Graduate Collection

I have been secretly working away on a new collection of designs for the lovely couple behind 'Graduate Collection' Sharon and Mario. As animals are my favourite things to draw i wanted to create a collection that was playful and quirky but i also wanted to keep my drawing style realistic. I decided straight away that i wanted to mix my usual monochrome with a bright colour scheme including reds and pinks.

I spent a lot of time researching imagery and also on deciding which animals were right for which act. A lot tougher than i first imagined! I have really enjoyed the whole process and now i just cannot wait to see the finished products!!

All of the designs will be transferred onto a range of china ware, cushions and prints. VERY excited.

Illustration by Jessica Rose Lennox February 2011

OOOH

Yesterday i recieved a nice little suprise through the letterbox. I had a quick glance and spotted the Canadian postmarks and knew it would be from my very talented twitter pal Jessica Gowling! Unfortunately Jessica has a poorly hand and cannot draw as it may get worse and we don't want that so she was very kind to send me a postcard to keep my anticipation at bay!

I am starting to get together the bits and pieces ready to send back to her, hopefully it will cheer her up a little! Mail art is really something i would like to get into and i am really into (sadly) love letters and traditional communication, so if anyone who reads this would like to swap with me just let me know via my email j.r.l.print@gmail.com

Here are a few examples i have found that are a little bit adorable.

Before i learnt to draw.

I just came across one of my old sketchbooks from college that i absolutely loved and became obsessed with. I remember filling the whole book in like a week! It was a mixture of old photographs of my family and friends, found items and type. I have scanned a few of the pages for you to look at, but im afraid the feel and texture of the book does not shine through.

I would love to work this way again, it was so much fun, experimenting with negative space, textures and weights of paper and also the scale of the imagery i chose to use. Maybe one day i can try to introduce my drawings to this way of working and allow myself to be a lot free-er if thats even a word, ok loose.

Let me know what you think, this could be the start of something interesting.

Curiosity Haus at The Orange Tree

The Orange Tree in Nottingham was home to the first Curiosity Haus Craft Fair of 2011 on Saturday, and it was pretty amazing!

It was such a nice day and i was really lucky to be selling with some really lovely, talented ladies. It is always a successful day selling with Laura at Curiosity Haus and Saturday was no exception. It was an interesting day as i was trialing a few newbies and also managed to sell some pieces i have had for quite some time.

As it was 'valentines weekend', most of my customers were guys buying their loved ones a gift and i think everyone who attended bought at least one cupcake from Natalie from Yummy Little Cakes.

Here are some photos from the day, including my very BRIGHT stall i have just realised.

 Hello Sunshine

 Yummy Little Cakes

Etsy Giveaway

I have a little offer on in my shop until midnight tomorrow night 16th February. If you buy any mug from my shop, i will include a brand new pocket mirror of your choice in the parcel! I am working on some new stock and it would be lovely to free some space up and sell the mugs i have left.

Thanks!

Here are the mugs included in the offer.

Pocket Mirrors

Pocket Mirrors! I have been busy coming up with some new ideas for products to add to my Etsy shop, with a massive amount of help from Awesome Merchandise, here they are!

They measures just over 2" (58mm) in diameter. They have been professionally printed with my original design and set in a full metal case. With my design on one side and the mirror on the reverse, each mirror comes in a protective colour coded bag to keep away those scratches.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nightowlhandmade