Teaching with Watercolor Summit 0.2 Gouache Edition

One of my big goals for this year is to teach my first online workshop, and I am so pleased to announce that I am! I am so, so excited to be teaching along with seven other amazing artists in the Watercolour Summit 2.0 Gouache Edition. It’s an online creative summit, which means people from all around the world can join in.
I’m so excited to be sharing my knowledge on painting with gouache, with a particular focus on painting people.
Registration opens in April. Go to artsummits.com/emmab to sign up.

My 2018 in Review

So 2018 was a bit of a crazy year. I feel like I say that every year, but I think your late 20s are the pivotal years when big things happen and you start making strides in the world rather than just bumbling along cluelessly (or maybe that’s just me). The two biggest things that happened this year where that my first book, The Joy of Watercolour came out, and my husband and I bought our first home in London. It was so exciting to have my first book published, and the reaction has been incredible. It has sold so well that it went to reprint within a month. The best thing for me has been the reaction on social media. I absolutely love seeing people painting the projects in the book and getting in touch asking for advice or just telling me how much they enjoy it. I absolutely loved the process of creating a book from start to finish and I’m excited to be writing another book next year.

At the beginning of 2018 I wrote down my goals, one of which was to buy a house, which honestly I feel ridiculous just writing down, but somehow it’s happened. It’s funny how things work out; what started as a very stressful situation, being forced out of the flat my husband and I had rented for five years with no warning, led to us buying a beautiful flat that we love. It’s a Victorian conversion with lots of original features and I’ve had the time of my life with decorating and sourcing furniture. I wrote about the living room here and I’m planning more interiors posts in the new year.

This year also included a once-in-a-lifetime trip to San Francisco, which I still need to blog about. On this trip I had the chance to meet my literary agent Leslie face-to-face for the first time after years of working together. The trip was absolutely incredible and we both loved California. Visiting Yosemite was a particularly memorable part of the trip. I had time to take a couple of meetings while I was in San Fransisco which have led to some exciting things for 2019.

This year I had make peace with the fact that the repetitive strain injury in my wrist is likely to be permanent, and I will always have a lack of strength and range of movement in my right hand. This means my live illustration career is over, but I’m not too upset about that, I think it’s important for your career to always be evolving and changing to meet your needs. I really feel my passion lies in writing and illustrating books and encouraging others to be creative.

I worked with some lovely brands this year. At the beginning of the year Kikki K spent a day with me and made this beautiful video. If you want to learn a little bit more about me and my background I definitely recommend watching it. I also had Papier visit me in my studio and create this stunning video of me painting one of their wedding stationery designs. I’m working on some new wedding stationery designs for Papier at the moment which will be launching in the New Year. I also had the opportunity to design an Emma Block illustration Easter egg with Godiva, which was a rather bizarre but absolutely lovely job. 

This year I did a lot of editorial work with clients including, Vogue Brides, Next, Magnolia Journal, In The Moment Magazine, Prima, Sister Mag, The English Garden, The House The Lars Built and Eve Mattresses. I do think my style evolved a bit this year, embracing the dry texture of gouache more than ever.

In terms of personal goals this year I read more books, the majority of which were by female authors, got back into the habit of working in my sketchbook, and developed a gym routine, which I’ve now completely abandoned since moving house. In the new year I’m hoping to find a new gym, and get back into reading and working in my sketchbook, make the most of living in London and visit lots of exhibitions with friends and family. I’m really excited about what 2019 will bring, and I can’t wait to start writing my second book.

The Joy of Watercolor Book Launch

This week I celebrated the UK launch of my book and I have to say after my wedding it was probably the happiest evening of my life. I’m so lucky to have such incredible friends and family who made the evening so special. The Village Haberdashery hosted the party in their colourful modern craft shop and event space, Your London Florist provided the beautiful flowers, Kathryn from Wander For A While took photos on the night and  My Little Cake Tin made the most incredible sweet treats I have ever seen. Everyone who came  is so creative and kind, and their support means so much to me. 

