BYVM Burton Design Contest

This week I’ve married together the two things I love the most by entering the Blank You Very Much contest to design two top sheets for Burton Snowboards. You can view my design properly by clicking HERE.

I wanted to create designs which are loosely connected to the board names given: ‘Speakeasy’ and ‘Moonshine’.

Speakeasy establishments thrived in the 1920's – a time at which the Art Deco movement began. I took influence from the fluid interwoven lines of this design era and implemented a colour scheme which targets a female audience. The Speakeasy ‘Deco’ was born.

My second design features minimal colour, similar to the famous Moonshine whiskey. It is simply inspired by the channel-cut patterns on traditional lead crystal glassware, hence the name ‘Leaded’ (fuel connotations are definitely a bonus).

In addition to the subtle themes above, I thought about the way the boards would look in contrast to their surroundings when shredding down a mountain, as well as when stationary. I also wanted the designs to be clean and uncomplicated, giving consideration to how the imagery would vary in appearance being in the distance, as well as close-up.

Slouchy Pom-Pom Beanie

A couple of Saturdays ago, I headed to Freeze Festival 2012 at Battersea Power Station to catch some exhilarating snowboarding action. The Big Air Competition was won by Brit snowboarder Billy Morgan which was a great way to see the day close. However, as I stood shivering in my jacket with my hood up, marvelling at all the talent before me and cheering along with the rest of the crowd, I actually felt a little left out. 

Why? Well, nearly everyone around me was wearing the most super-cool (and conveniently super-snug) woolly hats! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! I know winter’s here and it’s cold outside but I've seen people wearing them indoors and even in clubs. These head-cosies are surely one of the must-have fashion accessories this fall – even better if they come with a pom-pom the size of a grapefruit attached to the end.

Sporty skate-snow brands like O’neill, Billabong (above) and Roxy have some great beanies in their Autumn 2012 ranges, although these retail for around £25 and as I've just spent all my pennies booking a week in the French Alps this January, I decided to knock 100% off the price and make my own. I say 100% off because I didn't even need to buy any new materials – small items like hats, especially multi-coloured striped variations, are brilliant for using up all those messy dregs of wool leftover from previous projects. So, below is the result of my crocheted slouchy pom-pom beanie!

Beta Fashion Signature Project

If you can spare a minute or two, PLEASE VOTE for my design here. Thanks!

 

 

Yesterday I entered the Beta Fashion Scarf Contest: a regular online competition where upcoming textile designers can enter to win a place for their design to be sold within Topshop. This month, the ‘Signature Project’ offers an open brief, where inspiration sources, together with style of print, are left entirely for each contestant to determine for themselves. The only regulated factor is that proportions must be kept to approximately a metre square.

 

I decided to submit a simple yet sophisticated floral print, predominantly in black and white. The fuschia-coloured shadow is intended to be neon, in order to provide a contemporary edge whilst simultaneously adding depth, originality and a relevance to current fashion trends.

 

Once again, please vote for 'Floral Radiance' on BetaFashion.com. Many many thanks!

Mars Bar Cake

Another birthday in my family today and I've just finished icing this Mars Bar chocolate sandwich cake for my Dad. For an amateur like me, the Mars Bar chopping was a bit of a challenge but hopefully the taste will make it all worth while - it certainly looks better than I thought it would! Now to wash up...

Sam's Birthday Card

My brother turned 15 earlier this month and we decided to go snowboarding at Sno!Zone, Milton Keynes to celebrate the day. I'm not the best when it comes to designing for boys, but here's a glimpse of the artwork I created for his birthday card, using a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator.

 

 

The photography I used is available at depositphotos.com.

Pattern Wrapped Jars

Following on from my last post, I wanted to do something more colourful with some neat little air-tight jars I’d saved. These sweetie jar styles are so ‘in’ at the moment and are great for storing small items like cotton reels, ribbons and buttons.

The way I decorated these old coffee jars couldn’t get any simpler! I took a few of my print designs, cut strips that were plenty long enough to wrap around the jar and then secured with a strip of double-sided tape.

DIY Heart Candle Votive

At work, we’ve been enjoying the current trend for cute clusters of glassware within wedding floristry and home accessories. I particularly like the simple Scandinavian style etchings and printed detailing seen on a lot of jam-jars and bottles, which have a homemade, upcycled appearance. This gave me the idea to have a go at giving some old candle votives a bit of a makeover.

As it was my first attempt at anything to do with glass painting, I decided to keep it simple by using a ‘Porcelain Painter’ pen to trace over a dotted heart outline which I quickly drew to scale on Illustrator. I masking-taped the template to the inside of the glass and drew onto the outside…et voila!

The pen was a little temperamental as the ink did not flow continually (it may actually be easier to use a paintbrush and glass paint, but this creates more mess to clean up after!) However, it only cost about £3 from Hobbycraft, providing a fairly inexpensive way to customise a few pieces of old glassware and have a bit of fun!