Just thought i’d mention that I will have work exhibiting at the Chelsea Art Fair from Thursday 22nd April until Sunday 25th. 
TTFN
Chelsea Art Fair 2010
April 20, 2010 by birdfaceMeri Meri
March 28, 2010 by birdfaceA couple of years back, I had a job interview with a company called Meri Meri. They are an American company, but they have offices in Cheltenham, which is not so far from where I live in Bristol.
I can’t remember the name of the position that I applied for now, but I do remember that at the time, I was under-qualified for it and decided to just go for it anyway. As a result, I was completely out of my depth during the interview process and I remember finding it very tough going.
I left from the first interview with a big brief from Meredithe, the founder of the company. There was a lot to do and I specifically remember there being a part that required illustrations of gay reindeers(!)… It took me a good couple of weeks to get it all done, but I got there in the end and was satisfied that I had given it my best shot.
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get the job – but even though I knew that would be the case, it didn’t stop me from feeling crushed with disappointment at the time. When I look back on it now though, it is with a very positive mind. It was a great experience and I had found the whole process really inspiring. It was particularly good to meet Meredithe. She is a fantastic business woman and had built the whole company herself from scratch. It would have been the wrong decision for me to have gone to work there and I am so happy now working for myself, doing my own thing.
Hurrah for Meredithe and for Meri Meri – but most of all hurrah for finding your own path and doing things that you love! ♥
Here are a couple of bits from the current Meri Meri catalogue that were made from the design work I did for the interview:
- YAY!
You can check out more Meri Meri goodies here.
Circular Scarf
March 4, 2010 by birdfaceI have had these couple of pieces of fabric hanging around the house for a few months. I had used them to tie around my “waist” when I was preggers, but hadn’t found anything to do with them since then (particularly as my sewing skills leave much to be desired!!)
Cue super-simple to make circular scarf!:
Instructions below:
Jersey Necklace :)
March 4, 2010 by birdfaceHurrah for making things!!
I saw this great necklace in Urban Outfitters a few weeks back. It was a classic “I’m not paying that much when I could make one of those myself!!” moment – except this time I have followed through and actually made one – yay!
and here’s how I made it:
I have since had a scout about on the internet and have found a few different examples. Here are a couple of my favourites:
Ugly Car Seat
February 24, 2010 by birdfaceFinding cool stuff for babies is such a mission! So many of the things in the shops are made with either sickly pastel colours or garish primary colours. What ever happened to nice colour combinations for kids?
There are a couple of places I have found to get good baby bits – there are some lovely designer things you can buy online and Mamas and Papas has nice stuff, but it is all SO expensive. I have been looking at old Fisher Price toys on eBay and some of those are so great. How can it be so difficult to find baby things that you would actually like to have in your home?
Here is a mobile I made for Jet to hang on her car seat. I LOVE Ugly Dolls, so I made her this from 3 Ugly Doll keyrings which I took apart and sewed onto a specially-made felt handle. It works a blummin’ treat – YAY!!
And here’s a picture of Jet in the car last week – clearly enthralled that I went to all the effort!!
WHS Little Friends
February 24, 2010 by birdfaceLittle Friends was the last range I did for WH Smith 2009 Christmas giftware.
This was fun to work on too as it was a bit different for me. I designed and built the range of around 20 products from scratch, including choosing all the stock photography. There are so many cute pets ranges for tween girls around in the shops at the moment and I really wanted to try and do something a bit different. I chose for a more edgy design with the black and white to stand out from all the other pink and lilac, polka dot and gingham ranges on the market.
- I was really chuffed with the results!
WHS Cupcakes Range
February 23, 2010 by birdfaceHere are some pics from the Cupcakes product range I designed for WHS’s 2009 Christmas gifting selection.
I really enjoyed working on this range. There were 19 products altogether from notebooks and recipe folders to aprons and money boxes.
Christmas design work for WH Smith
February 23, 2010 by birdfaceI was really pleased to get the job of designing four of the ranges for the 2009 WH Smith Christmas gift product selection.
I have been hoping to post up some pics of this for a while, but with having a baby and everything, I never quite made it over to the shops to see the product in store for myself and I have no samples. Hopefully I will be able to get some actual examples of the product myself at some point and I will post up some proper pics of these when I do.
The first two ranges I worked on were called Baroque and Milano and were updates of previous designs used for Christmas 2008. I helped to build each of these ranges, finalise the colours for each product and prepare all the files for print.
There were about 30 products for each range that I designed altogether. Here are a couple of examples of each:
The way things are…
February 20, 2010 by birdfaceHoly moly – it’s hard work being a Mum!!
Obviously I am a very lucky person to have such a beautiful little girl to hang out with all day, but it ain’t ‘alf tough at the top! I can’t help but think at the moment that my Monday-Friday cycle is somewhat like Groundhog Day, with absolutely no time ever to actually achieve anything…
…some days it feels like a minor miracle just managing to get my hair brushed!
I think one of the things I find the hardest (even harder than getting up 3 times in the night, every night and consequently being like a total zombie all day) is not having the time to get on with all my creative whatnots. I spend a lot of time whilst I am up feeding Jet late at night thinking about all the lovely things I could make if I only had the time. I did start my first knitting project in a LONG TIME last week, so I am looking forward to getting that finished and up on here – but I have so many other ideas that I would love to be able to get on with. Hopefully as the small person gets older, she will start sleeping better and I will find it easier to motivate myself into making more things in the evenings.
I had my fist official night out last week and went to a burlesque show out in Bristol. It was SO great being out of the house and back to my old tricks again (albeit completely sober this time round!)
I borrowed a ludicrously beautiful corset from my very talented friend Gill who makes fancy clobber for a living. Thanks very much Gill – it felt great to be all dressed up for a change and the corset managed to hide a multitude of my post-pregnancy ‘body issues’!
See pics below, taken by him indoors – and if you’ve got a spare minute, head on over to Gill’s blog, Always Stylish – the girl is a blummin’ genius!
Papercuts Exhibition
January 24, 2010 by birdface
Hurrah and Huzzah!
After a somewhat baby orientated few weeks, I am back to work-town this month with some of my paper entomology pieces being exhibited in the new Papercuts exhibition at the Rostra Gallery in Bath.
This is an excellent turn of events as Rostra is a lovely, lovely gallery and I am very pleased to be exhibiting with them.
…to make matters even more spectacular, I will be showing alongside a bevy of girly paper artists including the wonderous Helen Musselwhite (whom I worship and adore!).
Other artists that will be involved in the show are: Laura Williams, Rebecca Coles and Frea Buckler
Papercuts will be on display at Rostra from the 29th January to the 23rd Fabruary.
Helen Ward