Also let’s talk about THAT cake. My Little Cake Tin made a cake inspired by watercolours and flowers and I think it’s the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen. Tarunima made my wedding cake two years ago, and I’ve always wanted to work with her again because she is so incredibly talented, and such a lovely person. I didn’t really give her any direction on the cake, she just took inspiration from my book and far exceeded my wildest expectations. And of course it was absolutely delicious, like everything she makes. 

We almost sold out of books on the night, but The Village Haberdashery have a few signed copies left in stock, which you can buy in store or through their website. 

Joules x New Designers

It’s that time again, fledgling designers are being pushed gently out of the nest and into the real world. It’s an exciting time, and I was lucky enough to visit New Designers to take a look at the new talent graduating this summer and learn more about how Joules champions creativity.

Last year I visited New Designers with Joules and my friend Nancy, and this year I was lucky enough to do it again. It is so lovely to combine my love of design and social media in such a nice project. We started the day with lunch at Bourne and Hollingsworth before wandering over to the Business Design Centre to check out the work on display.

I was really impressed by the work on display, and I’ve highlighted some of my favourites breaking it down into several main trends that I saw emerging.

A Sense of Place

I noticed that many of the projects on display were strongly inspired by a particular place. This is very important to Joules, as the print designers to take regular research trips around the UK to gather inspiration for their seasonal prints.

The winner of the Joules prize for graphics and illustration Megan Williams from Nottingham Trent University. Her work was sophisticated and diverse tackling everything from packaging design to public awareness campaigns. I particularly liked her project exploring the Leicester dialect, which combined photography and handwriting text and created a strong sense of place. The judges picked her work as it is is colourful, sophisticated and shows a sense of humour and a real maturity.

One of my favourite projects in the exhibition was Amaia Kurschincki's project taking inspiration from a trip around Mexico. Having been to Mexico myself I immediately and recognised the blend of folk art and religious iconography and loved the colourful tactile quality of her work.
 

Evy Prentice from Norwich University created work inspired by taking walking tours of Norwich. Colourful screenprinted models were inspired by the Dutch influence in East Anglia.

Elysia Anthony studied illustration at Norwich university and specialises in printmaking. Her work also takes inspiration from the Norfolk landscape. She translates sketchbook pages full of energetic observational drawings into dark and moody etchings.

Handmade Processes

Despite the technology available for creating and printing designs always progressing, I saw a strong return to traditional techniques, in particular screenprinting. Many of the students spoke about how they preferred the tactile qualities of painting or screen printing. Handmade processes are very important to Joules as all of their prints start with multiple sketches and paintings. Handmade and the traditional is still a big part of the design process

Remy Goddard's work made us smile as soon as we saw it. Her work is charming, naive yet sophisticated and evokes strong childhood memories of summer at the sea side. Her work really makes use of handmade processes, with everything painted by hand or cut from paper. Even reproduced onto textiles you can still see Remy's distinctive brushstrokes and the characteristic sharp edges of cut paper. She also had a beautifully fresh colour palette and it was a joy to be able to flick through her portfolio and see her original artwork. She was chose, as the winner of the Joules Print Award as the judges felt her work personified Joules' playful side and was perfect for the brand.

I loved the muted, abstract work of textile student Eve Campbell from Glasgow School of Art Her screen printed concrete tiles particularly stood out to me and created a wonderful backdrop to her work. It was also lovely to be able to flick through her sketchbooks

Another textile artist using screenprinting was Becca Smith from Leeds Arts University, whose work was much more colourful and full of exuberant line work. Her work celebrated the glorious every day, from cheese graters to spectacles.

I also loved the textured screenprinted designs of Sarah McCann from Heriot-Watt University. She uses a sophisticated colour palette and a range of mark making techniques.

Traditional Techniques

It was great to see so many unusual and traditional techniques being used. Robyn Nisbet, from the University of Dundee, created a beautiful range of natural dyes which she used to screen print textiles and garments with stunning results.

