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!