For Inspiration - Dribbble

Some illustration inspiration via Dribbble. With more recent illustrations I've been working with maps and icons. The second shot reminded me a bit of myself as of late ;) If you're a designer with deadlines possibly you can relate too!



(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

I had my final degree show a few nights ago, hopefully if my camera decides to be friendly I'll post some pictures from that.

For Inspiration - Dribbble

It's been a while since I've sourced some inspiration from Dribbble but post University I'm looking to expand my portfolio, stepping away from patterns and slightly more towards illustration.


(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

I'll be back later today with a new illustration I've worked on for the past few days!

For Inspiration - Anna Emilia Laitinen

Doing all of this project work and requiring a little break, I must confess my feet are getting a little itchy and my heart a little sore. The paintings of Anna Emilia Laitinen are sending me crazy for my dreamland, Finland.



In a visual sense, Anna Emilia's paintings embody everything I love about Finland: the forests, lakes, the architecture of houses and how everything is so close to nature. Anna cites that "the weather gives colour to my paintings" and you can see that each piece has a theme that draws on the icy, blustery winds of autumn, blankets of snow from winter and the brighter hues from springs and summer. Her works with florals are nothing short of exquisite and combine technical composition with an immense amount of detail and a well composed colour palette to create wonderful representations of Nordic nature.

Be sure to take a look at Anna Emilia's Weather Diary where she writes beautifully poetic posts of her thoughts, ideas, works in progress, and of course, so many wonderful photographs of her beautiful homeland.

For Inspiration - Dribbble

More inspiration from Dribbble. Dare I say it's not only shaping my current project but also changing my style, ever so slightly. I converted back to the dreaded vector for certain pieces that I've been working on, mainly because it's more applicable for the market I'm working on. Therefore I've been a bit cheeky and added my own shot on this list ;) Oh well!

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 )

For Inspriation - Dribbble

I recently got invited to Dribbble thanks to Levi. For those of you that don't know, the concept of Dribbble is that you post small 400x300 images of pieces you are currently working on or works in progress and fellow designers offer support and feedback if necessary. If you are a designer/crafter/creater then I highly recommend you get yourself an account, even if it's just to browse as a prospect. There is so much inspiration available on so many varying levels. If you're on Dribbble you can find me here

Here are some of my favourite shots, you can find their original sources below. My number one has to be the second shot by The Fox and King. Fellow residents of Leeds and West Yorkshire may recognise the last shot from posters that have been plastered around the town, it's created by Leeds based Finnish designer Johanna Härmä.



(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 )

For Inspiration - Orla Kiely

For personal reasons which cannot be mentioned I'm going to have to "eat my foot" as concerns this post. Let it be said this remains a secret between me and the Northern Irish man in question.

I've never been a huge fan of Orla Kiely. It's too simplistic for my taste and I've never liked the solid vector shape with minimal colouring. I think in a similar way to Marimekko with the red Unikko design, the stem design with the orange and green colourings has been so overused. Never the less I've been drawn into this collection, possibly because of the Riviera print (in circles 6 and 7). I find it so tasteful with the adorably tiny shapes and sweet, fresh colours. The big bold planes are also so charming.

Which are your favourites from the new Orla Kiely collection?

For Inspiration - Marimekko

Marimekko (and Finnish design in general) has always been my biggest inspiration since I began University. No other brand has even come close to being my favourite. Period. My love for it over the years has grown and grown, I've written assignments on it, featured it in almost every project and it was originally my starting inspiration to learn Finnish. So you can imagine my glee when I came across the new book "In Patterns" when I was shopping in the London store.

I already have quite a few Marimekko publications as well as other design and interior books that feature the brand but this is by FAR the best in terms of quality and the amount of information and detail featured. It covers the processes of design and manufacture with each section dedicated to a particular designer, showing you initial sketches, the environments in which they work in and full page prints of designs. One of the reasons Marimekko stands at my favourite brands is that it places the highest priority on promoting their own designers; it's very very rare for a brand to do this.

Here are a selection of my favourite images from the book which I scanned in:

The book is quite expensive at £35, on average most of my own design/pattern books are usually priced around £20. One of the downsides is that you can only get it at a Marimekko store as it's not available online yet, but if you are in London (or if you're really lucky and live in Finland, Marimekko stores are scattered everywhere!) I really suggest you pick a copy up, I promise it's worth every penny. You'll find it so inspirational and resourceful!

Happy reading!

For Inspiration - Stella Vine

Stella Vine has been my favourite artist for about 5 years now, but as a textile design student it was never really going to be relevant or complimentary to my own style. So this year I decided to take a module in Contemporary Art where I'd be able to practise writing critically from both a theoretical and aesthetical viewpoint, partly for fun, partly in preparation for my dissertation. I've looked at comparing the visual and personal elements of Stella Vine's work to the feminist theories behind the work of Bulgarian/French philosopher Julia Kristeva, relating all possible perceptions to the idea of the alien woman for it is without choice that both women in their own industries are feminists.

“It was perhaps also necessary to be a woman to attempt to take up the exorbitant wager of carrying the rationalist project to the outer borders of the signifying venture of men”
Julia Kristeva Writing in such an academic manner is something that is very new to me, so I'll let you know how I get on, but for now I hope you enjoy my favourite pieces of Stella Vine's work, most of them are available for you to view in all their high resolution glory at Stella's tumblr here.

For Inspiration - Suomi Finland

In 25 days I'll be on my way to Finland and I still can't quite believe it! It's been a dream for me for so many years and I still get a bit teary when I think a lot about it. Although it is a such a short trip possibly the main reason I'm going is personal and design research. I'm going to try and see as much as possible and photograph, draw everything I can. I've been rooting some advice as of what to do from native Finns too, so if you have any suggestions on what I must see or if you're in Turku/surrounding areas or Tampere get in contact with me! So far I've planned to see Kurjenrahka national park, Turku archipelago (did you know there is over 20,000 islands!) and in Tampere I want to spend a great amount of time in the cathedral (because of Hugo Simberg) and visit Amuri (for my studies) and the Moomin museum (for the child in me) as well as Näsinneula if it's a clear day.

So it is a while before I go and doubtless as the days go by I'm annoying more and more people by doing nothing but talking about it (especially on Twitter!) but I hope you enjoy the wonderful images, they're keeping my inspiration sky high. 

(Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)