Anna Hopkins from Loughborough University combined traditional techniques of weaving and cyanotype to create a stunning range of textiles and products. To create the cyanotypes sun reactive fluid was painted directly onto the fabric then leaves and flowers were laid on top to allow a pattern to develop

I was so bowled over by the talent and creativity of these graduates. Every time I visit New Designers I leave feeling so inspired. I definitely recommend looking at these ladies' websites and following them on Instagram, they are definitely ones to watch and I’m sure they all have exciting careers ahead of them. Thank you so much to Joules for this opportunity. 

Disclaimer: I was paid by Joules to attend New Designers and write this post, but the words and thoughts in this post at all my own. 

Weekend:IN at Kreativ House

A few weeks ago I was invited to take part in a day of creative workshops run by independent brands with weekend:IN. As someone who teaches a lot of workshops it was lovely to be on the other side for once and learn some new skills. 

Creightons Chocolaterie

We started the morning with an introduction to chocolate making with Creighton‘s Chocolaterie. We learnt to temper chocolate, before pouring it into moulds and creating beautiful swirled designs. I had a go tempering chocolate, using palette knives to lift the molten chocolate up aerating it and allowing it to cool slightly. Cooling the chocolate in this way insures the finished chocolate has a glossy shine and a smooth crack when broken. For my bar I swirled together dark chocolate, white chocolate, raspberry infused white chocolate and real petals, which created a very pretty marbled effect. It was lovely to see how different everyone’s final bars of chocolate work. Creightons are a mother and daughter run independent chocolate producer who have been selling design lead chocolate since 2011. They release new collections of on-trend chocolate bars every season, just like a fashion brand.

Meylor Goods

After lunch we were introduced to Meylor Goods, a minimalist stationery and homeware brand. Taking inspiration from their collection we learnt to embroider T-shirts. Being me I picked something too ambitious and didn’t have a chance to finish it in the session, but it was lovely to sit, chat and sew. Grace, the founder of  Meylor Goods, had bought a selection of her beautiful prints with her. I picked up this minimalist bouquet of flowers, which is now on my wall. 

Leafage

The final workshop of the day with Leafage was possibly my favourite. Leafage teach people how to make beautiful enclosed terrariums. These miniature ecosystems are perfect for gardenless londoners, all they need to thrive is a warm windowsill. It was so fascinating to learn how these miniature greenhouses are constructed. I loved all the specialist tools like the very long scissors and tweezers for reaching down into the glass container. Arranging a perfect minute garden inside a glass jar is not easy, but I’m pretty pleased with how mine turned out.

Thank you weekend:IN for such a lovely and inspiring day, thank you to all the brands you took park for sharing their skills and passion, and thank you Sophie allowing to to use your beautiful photos.

All photos by Sophie Carefull

Jackson and Levine x Habitat

Last week I got invited along to the launch party for Jackson and Levine's new ceramic collection with Habitat. The launch took place at rustic Italian restaurant Campania and Jones, which is tucked away in the cobbled back streets of Columbia Road. The event had a street party theme and featured many an Aperol Spritz, a delicious buffet of Italian food and we were serenaded from the rooftops by two lovely opera singers. It was also a lovely opportunity to catch up with blogging pals Nancy, Kristabel and Ghenet. 

The duo famous for their supper clubs and recipe book had previously collaborated with Habitat on a range of linen and this time they are back with a covetable range of handmade ceramics. This gorgeous collection of bold pieces, which features colour blocking, splatter patterns and figurative designs, sold out just three hours after launching on the site. To be honest I’m not surprised; this collection combines incredible quality at an affordable price with some truly gorgeous designs. Every piece is hand made in Italy and therefore each one is unique. Personally I love pairing red and pink together so the Gia jug appeals to me. I also love pairing complimentary colours, so I enjoyed the green and pink utensil pot, and the purple and yellow splatter dishes. I'm currently a bit obsessed with how principles of colour theory should guide us on what we wear and what items we bring into our homes, so this collection is right up my street. Habitat have promised they will be restocking some items, so keep an eye on the website or email them to register interest in specific items.

