pattern

spinning plates in the portfolio

/ katefarley / Leave a comment

It’s the holiday season but that’s a tricky thing when it comes to being freelance. Yes I have leave from being an academic at this time of year but the design jobs seem to know when it might be good to take a holiday, then the projects pile up, each with a deadline that results in juggling. I’ve made lists of lists, with schedules and then more lists. Each task gets ticked off, only to be joined by a further task, only to discover that some of the industry does take a holiday and instigate factory shutdowns – good on them! I like their style…

I’m not complaining, it’s just always the way of things, and I actually like times like this. This is the portfolio career that I wanted and imagined. Over the last two weeks I’ve lost count of the number of designs I’ve completed, the different colourways, the scale testing, the rhythms, repeats and patterns I’ve honed. In each project the client has been very different, with highly specialised requirements, and again, that’s really exciting.

Alongside all of this I am also preparing to launch my ‘construct’ collection, and as I can’t share the other design projects yet I thought I’d share one of the images I’ve prepared for the press release. The project has been months in the making, and has been growing in so many exciting directions I’m really looking forward to setting up my stand at Tent London in September. If you think you might visit the show as a trade visitor don’t forget to register for a ticket: http://www.tentlondon.co.uk/trade-registration

Do check back and see more of the collection

TENTflyer15_crop800

construct – first glimpse…

/ katefarley / Leave a comment

I’ve spent many months working on a new pattern collection and will be launching it at Tent London at London Design Festival this September. I’ve kept any signs of the design development away from social media until now, but here’s a couple of the patterns from the ‘construct’ collection. I shall write more about the ideas behind the collection in due course.

KateFarley_CONSTRUCTblue

‘Chelsea’ drawings to design for David Mellor Design

/ katefarley / 1 Comment

Many months ago I had the go-ahead from Corin Mellor to design a bespoke pattern to celebrate the fabulous ‘Chelsea’ salad servers that he designed for David Mellor Design. When I first saw the cutlery I immediately really liked the look of them and when I received the servers they were amazing to hold – they still are. Impressive in weight and size, the shape is simple yet stunning, and they inspired me to set about drawing. With a number of design options I provided Corin Mellor, Creative Director and his retail team, they discussed and advised, and before long we agreed on this design that is now printed on to linen union tea towels and sold on my website, David Mellor shops in Hathersage and London as well as Museums Sheffield.

With the tea towel now listed in the ‘Special Products’ section of the David Mellor catalogue I thought it time to show some of the images I have of the process. I took inspiration from my visit to the factory in Hathersage where they make and display the cutlery production process as well as the objects themselves.

I’ve had great feedback and sales, we are having another print-run and they’ve received press in the form of Elle Decoration!

Thanks also to Patternbooth and Design Hunter:

drawing_mellor1webprintedMellorTags_webmellor_square_web

elledeco_Mellor_dec13_web