Freelance design visit, Shelagh Heritage and Nicky Sharp

Yesterday evening I went over to a local freelance designer's house, Shelagh Heritage whos neighbour, Nicky Sharp also happens to be a freelance interiors designer! Unfortunately I was unable to get photographs of their lovely works to post on here.
It was a very insightful and interesting visit as both designers take very different approaches to their work. Shelagh specialises in wallpaper design and has an agent who sells her work in many countries China and Russia to name a few who at the moment are buying an excessive amount of wallpaper. Though, all of her design work is drawn and painted by hand and does not use any kind of digitial design programme which is very rare in today's design industry. While Nicky also initally draws out designs and then develops them onto Illustrator and Photoshop, designing duvets, pillow cases. Both works were very unique in style as Shelagh's was very floral and chintz with painterly effects,whereas Nicky's often geometric yet also used florals in a more abstract and digital theme.
I asked what it was like to work freelance as it is a career I'd like to consider in design, both agreed that in order to become freelance it is best working for a design company to gain knowledge and understanding of the industry and what kind of themes/styles different companies go for. Having shown them my current work for the Bradford Textile Society brief, they agreed to futher my work to possibly increase the scale of my drawing/paintings and research into chintz and florals as these are upcoming trends in the ineriors market.
It was nice to speak to two very talented interior designers and I hope to keep in contact with them and see what work they will produce in the upcoming months.

Michaela Schleypen

Michaela Schleypen is a textile designer who creates organic, natural, textured patterns on flooring and rugs. These patterns have a lovely, flowing and ethereal effect and look pure and botanical; themes which I want to pursue in my design brief at the moment. It's a nice metaphor how she creates a bloom of flowers or branches on these various floorings which remind us of trails walked on through woodlands, parks or fields.

Sketchbook works

Just a few photos from my sketchbook that I aim to develop onto illustrator into suitable interior patterns. I worked into a book on one of my favorite plays, A Midsummer Nights Dream and became quite obsessed drawing over the text! I've also used white tissue paper, layers of paints and pastels to create transparencies and a romantic and soft approach to my work.

Research for new brief

For the next five weeks I am working on a competition brief set by The Bradford Textile Society. I am to produce, "A printed interiors textile design for the domestic market."

Over this week I have been developing a sketchbook of collated materials and media using florals and trees as a theme. I've been inspired by one of Karen Klassen's sketch books where she has used various papers and materials as a background and added textures to her works. I like the idea how these papers and shapes are often concealed with paint or worked on top of to create intrigue and a kind of mysticism.