A dear old school friend of mine has turned 50 and to celebrate her birthday I designed and printed a small book to celebrate some of the many memories we have shared over the years. The book had 50 pages that referenced everything from an all day breakfast, to a game of Sorry, to her love of the band A-Ha! I also included some references to design classics I knew she’d love, including Mr Tickle, Marimekko’s Unikko design, andAlexander Girard doll and a Barbara Hepworth sculpture. She’s an architect so there are building details and she’s a lover of handbags so there are a few of those, and pl ..read more

A precious holiday to Greece in the early summer has provided plenty of nourishment for my creativity, as well as excellent down-time, walking and eating. It’s just taken me a long time to get this post together! I’ve been creating photographic records of artefacts collected on holidays for some time – a great way of remembering the specifics of a walk without having to bring it all home! I’ve also enjoyed creating composite images to represent experiences over the years, some featured on the posts here, so I’ve done the same for Greece. We visited the Cyclades, and specifically the islands of ..read more

For a number of years I’ve been aware of the fascinating work of Colorifix, an award winning bacterial dye biotech start-up organisation based in Norwich leading the way for a more sustainable dye practice. Following some planning and support from our technical team I was able to host PhD researcher Ruth Lloyd in partnership with Colorifix to share with us their work and to lead a workshop for our BA3 students. Ruth is carrying out practice-based research “to develop and commercialise bacterial dyes, where she will further explore the capacity of colour producing microorganisms to create human ..read more

Part of my academic role at Norwich University of the Arts is dedicated to my research practice, exploring new knowledge in pattern and print design. Following on from the publication of my book I’ve been keen to get out in to industry and expand my practical experience of print production methods that could enable new ways of designing repeating patterns for paper and cloth. These visits also provide excellent opportunities for me to develop ideas for curriculum changes in the undergraduate course I lead, BA (Hons) Textile Design at Norwich University of the Arts, to ensure our graduates are ..read more

As a result of my current pattern research practice, I’ve been keen to get out and discuss print production methods with designers and manufacturers, particularly as I was restricted in doing so while writing my book during the pandemic. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit designer Marthe Armitage in her showroom in west London, showing her my sketchbook / design work and discussing each of our design and production processes.  I’m not sure when I first became aware of Marthe’s patterns on wallpaper and cloth, but I’ve used her designs in my university lectures for the la ..read more

In the first term of arriving at Norwich University of the Arts I was welcomed as a member of the Pattern and Chaos research group. Colleagues from across the university would meet and discuss individual research practices and shared ambitions relating to the themes of the group. During one of those early meetings the idea of a Reader, a book featuring many contributions on the themes related to the research group, was being discussed. I enjoyed being involved in setting out early ambitions and five years on the book, edited by Sarah Horton and Victoria Mitchell, is a reality, having been publ ..read more

I’ve been busy with lots of teaching activities recently including schools outreach workshops, and a teacher training session alongside my main teaching on the BA Textile Design course at Norwich University of the Arts. Last term was full of varied teaching projects and a highlight for me was to work again with two of my graduates from the last institution I worked at, Birmingham City University, in their design roles at Sainsbury’s / Habitat, leading an industry brief for my current BA3 group. One of my absolute passions is to bring industry together with education, for everyone to learn ..read more

Each time I visit London I enjoy spotting the iconic patterns and designs on the underground as I rush through the tunnels and rattle along on the trains. This weekend I had my first trip on the Elizabeth Line and enjoyed seeing the Wallace Sewell moquette upholstery. I always enjoy seeing the tile designs across the network too, especially the designs at Tottenham Court Road by Eduardo Paolozzi. Having lived in London between 1997 and 2005 I became very familiar with the network but over the last decade there has been so much change I was at times completely thrown by he updates. I hope you e ..read more

It’s been a while since posting here, but I’ve been busy enjoying summer adventures and developing exciting pattern research alongside getting the academic year underway. I’ve also moved in to a new studio space so I’ll share that in due course. My pattern research focusing on the repeat print block and how it can be used to generate multiple variations to evolve pattern options continues, with sampling with screen and lino printing. I thought I’d share the more structural outcomes here, linking back to my book art practice. I enjoy discovering links that connect the broader practice I’ve deve ..read more

It’s been a while since I last wrote here – the summer term at university has been very busy, … I’ve hosted an Industry Awards Day, assessed a lot of work, put up a degree show and taken students to the graduate showcase of New Designers in London, to name a few activities, so not much headspace I’m afraid. In the middle of all that I agreed to chair a panel at New Designers titled Contemporary Printed Textiles and Surface Design Practice. I had the amazing designers Emma J Shipley, Sarah Campbell and Deborah Bowness as panellists, sharing their expertise – all three designers are interviewees ..read more