Surface Pattern Design

From an early age I have always felt the desire to be creative; from my first lessons in stitching on my Grandmas old treadle sewing machine to drawing and painting with my father, an artist and antique dealer. 

I used to be fascinated by the beautifully embroidered tablecloths and the sumptuous coverings on the furniture in his shop, so, after leaving college I began to produce my own vintage samplers for him to sell.

Luckily, for me, an opening appeared at a local company in the design studio.

I had my dream job designing embroidery kits, and although it was very satisfying, I felt I needed to bring more diversity into my work.

I’ve always loved flowers and gardening, so I took a short detour into floristry, after which I returned to crafts and being a maker.

I found I couldn’t buy the kind of fabric I wanted so I experimented with the idea of making my own. I managed to cobble together a couple of metres at a time and had them printed onto luxury fabrics such as silk, satin, or velvet. This spurred me on to look more closely at textile design, and my love of Wales brought me to Swansea to study Surface Pattern Design.

I never lost my love of antiquity which has been a strong influence in my work. With so much heritage and many museum collections here, I am never short of inspiration and with the abundance of botanicals in parks and gardens to sketch, I am never short of a beautiful bloom to add to my sketch book.