide to fashion illustration

‘Zakka sagashi no tabi nouto (notes from my shopping trips)’ by Yuki Fukui

This is a delightful book of handdrawn sketches done by a Japanese girl while out and about shopping

The Creative License by Danny Gregory

A great book for building your sketching confidence

A painter’s guide to the Catskills of Rip van Winkle by Judith Orseck Katz

A beautifully illustrated guide to the Catskill Mountains of New York State, which I picked up on a recent trip there.

‘Drawing on the right side of the brain’ by Betty Edwards

The classic book on how to draw – and it really works.

Previous ‘Weekend Book Club’ posts here: Paper / Pattern. More inspiring books over here!

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The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design Module 1 starts tomorrow! Still time to register if you are quick!

Featured in Somerset Life!

Posted on 2011-11-09 at 9:30 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

(Image via Gypsy Girls’ Guide)

Earlier this year I said that one of my goals was to get featured in one of Stampington‘s beautiful magazines, and now that has happened twice in two months – first with new title Mingle and now with the ever gorgeous Somerset Life – thank you world (and Christen Olivarez)!

(Image via Gypsy Girls’ Guide)

It is such a privilege to be featured in this fab article by photographer Alessandra Cave, mentioned as one of her global tribe of wandering contributors to her lovely blog Gypsy Girls’ Guide. It is such a fascinating eclectic group of women and I have to pinch myself that my name is there among them. You can see more about the article on Gypsy Girls’ Guide here.

Thank you Stampington! Thank you Alessandra!

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Countdown to the start of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design featuring Rachael Taylor… only five days to go! If you haven’t yet signed up you can still register here!

Finishing touches

Posted on 2011-11-07 at 3:00 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Rachael Taylor preparing an audio message for class

Working with the very lovely and talented Rachael Taylor on the planning, design and development of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design has been such a fantastic experience. I have learned so much from Rachael, and had such fun along the way. I have loved diving into all the delicious exercises, and cannot wait to share some of my designs here with you over the coming weeks.

(Image courtesy of Rachael Taylor)

I have also loved helping to wrap gifts for our participants around the globe (who each get sent a surprise set of postcards designed by Rachael and exclusive to the ecourse, sent in the mail!)

As we are now just a week away from the start of Module 1 ‘Designing Your Way’, we are both really excited about the opportunities it is going to open up for budding surface pattern designers all over the world. We have been staggered with the response to the course, with pattern lovers signed up from 20 different countries on 5 continents! We cannot wait to see how everyone’s different backgrounds and cultures are going to influence their pattern design.

As we put the finishing touches on the classroom, which Rachael has designed from scratch with so much love and attention, we cannot wait for class to begin!

There is still time to sign up if you are quick – find out more and register here.

Weekend Book Club: Paper

Posted on 2011-10-29 at 5:16 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

For a while I have been meaning to share some of my favourite books with you. I literally have hundreds, kept in every room in the house. I have decided to split them into themes, and share a different theme each weekend, to share some of the delicious papery works of genius and inspiration I have discovered. I will archive there on the sparkly new Weekend Book Club page here.

To begin with for this week, one of my favourite topics: PAPER…

Perfect Paper by Adeline Loh

Features stunning art works crafted from paper. Love the tactile cover…

Washi no aru kurashi (Living with Japanese paper)

A beautiful collection of unique papery objects for the home, along with features on the makers.

Masukingu teepu de collage (Creating adorable collages with washi tape)

Inspired ideas for crafting with delicious washi tape

Paper Yarn by Uta Donath & co

Lots of fun ideas for crafting with paper yarn.

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Only a couple of weeks to go before The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design kicks off!
Have you secured your place yet? Register here.

Textile study in the mountains of Kyoto

Posted on 2011-10-14 at 8:37 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

(Image via KnitJapan)

Do you remember the thrill of that moment when your acceptance letter for a new school, or university dropped through the letterbox? Well these days it’s by email, but I got the same feeling this morning when I opened up the mail that said I have been accepted* into the Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto for a delicious month studying traditional Japanese textiles, during my time in Japan next year. (*There isn’t actually an entrance exam or anything, but it’s always nice to be accepted!)

KTS is somewhere I have wanted to study for a long time. Besides the alluring fact that the school is nestled in a village in the mountains north of Kyoto, its courses have always drawn me in. I must have read and reread their website 50 times over the last few years, always trying to work out how I could squeeze in the time to go. But now I am going to be living down the road for several months, so it is perfect.

(Image via KnitJapan)

The school – one of the oldest textile academies in Asia – has been teaching textile studies since 1973, and has substantial facilities for dyeing and weaving, including a variety of looms. They teach traditional techniques and culture, alongside modern textile practices. One of the courses will be in English and one in Japanese, so I’d better get learning some textile-related vocabulary before then! The school was founded by Kawashima Textile Manufacturers Ltd and students have the chance to see the company’s specialised textile processes up close. I cannot wait.

So much for my plans to have no plans while in Kyoto next year…

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If you have ever dreamt of seeing your designs on stationery, fabric, homewares or other products, sharing your art through pattern, and monetising your designs this groundbreaking course is for you! ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design featuring Rachael Taylor’ is the definitive guide to becoming a surface pattern designer. Find out more here.

A tribute to a true visionary – Steve Jobs

Posted on 2011-10-07 at 9:53 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

As the world mourns one of the greatest innovators of our time, the words being shown over and over on our TV screens are from Steve Jobs’ commencement address to Stanford University back in 2005. They go like this…

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

(Watch the video here)

He gave us the Apple Mac, the iPhone, the iPod and all those fantastic Pixar animations. But perhaps these wise words are one of the most valuable things he gave us. After all, what is the point of spending your life doing something you don’t love?

Making memories

Posted on 2011-10-06 at 11:05 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

While we are on the subject of the Do What You Love retreat (with the film launched on Tuesday and the Mingle article yesterday!) I wanted to share the gorgeous hand-bound book made by the very talented Rachel Hazell, using individual pages crafted by retreat participants. I will treasure this as a wonderful memory of the first Do What You Love retreat – thank you all!

3D page above by mixed media artist Priscilla Jones. NB Other pages have not been credited due to the personal nature of some sentiments shared on the pages!

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