Helen Rawlinson at Guildery

 

  

 

 

 

 

I'm very pleased to see my collection on the front page of Guildery today. You can also see me on the Guildery blog talking about my work and studio. So to answer the question that keeps popping up from the USA - Yes you can buy my fabric by the yard and yards and yards! Plus cushions, drapes, footstools, lampshades and more, yey!

Shop here

New Makes and Taking a Break

I've been busy with customer orders for the last couple of weeks.  What with juggling lampshades and all the rest, I never seem to get the chance to make new things so it's always great to get a customer order or two so I can do something new.  My to do list is getting longer and longer!
So here they are.

Tea Towel Totes in Parade

Moroccan Tile Slim Cushion in Elephant Grey

A whole stack of squares!

Yellow Parade

Olive Moroccan Tile

 Having had the chance to take some snaps, I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop soon.  But for now - we're taking a break to Scarpat in France.  Our family hideaway (a life long love I share with my two brothers).  We've still got a couple of weeks left in June free and one week in July if anyone fancies a getaway!

See you all soon and happy half term / holidays!

Working on it....

I've not quite got the hang of Instagram.  I'm not an iPhone user (yet!) - I'm an HTC girl and I've only just been able to download it to my mobile. It's not as spontaneous as taking pictures straight from the camera on my phone so I've got to work out the best way to do it before I get bored and work out the point of it all!
Anyway - my Monday at the studio was snail like, given that I have a very stiff neck (an unfortunate recurring problem which likes to surprise me every now and then!) Never the less I managed to pack up and send a flurry of orders from my notonthehighstreet shop - thanks to all you Sunday shoppers!  I also printed some Moroccan Tile in olive for an Etsy customer order for cushions which will be made this week and I took a pic with Instagram - looks a bit blurry on the big screen!
The HR signage at the back came from my favourite little vintage shop Committee of Taste. They'd only got a handful of letters so I was lucky. The little stool (which I think might have been taller in another life) was a street find and is perfect for giving me a leg up onto my print table when I need to grab things from the shelf.
So that was my Monday - roll on the sunshine and bye bye neck pain!

Open Studios in Full Swing!

Note: no one is actually buying anything at this point - lot of drinking and chatting going on!

We had such a good time at our Open Studios last night. The weather was kind and everyone was in good Christmas spirits! Mulled wine and mince pies a plenty, a roaring fire and an outdoor screening on the Chocolate Factory walls pulled it all together to make a great start to the weekend.
Here's just a glimpse of it all.  Tomorrow's the last day - I'm doing 20% off on my current range of lampshades and as always the sale (print) table is happily getting lighter as the weekend goes on.  Still plenty of tea towels and bags to shift!  Just the block mugs left - all the Moroccan tile designs were bagged in one swoop.  Most of the studios are open and there are some really great finds for both Christmas presents and beyond.

I really shouldn't put this one in, but it does explain my banging head this morning! Poor little Bernina pushed to the wall. This desk certainly takes some hammering and I really think it's about time I remove that Tricky sticker!

That clock needs a new battery! Close of day today - 6pm

With Relish are opposite me and calls for Dog Bingo will be heard throughout the day - everyone welcome to join in the fun and support The Mayhew Animal Home. 
I love the photos taken by Matt from Studiohead (responsible for the virtual orchestra merriment in the yard!) which give a sneek peak into the build up and beyond of Open Studios - now in its sixteenth year! See all the pics on our Facebook Page 

Back Tracking - Cocktails and Such

Anyone for a cocktail?

Back in June my fine friend Tjinder asked me to illustrate some recipes for his little project over at Cornershop HQ.  If you haven't heard of Cornershop - then now's the time to enjoy. I'm a big fan of Tjinder's music, an especially big fan of his Missus and our boys are the maddest of friends that 5 year olds can possibly be.
I've dabbled in illustration work in the past and would love to do more if I ever find time to follow this path, or someone else asks me!

This was a great opportunity to have a play and follow a brief. I loved the whole process of collecting imagery (raiding the kitchen cupboards) making little sketches, scanning them in and playing around with the joys (and frustrations) of photoshop.
I'm glad I tackled Judy first as it was the most complicated of the two recipes, so when it came to Brimful I was on a roll.


Both recipes are now available as printable hi res PDF downloads, so you can print them up onto posh A4 paper and have them at the ready for a mighty cocktail making session!  Having tasted it myself, I can honestly say that the Judy cocktail is a real winner (thanks to Dishoom).
Check out Cornershop's website to join the 6 for 6 Singhles club and you'll end up with the Judy Cocktail as well as five other art works plus, of course, some rather cool tracks.
As for Brimful you can download it right here for free!

 

Comments on a beer mat please! I'd love to know what you all think.

Hic!

Studio Snow

Brrrrrrrrr!

Day Five

Day Five, originally uploaded by Helen Rawlinson.

OK this is probably a bit mad, but maybe it will make me think about it for next time! Anyway, quick daily postings this week. My studio space laid bare.

Print Session

I've had a couple of days printing this week. Some designs I've been meaning to get on fabric for a while, whilst new designs are in the pipeline. Sunset Strip, Moroccan tile and Spot. Love the bright red and sage together. The lilac is a new hue. All on organic unbleached cotton at last! I'll be adding to my Etsy shop soon.

Just Made!

Yesterday's Makes.

Square Day

I had a great time today chopping up some of my printed panels. I have a romantic vision of making a big quilt for our bedroom, but whether I'll ever get round to it is another matter. I'd like to think that someone else might want to buy some of my fabrics and show me how it can be done!!!! I'm not quite sure how I'm going to market that one though, I may offer small groups of nine like the one below or a discount mix pack of the 4 piece panels to cut up yourself. It's easy to spend hours enjoyable messing around with the juxtaposition, I'd probably go mad.
I did get round to making some more lavender squares and a mini patchwork cushion, but the light was so rubbish by the time I'd finished, I'll leave that until tomorrow.
More fabrics are being listed in my Etsy shop as I write, I'm just waiting for the photos to load up. There's a neat little trick on Etsyhacks if you download Greasemonkey you can load up all your photos in one go! It takes a while to load, but at least you're not sitting and waiting to do them one by one.
look out for the new prints in my shop and here's a peek of the squares I chose for my little cushion.....
Pebble, Petal and Cirlces

Cut Flower in Buttercup Yellow

Circles in Zingy Lime Green

Circles in Light Mushroom