This blog has moved to my brand new website!

 "Wandering Wild: Mustard"

Hello there! My new website is finally live, woohoo! As a result my blog is now part of the website and will no longer have it's home here. Over the next few days the new blog will be updated to include my archived posts and they will also stay here for a little while just in case.

Please check out www.laurenbritchford.com/blog for a brand new post and to take a look around my brand new website. I'm really proud of it and I think the design is really quirky and unique. All the bits and bobs were designed by myself and then my lovely fiancé did the technical bit and developed the design and made it all work :o)

Please take a look and let me know what you think?

Lauren

Blog hop!

Hello everyone!

Today I am part of something very exciting - the Passion for Pattern bloghop. You’ve probably just arrived here from the wonderful blog of Michelle Drew. After you have read my post, make sure you visit Njeri Designs who has some great designs to show you. If you have only just found the hop, pop over to Claire’s blog where you can get started and join in the fun! The image above is from my "Pocket full of posies" collection.

This is the perfect time to blog as I have recently finished the surface pattern e course I started last year. I can't believe the course has finished! I'm so sad about this as it was great fun and provided me with much needed daily organisation and motivation. Taking this course was one of the best decisions I have ever made as I have now amassed a huge collection of patterns and networked with hundreds of brilliant and lovely people. I really hope to meet some of them in person soon. I'd highly recommend this amazing course created and run by the lovely Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicholls.

Over the next few weeks and months I'll be putting my first patterns into production. I'll be starting small by producing cards and prints and selling via Etsy and Folksy (shops soon to open). I then hope to produce some textile products with my own fabric printed via my Spoonflower shop. I currently have cushion covers and placements available on Envelop.

In a moment I'll leave you with a selection of some of the patterns I have created over the course, but before I do I have one more thing to share. My new website will be going live very soon! I am so excited about this as my current website was a bit of a work in progress and only showed my illustration work. The new site will show all my work and the design feels very me and really reflects my illustration and pattern styles. I am really proud of it and I hope you will like it too! It has also been a great collaboration between myself and my web developer (and fiance) Simon Childs. Please check back here as I will be announcing the launch very soon. You can also follow me on Twitter and if you're interested in web development you can follow Simon on Twitter too.

Thanks for reading and thank you to Claire for creating this wonderful opportunity :o)

Surface Pattern: Can you help me decide - which colourway works for you?

 

To family, friends, pattern people, peers and followers

Above is the pattern motif I have been working on this morning. The motif is loosely based on a flower that was in a bunch that my Mum bought for me at the weekend. I have no idea what kind of flower it is so I have created my own take on it and I'm really happy with the result. The resulting pattern is really just a repeat of the motif as I wanted something bold.

I was inspired to create this design after seeing a skirt I liked yesterday. The colours were mustard, white and grey but the motif was uninspiring and the skirt was very expensive. So I decided to create my own pattern today and I will then be using Spoonflower to create my own fabric and sew my own skirt :o) I've been itching for years to make my own clothes as being petite nothing ever fits correctly and I like the idea of wearing my art.

I thought it would be a fun exercise to share this work in progress with you - would you like to help me? I have created x4 versions of the design above. The same, grey, slate, mustard and white colourways feature across the designs but I just can't decide which tones work best. If you like this pattern and have an opinion on which version works best please reply with either top-left, top-right, bottom-left or bottom-right on here, twitter of facebook. 

If you would like to start creating your own patterns and are not sure where to start, consider registering on the "Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design"  e-course as I did. If you're lucky you might even win a free scholarship if you sign up on the Print and Pattern Blog.

Thank you :o)

I've just turned 30 and Pattern4 has appeared on my wall!

Hello!

Two things to tell you about this week. Firstly I turned 30 today which I was absolutely dreading because it seems to have just suddenly crept up on me. However I have had such an amazing weekend, starting with Simon's birthday on Friday, a visit from our friends on Saturday (which included a speedboat ride) a chilled day and Sunday and a lovely breakfast and trip out today. I also received some really lovely and thoughtful gifts from my family and friends. To let you into a little secret I also had an afternoon nap today as well so perhaps this getting old lark isn't too bad after all!

If you read my blog last week you'll also know that I'm going part-time at my current job from this week so that I can finally focus on my design career. I am so excited about this and turning 30 definitely gave me the push I needed to finally forge a career for myself. I need to feel proud of what I do for a living.

Secondly, just over a week ago I made a rash decision to paint a design on one of our living room walls. I still had the lovely ash and mustard tester pots left over from last year when we were deciding what colours to paint the living room. I had really wanted these colours as they are quite bold. Simon was worried they might be a little dark and I think he was right as that room doesn't get much light. However they work perfectly as accent colours- if i say so myself. Take a look at the pictures below and see what you think. The idea came from a pattern I created recently and I just drew very loosely,  free-hand onto the wall and then painted over the lines. I'm really pleased with the result and I now have lots of ideas for all of our other rooms :o)

Spring Fever and great news!

HELLO everyone! It's been a while since my last post but I have been so busy- sorry :o)

I currently have that spring fever that I am sure you are all gladly suffering from ... longer days and lighter evenings, birdsong, freshly cut grass and BBQ heaven. This week has given me back my motivation and I cannot wait to get started on some new pattern collections and illustrations. I am particularly excited at the moment as I received some excellent news on Friday. My boss has agreed to let me go part-time starting in April yippeee!! This means I will have two extra days a week to spend designing and illustrating and giving my career the push it needs. 

The image above was created as part of the fantastic Surface Pattern e Course. We were asked to create a design inspired by the 2012 Olympics. I wasn't looking forward to this challenge to be honest as I don't have much interest in sport and felt a little stranded. So I decided my design needed to be fun and full of energy and I think I've cracked it. Again I wasn't even sure of the end result as it didn't feel very "me". The design has really grown on me though and now I kind of love it. It feels really fresh and captures that sense of energy and I really hope it appeals to the teenage market. The idea was for this image to be mocked up on a t-shirt which I haven't done yet but I really think it will work. Funnily enough I've also become a little bit more energetic myself and have started running and I'll be cycling to work this week. Maybe Olympic fever is catching.

Happy Spring to you all :o)

Wrapping paper inspired by Tangerine Tango

Oh what fun I had creating this! It's entirely digital and symmetrical and just the kind of design I love.

This design has slightly random origins. Ever since Pantone announced Tangerine Tango as the colour of the year 2012 I was reminded of the peachy / coral coloured nail varnish all the fashionable girls have been sporting for the last few summers.

So I am referencing that colour in my design and the main motif is built from a shape that resembles a fingernail. Inspirations comes in the weirdest of guises sometimes!

The name references digits, cuticles and lollies. It's a little too cute for my liking but I think it might suit the teen market, especially as it has lol in the title.

Now I am not a girly girl at all but I must admit I'm quite tempted to go and purchase nail varnish in this colour for myself :o)

Ohh dear "Stuck on repeat" competition

Hi All,

Above is my entry for the Ohh Dear "Stuck on repeat" stationary competition. The winning design will be printed onto notebooks. Check out the details here http://www.ohhdeer.com/blog/stuck-repeat

I might need you to vote for me soon if you would kindly oblige. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for viewing!

Lauren