Still on the look out for nice nursery curtain fabric, I stumbled across Fabric Inspiration which is host to a terrific collection of original (I think) fabrics from the 60s and 70s. Some crazy patterns going on here which I’m finding very inspirational. Even if I can’t use these for curtains I’ll buy some anyway and then think of a use later.
Here are a few that really caught my eye…..
I’m looking for some cute, slightly retro and not too girlie curtains for the nursery. I knew Etsy would be the place to find such a thing and I think Melbomba from Australia has just the thing. I love this simple yet cute bird pattern and may select the orange, though they are all yummy colour options!
All I need to do now is find someone who will turn them into big curtains for me.
Happy New year readers! Sorry to have abandoned you for so long - I’ve had technical issues which have made posting impossible but I’m back and I promise to try to keep things updated abit more!
Just look at these beauties! Screen printed oak Soul Birds by Sanna Annukka, soon to become available via her online store. I’ve got to get me at least one - they’re gorgeous don’t you think!?
I got out the gocco again yesterday and had some fun making these. ‘Two for Joy’ is a simple A4 size gocco print on heavyweight watercolour stock, each is hand coloured so each one is unique. I shall soon be adding these to my Etsy shop. I think these will both be around £20. You can also buy them at Boxbird in Brighton and some of my other lovely stockists.
The lovely people at Rostra & Rooksmoor in beautiful Bath have taken on some of my prints. If you are in the area you should pop in and see the other stunning items they have in stock. I bought one of these wonderful ceramic hares by Chloe Harford of ‘Glazed and Amazed’ - the turquoise and copper combination was irresistible.
Have been busy with the gocco again - it’s so fun and quick! In less than a couple of hours I printed these new galloping reindeer cards in black and silver ink on ruby red card.
I’m so pleased with the quality of the gocco metallic inks - there is real shimmer in them!
These are A6 size - come with an envelope and wrapped in cellophane and so far you can purchase them at Boxbird gallery in Brighton. You are also welcome to contact me if you wish to buy. Retailing at a very reasonable £2.50.
After a few initial teething problems, I managed to squeeze out some ok prints with the new toy!
As long as you absolutely load your screen with ink when setting up - the rest is so quick and easy. I was really impressed with the one-step screen flash. All you need to work with is a good quality laser print or photocopy of your artwork and in seconds you have a stencil. So much easier and quicker than flashing a silkscreen stencil but much the same effect.
My only gripe with the Gocco kit - the screen cleaner which is included is a bit rubbish so I’m looking into getting an alternative called Gocco Grrll, or, as I’ve just found out, olive oil/babylotion or lanolin hand cream can do the job.
What does make things easier is the fact that the oil based ink doesn’t dry out in the screen so you can leave ink in your screen, wrap it up so its air tight, and in theory you can just carry on printing at a later date!
Anyway here are a couple of shots of what I’ve managed to produce so far….’Hares in Moonlight’
I was unaware that I was given a plug until I received 2 very sweet messages from complete strangers saying they had found me via this most respected of design blogs. My web stats rocketed immediately and a few etsy sales have come about because of it, so thanks to Holly at Decor8 HQ!
Hurrah! at last my long lusted-after Gocco printer arrived, all the way from Japan. The seller, printaddictjapan - as found on Etsy, actually dispatched the item very promptly. It arrived in the UK almost 24hrs later but there were hold ups once it was in the hands of ParcelForce over here. Luckily that was all resolved pretty quickly and today it landed.
I’ve unpacked everything and read and re-read the instructions so I think I know what to do but am scared I’ll break the thing - it’s all plastic but you need to use quite a bit of force down onto it when printing. These things are becoming pretty scarce too so it wouldn’t be so easy to repair or replace. The fools at Riso, who manufactured these, stopped production last year so I’m now stocking up on all the consumables that are needed. One search on google for Gocco shows you there is a lot of demand for these simple home printing kits but I guess it didn’t make enough money for Riso and they will eventually die out altogether.
I hope to soon get started on new prints with this little beauty and will update you with my progress!
I’ve just had a few prints accepted by 2 wonderful gallery/shops. First there’s Elphick’s gallery - a cool little place near Brick Lane and Spitalfields in East London.
Located at 160 Columbia Road, London E2, Elphick’s acts as a studio during the week and a gallery/shop on a Sunday to coincide with the famous flower market.
Gallery owner and artist Sharon Elphick shares my love of nature as an art theme - her own work is lovely - I particularly like these art deco-ish flowers. I’m really digging the art deco style at the moment, I’m working on a few patterns with this influence and will share with you soon.
Elphick’s is also the first and only official UK retailer of Charley Harper’s prints.
Hus & Hem is another great shop in Ledbury, Herefordshire who also kindly took in my prints. Although I haven’t visited in the flesh, friends of mine have and it sounds like heaven for all Scandinavian design lovers so I certainly intend to check it out as soon as I can. I have just signed up to their mailing list to be notified when their online shop is launched. Go check them out!