2017 in Review

It’s that time again, the year in review blog post! I’m terrible at remembering what I’ve done in a year, and tend to think I haven’t done much of anything, which is why I’ve got my diary out so I can go through the year month by month and remind myself of all the exciting stuff that’s happened. My hopes for 2017 were to grow my business in bold new directions (hello book deal!) but also to achieve more work-life balance and spend more social time with my husband and friends. I’m very happy to say I think I’ve done it!

January

My year started off with some pretty exciting work as I traveled to Berlin in January to live illustrate for SisterMAG. In January I started hosting my own watercolour and brush lettering workshops at West Elm. Until then I had been running workshops for soemmmebody else, and taking sole responsibility for teaching, promoting and running workshops was a little bit scary. I kept having dreams that I hadn't sold any tickets or that I turned up without any materials. I’m happy to say neither of those things happen and I have now taught a whole year of sell-out workshops at West Elm. I’m very excited to be adding some new workshops to my repertoire next year, including my gouache workshop which has already been very popular. I worked on a couple of book covers in January and provided illustrations for the Mollie Makes Creativity magazine. My husband and I also booked tickets to Peru!

February

This was the month but I got my book deal! At the end of 2016 my amazing agent sent out my book proposal to a few different publishers, and by February I had an offer! I read the email on my phone walking back from a Pilates class and when I met my husband for coffee I started crying out of shock and happiness. This month I taught a couple of brush lettering workshops with Etsy, which was really exciting as I wanted to work with them for a long time. I also did some illustrations for the Betty Collective website.

March

In March I went up to the north Norfolk coast to visit my aunt and uncle. One of my goals for 2017 was to take more time off, and visiting family who happened to live in a beautiful part of the country was a great way of doing that. That month I also did some live illustration with Dermalogica in Selfridge’s, and Viktorija and I hosted a second London Drawing Club event at the beautiful Barbican conservatory. I also illustrated some very popular postcards for Mollie Makes and illustrated a lovely article for Stylist Magazine.

April

In April we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, and the day afterwards my own wedding was featured on Love My Dress. I had a super busy month of workshops, trying to squeeze in as many as possible before my trip to Peru. I also did some live illustration with Reiss at Brent Cross shopping Centre. I also made time to see the amazing Hockney exhibition with Viktorija.

May

I spent most of May travelling.  I had a quick trip back to Suffolk to see my parents at the beginning of the month, and then I was home for one night before heading off with Nancy to a trip to Somerset with Joules, and then three days later I was heading off to Peru. Our time in Peru was absolutely amazing, and you can read more about it here. It was such an incredible trip and a great way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

June

In June I taught a really lovely watercolour workshop for Pinterest as part of their interior design awards, at the beautiful Bourne and Hollingsworth Building. I also taught a very special watercolour workshop with Oasis that took place in London Zoo. I got to chat to the zoo keepers and feed two pygmy hippos, which made it one of my top workshops ever. June was also the month that I initiated my Monday afternoon dates with my husband. He is a jazz musician so mostly works evenings and weekends, which means we need to be organised about spending quality time together and not just working all the time. He rarely works on Monday, so we decided that was the best day to take an afternoon off and do something fun together. In the last year our Monday afternoon dates have included trips to the cinema, exhibitions, lunches out, walks in national parks, vintage shopping and we've explored lots of new neighbourhoods in North London.

June is the month that I really started writing my book properly. The last few months I had been waiting to get the contract sorted, and I didn’t want to start actually writing it until everything was signed, although I had been researching and planning it in my head. It was so exciting to actually sit down and start writing my book! For me the challenge was finishing up all my other projects and saying no to new work to give myself the time I needed to do it.

July

I spent most of this month writing my book and enjoying the heat wave in London; going to barbecues, street fairs and summer parties. I also had the chance to go to a really lovely bloggers event in Somerset, which was such a lovely break away from the city and work. I had to hand in the first half of my manuscript on the first of August, which meant the last few weeks of July were very busy getting things finished and organising hundreds of images and pages and pages of writing.

