Origin

Tomorrow I am off to Origin: The London Craft Fair at Old Spitalfield's Market and I can't wait!

I'm looking forward to being wowed and inspired by all the amazing designs, jewellery and textiles on show. I've been working so much on my own designs recently that it will be interesting to see what other people are up to. I always find it so uplifting to see other people's ideas, creativity and talent- especially when it is in more of a craft context.

I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Abigail Brown's beautiful textile bird creations. I've already seen some of the smaller ones in Selvedge's shop on Archway Road and they look so lovingly handmade and full of personality.

I was also really pleased to see that there is a great range of textile designers who are experimenting with and combining print and stitch which is always a plus in my book and very close to my own interests.

Top to bottom: Abigail Brown, Helen Beard, Becky Adams, Caren Garfen, Maxine Sutton, Lowrie Davies, Ollie Zwitserlood, Thornback & Peel

Meet Tilda...

Photoshoot for my 'Tilda' outfit which is inspired by the wild and androgynous side of both David Bowie and Tilda Swinton.

Photography by Daniel Sims.

Quidams 2

The Quidams article I collaborated with Daniel Sims on has now been posted on Amelia's Magazine. Check it out here.

As if from a Dream

After what had been a magical weekend we decided to spend our final night of Latitude simply drifting through the festival. With no agenda we found ourselves sitting atop the large books outside the Literary Stage- donuts in one hand and chocolate dip held precariously in the other. Happily munching away with Vampire Weekend echoing in the background, it seemed a perfect end to the weekend.

With the masses up at the Obelisk Arena, the crowds had thinned out to the point where the festival began to resemble its Mean Fiddler days. The dust from the day had finally settled and the sun was just a whisper of warmth in the evening air.

As we got up and turned to head for Cabaret Stage we caught sight of a peculiar glow of light. Bobbing and shimmying, it was surrounded by a small gathering of people. As the light dispersed, four towering bubble-like creatures flickered into view, their immense height and width contrasting with their feather-light appearance.

Whilst Latitude is notorious for having all kinds of ephemeral creatures wandering through the festival both day and night, there was definitely something more surreal about these serene giants. Gently they tip-toed on stilts away from the bright lights of the festival into the secret darkness of the trees and, along with a growing crowd of enchanted people of all ages, we followed them Pied Piper-like into the darkness.

Unknown to us at the time it was in fact Quidams- a French street theatre company known for, amongst other things, inflatable self illuminating costumes and characters reminiscent of Tim Burton (before Disney devoured him, obviously). At the time, however, who they were and where they had come from didn’t seem important. It was far more exciting to simply engage with the moment.

Clumsy yet graceful, with only a wordless language of slow gestures and hypnotic light we were lead to the Waterfront stage. They shuffled tentatively onto the unlit platform and there was a simultaneous jaw-dropping as the four figures proceeded to creep silently (and unaided) across the submerged catwalk giving the appearance of walking on water.

What had been a small gathering was now a swarming crowd blocking the bridge and congregating on both sides of the lake. As if out of a Studio Ghibli film, we watched as the four illuminated characters arrived on the other side of the bank and surrounded a covered luminous globe. Performing a kind of magic to the strange and dramatic music, the orb began to rhythmically float and descend, each time getting a little higher. Finally it rose high above our heads shedding it’s gossamer-thin covering and blooming into a huge and glowing full-moon.

As the four characters deflated and drifted off into the night, the moon signaled the perfect end to an unbelievable weekend.

It was definitely not the biggest act, but for the brief time it lasted, the festival site was transformed into a Moomin-esque world caught somewhere between fiction and reality. Quite simply, it was Latitude at its best.




Words, photographs and illustration a collaboration between Sophie Parker & Daniel Sims.

Drawing on Childhood

I don't think I have ever produced a range of prints without, at some stage, taking a glance back at the huge rickety bookcase in the hall that houses the many many books from my childhood.

There is something about these book illustrations that I find captivating. Truthful, often humorous and occasionally dark, it is always the more strange and unusual ones that catch my eye and return to my memory time and time again.

I have recently been looking at the beautiful, dream-like work of Alan Marks.

Snippets

See Chelsea's article on Latitude here...

and here.

See UAL's coverage here.

And finally...

my tutor Melanie Bowles (and author of 'Digital Textile Design') has posted my work on her blog here.

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Behind the Scenes

Setting up.

Ready and waiting.

The models arrive.

Hanging around.

Backstage.

Finishing touches.

Hold on to your hat!

Here we go...

Photographs by Daniel Sims.

First Review

Ameliasmagazine.com have done a great review on the Latitude Catwalk. Above you can see the section that covers my work. There is a really varied selection of images and quite a few people's work has been covered. I'm really glad Amelia Gregory covered the event, she took some brilliant close-ups and seeing everyone's designs together in the article shows just how different each designer's work is- there's a real mix of print, knit, stitch and weave.

See the article here.

In The Times

A friend found this in The Times on Saturday for me. The article really isn't relevant but it's exciting to see such a large image of my design used in the newspaper. It's just a shame they didn't credit me!

Another View

When checking out ameliasmagazine.com I came across this beautiful illustration by Abigail Daker of my trouser and waistcoat outfit. I think her interpretation of my imagery merges well with the graphic drawing style she has used. It's interesting to see my work from someone else's perspective and I definitely think she has captured the spirit of the garments. Very creative, especially as she had such a tight deadline for it.

Check out more of Abigail's colourful designs at www.abigaildaker.com

Chelsea @ Latitude!

Last weekend was very exciting. Along with a handful of new graduates from my course (BA (Hons) Textile Design) I was invited to showcase my latest collection at the innovative music festival Latitude. The setting was magical with the catwalk running straight across the lake and onto the Waterfront Stage upon which the Elite models strutted and posed.

Seeing my garments being professionally modeled was brilliant, but even more so as it was in such a fresh and inspiring way. The whole event was wonderfully surreal and entertaining and it was great to be a part of it.

Photographs of my designs by Daniel Sims, more to come soon.

Digital Sketchbook

As a new graduate from Chelsea College of Art and Design I am starting to take my first steps into the real world. I will use this blog almost as a sketchbook to gather, explore and record new ideas whilst also mapping my own journey as a textile designer and illustrator.

My interests lie in the combination of the digital and the hand-made with emphasis on the idea of emotional and sustainable design.

This collection of thoughts will be organic and perhaps a little random; and hopefully I will make a few discoveries along the way!