August

August was all about writing my book, and I only taught one workshop all month to make sure I had plenty of time to focus on it. People always say how difficult it is to write a book but I actually really loved it. It was so nice to just work on one creative project continuously for three months, and not have to deal with contracts, negotiations invoices and everything else that comes with being freelancer. I also managed to enjoy the sunshine in London a bit and visited Columbia Road flower market with friends. I also worked on some content with Pink Lady Apples.

September

In September I had to hand in the second half of my book. This time I was much more organised, having named all the files correctly as I went along and kept the manuscript in better order. It turns out writing a book in order from start to finish makes life a lot easier than writing it in any old order you feel like! In September I also taught my first ever Instagram workshop which completely sold out and was a big success. I’m teaching another one in February.

October

In October my husband and I headed off to Lisbon as a post-book writing treat. Whilst I might have finished writing the manuscript and painting all the illustrations, there was still edits and changes to make, which I worked on during October. Fortunately the edits to the book were very light and not much needed to be changed. In this month I also personalised notebooks with brush lettering for Papier at Brides the Show, and did some live illustration at Harrods. I also had an interview and photoshoot with Moo in my flat, which was really exciting as Moo were one of my very first clients, read the interview here. I also worked with my friend Kathryn on the branding for her new company Wander for a While. I also developed some new products for my shop including note books and new Christmas designs.

November

November was a bit of a funny month. I had so many hospital appointments and social engagements that I felt a bit all over the place. The hospital appointments were for my wrist (for my ongoing RSI) and for my troublesome tooth. Fortunately both seem to have settled down for the moment. I also spent a lot of time preparing for an onslaught of festive workshops in December and sent out lots of Christmas Etsy orders. I also worked on some lovely magazine illustrations that I can't show you yet and some branding for The Market Beautiful. I also got to attend Weekend:IN again, this time in East London.

December

In December I taught lots of Christmas bauble painting and lettering workshops with clients including Topshop, Battersea Power Station and Seven dials. I also finalised the cover of my book with my publishers and got to see a first proof copy of my book. It was so exciting to see all those months of work come together into 250 beautifully designed pages.

So that was my year. I achieved my main goal of getting a book deal and writing a book, I also managed to travel and spend lots of time with friends. I think there’s a bit of a myth that as a creative freelancer you have to be badly paid, working constantly with no social life, and definitely no exercise routine, and it’s just not true. This year has been all about saying yes to exciting opportunities, no to the projects that aren’t right for me and learning to look after myself.

I’ve got some pretty big goals for next year, which include travelling more and hopefully writing more books. I’m so excited to see my first book come out this August, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Thank you so much to everyone who has come to my workshops, bought something from my shop or just followed me on Instagram, Your support means so much to me.

Instagram for Creatives Workshop

Last month I hosted my first ever Instagram for Creatives workshop. The aim was to share what I had learnt about using Instagram to grow my business with other creatives. I wanted the talk to be inspirational, but also packed full of useful information and advise the students could implement straight away. There was a big focus on not seeing Instagram as a popularity contest, but using it as a tool to grow your business and we started the workshop by defining and writing down our goals. It was such a lovely afternoon and I had such a nice bunch of women to talk to.

I am very pleased to announce I have a another Instagram for Creatives workshop coming up in January. You can book tickets here.

The workshop was hosted in a beautiful East London venue and refreshments were provided by My Little Cake Tin. My good friend Nancy came along on the day to help with a bit of styling and took the photos. I booked the space via Breather, get £45 off your first booking with the code BKA5JG. 

Flower Crown Workshop

A few weeks ago my good friend Migle, owner of Your London Florist invited me to a workshop at her brand-new studio in Crew Hill, North London. You might have seen me mention Your London Florist before as they did all my wedding flowers.

At the workshop we learnt how to construct floral crowns from scratch. It was a really interesting and technical class. We trimmed garden roses down to size then threaded florist's wire through the stem, criss-crossing the wires before pulling them down and wrapping them with florist's tape. Once we had a pile of trimmed, taped flowers we are ready to start constructing the crown. We bunched together the flowers and foliage then wrapped the wires with tape working round gradually until all the flowers were incorporated. We also added a few succulents with the help of a hot glue gun. The lovely florists then showed us how to measure it round our heads to create a loop and tape the whole thing in place. Doesn't it look amazing! The best thing is the class was so thorough and well taught that I would definitely feel confident making myself a flower crown from scratch again. There was such a lovely bunch of women at the workshop that night, including Katie from Oh Squirrel who it's always lovely to catch up with

All the beautiful photos  were taken by photographer Tia Talula. Find more details for the Flower School here.

Day Out with Weekend:IN

A few weeks ago I was invited to a special event out in the Somerset countryside. A chance to spend a creative day in a beautiful location with some inspiring women? Sign me up.

Event was hosted by Olivia Tripp, founder of Weekend:IN, whose aim is to bring influences and independent brands together. The day started with a flat lay styling challenge with brands Seven Boot Lane, Hammam Havlu and Beija London. I somehow ended up standing on the table to get that perfect shot.

After a delicious lunch outside we made pom-pom festival headdresses with Ollie Quinn. It turns out Ollie Quinn and I had been wanting to work with each other for a while, so it was great to finally meet. I'm picking up a pair of prescription sunglasses from them this week which I'm really excited about. 

After a mini pom-pom headdress and sunglasses photoshoot we headed back inside to have a bit of a chillout session with Yawn. Yawn produce beautiful, ethically made pyjamas in the most stunning original prints. Their motto is 'kettle on, phone off, pyjama time' so we all put on a gifted pair of pyjamas, switched off our phones and settled down to play some games. It turns out bloggers are pretty competitive, Nancy been the most competitive of all! It was such a lovely way to chill out for an hour or so. 

After that we put our normal clothes back on, grabbed some snacks for the train and headed home back to London. It was such a lovely day and I'm really excited about working with some of the brands from the event. Thank you Olivia for putting on such a wonderful event, and thank you Sophie for taking such amazing photos.

All photos in this blog were taken by Sophie Carefull. Stunning flowers by Wilderness Flowers

Joules x New Designers

Last week the team at Joules invited myself and my fellow blogging buddy Nancy to afternoon tea and a chance to explore New Designers. New Designers is one of the most important design events in the UK, offering design graduates a chance to showcase their work to the creative industries. For the first time Joules sponsored an award at New Designers; one lucky graduate won a cash price, a paid placement and a paid assignment to create a mural for their pop up store in Wells-next-the-Sea. Joules were looking for someone with a good understanding of colour and print, with eye catching, fresh designs that also have comerical apeal.

The winner was Chloe Hills, who studied Textile Design for Fashion & Interiors at Bath Spa University. Her winning piece was designed to create the feel of an overgrown jungle, with prints created large scale to maximise impact.  I got in touch with her to ask her a few questions about what inspires her and how she created her final piece. 

The theme of my hand painted wallpaper piece was Dark Florals & Foliage, giving it a slight twist by adding a pop of accent colour, to this very moody theme and creating over-sized imagery. What inspired my final wallpaper, 'Love-Lies Bleeding' was  my collections of floral imagery that I gathered over the summer from RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, RHS Wisley Gardens, and from trips up and down the country visiting many gardens.  I wanted to combine a contemporary feel with a very traditional theme using abstract shapes and a sophisticated colour palette. 

I decided to hand paint this piece because I wanted to be more hands on with the design as a final piece and my aim throughout was to make an immediate visual impact which I felt the hand painted finish would do, as sometimes a design can get lost within a digital print for example. For me , It was also about getting the colours right which was something that I felt I had control over which was key. There is something unique too about it being hand painted, as it is it a one off piece. Plus it is exciting and I enjoyed doing it! 

I am always on the look out for colour combinations. Colour inspires me greatly especially unusual and unexpected combinations when it comes to a new and exciting project the first thing I do it seek out on trend colour schemes. I like to revitalise a palette and think carefully about my proportions of colour. Inspiration comes from plants, gardens, natural sources, scenery and also architectural features from my surroundings.  

What really surprised me about the exhibition was the high quality of work and the professional presentation. I was worried I was going to see the same old things again (I think we've all had enough of pineapples prints) I was really impressed by the fresh approach and unique ideas of the students. Here are a few of my favourite trends.

Monochrome Textures

You could see the influence of Scandinavian minimalism in some student's work, with the use of cool greys and interesting textures. These textiles are perfect for modern interiors. Jane Woolley creates beautifully tactile throws and cushions using natural fibres. Chloe Scott uses lino printing to create her cushions and textiles, and Isabel Cross brings her limited colour palette to life with touches of gold.

Jane Woolley

Chloe Scott

Isobel Cross

Painterly Detail

Painterly detail was a huge trend, whether it was loose water colours or detailed gouache paintings. Tana Pither's stunning work is painted with gouache and inspired by botanical illustration and old photos of the East African coast. She has had placements at House of Hackney and Timorous Beasties, and you can feel the influence of that in her work. 

Tana Pither

Tana Pither

Natalie Percival creates beautiful textiles with her loose watercolours, inspired by the rugged scenery of Norway and the rolling hills of Surrey.  Matthew Hodges work is simply delightful, inspired by the flora and fauna of British summer time and a love of colours. 

Charlotte Atkins bought a fresh approach to tropical prints, with bold brushstrokes, a monochrome palette and sheer fabrics. 

Charlotte Atkin - Matthew Hodges

Pastel Geometrics

Nadia Aggoun's work mixes the geometric with the botanicals in soft pastels shades. Her work reminds me of the patterns found in geometric tiles.

Nadia Aggoun

Quirky Details

Isla Rustrick and Lizzie Porter stood out for their quirky details and hand drawn approach to textile design. Isla Rustrick was inspired by OAP style icon Iris Apfel and her work involves screen printed illustrations and knitted details. Lizzie Porter's work also includes niave hand drawn details and embellishment. 

Isla Rustrick - Lizzie Porter

The thing that really surprised was the lack of online presence these graduates had. Often the graduates didn't have a website at all, or they had a free website that was difficult to use. New Designers is such a wonderful platform, and it's a shame that the online presence of these graduates didn't match up to their incredible work. You don't need anything complicated, it's so important that the website is easy to use, easy to find, and people can contact you. If not you don't know what work you might be missing out on. You can read some of my top tips for graduates here.

This post was created in association with Joules, but all words and thoughts are my own.

London Drawing Club Meet Up

I had such a great day at The Barbican Conservatory with Viktorija of And Smile Studio and the London Drawing Club. It was a perfect day of drawing, creative chat, coffee and plants. Thank you so much everyone who came! You can find details of the next meet up here!

Brush Lettering with Etsy

I was very excited to be asked by Etsy to teach some brush lettering skills to the attendees of its pop-up wedding fair at West Elm. The workshops were ridiculously popular and the tickets sold out within three minutes of launching. Across two days I taught 24 students how to create beautiful brush lettering, ideal for brides (and grooms) hoping to DIY their wedding stationery. The workshops received a lots of interest on Instagram and on the day from other people attending the fair.

Live illustrating with SisterMAG and Alpro

In January illustrator I invited over to SisterMAG's head office in Berlin to live illustrate at a special press event with Alpro. I have worked with SisterMAG for years, so I was really excited to meet the whole team and see their offices. This was also my first time in Berlin, although Berlin in the middle of January is not for the faint hearted.  

The beautiful event featured bloggers and press from all over Germany. The day involved a variety of workshops, beautiful meals, including an amazing brunch provided by Alpro and some show stopping cakes. Activities throughout the day included calligraphy and moodboard making workshops, massages and the chance to be illustrated by me. I was very busy thorughout the day, illustrating guests, the SisterMAG team and people form Alpro. Fortunately I was very well looking after; if only all my jobs can with endless supplies of coffee, crepes and massages. After a busy day of drawing I hopped on a flight back to London.

All photos curtesy of SisterMAG and Saskia Bauermeister