International Christmas Market - Christmas Gifts and Cards

This week I'm proud to present the work of a 'Baker's Dozen' of artists, photographers and designers from all over the world in a little virtual 'market' of products that I hope will give you some ideas for 
Christmas Gifts -

First, from Southern California:

FLORALS by FRED

I’m a 50 something retired municipal worker who decided to do something with a lifelong passion, photography. I enjoy many different styles of photography, florals and landscapes are a specialty. Choose from a large variety of floral and landscape posters, wall art and canvas photo art, T shirts, greeting cards and many other products to enjoy and treasure for years to come. I also take requests.

Fred's Zazzle Store

S'mores Snowman Postage 2 by FloralbyFred

.......

Nicola Jones from North Wales, UK

I'm Nicola Jones, owner and designer behind gooseberrymoon. I'm a self taught designer who lovingly combines hand-drawn and digital illustrations into motifs and patterns. With a less is more approach to design I create simple, elegant and timeless pieces of stationery and art prints.

Nicola's website

Monogram Nursery Art Print from notonthehighstreet.com

.......

Jayne Wilson from Houston, Texas

3D DESIGNS by JAYNE


Originally from England, Jayne Wilson is a self-taught artist who now lives in the Houston area in Texas. When she was introduced to the 3D digital graphics program Bryce in 2004 a whole new world of artistic possibilities opened up to her. Since that introduction, she has branched out and expanded her skills and now uses Vue Esprit and DAZ 3D to create artworks in a variety of styles, including landscapes, equine art, fantasy art and abstracts.

Jayne's Zazzle Store

Foal and Snowman Ceramic Christmas Ornament by 3DDesignsByJayne


....... 

Boriana Giormova from Sofia, Bulgaria.

CUTE and STRANGE CREATURES

I draw funny creatures and design stuff. 
I have two wonderful kids which inspire me and I love to read books and to play video games.





Boriana's Society6 store

Happy Singing-Snowman Bag

.......

Jennifer Wohlferd-Rowlands, originally from Minnesota 

I'm an American expat living in Wales and I've started a small company based in the heart of South Wales, specialising in making wax candle shells and scented soy candles. A wax candle shell is a hollow wax shell made entirely of wax which is completely re-usable, they do not melt, so when used correctly will last for a very long time.  You place a tealight in the centre and it lights up the wax shell to create an enjoyable glow. 

Welsh Candle Creations website

Christmas Luminaries, Hurricane Shells and Tea Lights

.......

Sherry Harris from the High Desert of Los Angeles County, California

I'm a stay at home grandmother, awaiting the arrival of my first great-grandson any day. I've been married for 41 1/2 years to the same man. I have two children and six grandchidren...five on earth and one in Heaven. I sell Digital Collage Sheets for Busy Crafters. I find images so they don't have to. I've been selling digital collage sheets on Etsy, Artfire and the Website for over five years. I've been a crafter since childhood and love helping others find what they need.

Santa's Elves: Vintage Children: Digital Collage Sheet

Sherry's Cloud 9 Kreations store

.......

Cheryl Hall from New South Wales, Australia

GOLDEN JACKAL GREETING CARDS and PRODUCTS

My artistic passions lay in photography, designing and graphics. I like to share what I create and to try many different and varied things. Everything I have done on a computer is self taught and I've come a long way with that.

I have created my own website, regularly blog and have a networking group on facebook. Visit my website for all the links. http://goldenjackal.weebly.com/

Cheryl's Zazzle Store

Christmas card xmas Christmas animal kitty cat by GOLDENJACKAL

.....

Cherie Balowski from Michigan

My name is Cherie and I live in south central Michigan, in a lovely rural part of the state. I call myself a 'creative soul' because there truly is never a time in my life that I'm not either creating something or thinking about creating something. I feel Blessed to have an opportunity to sell my arts and crafts online and hope you'll visit my Etsy shop to view some of my work!

Cherie's Etsy Store

Poinsettia Wreath Clipart

.......

Nandita Singh from India

I'm a freelance Surface Pattern designer from India. 

I love to see colour in everything. My style is hand drawn intricate Indian motifs in bright and eye-catching colours. 

My work is inspired by the colourful, geometrical and floral drawings of India, and the detail art works of ancient Mughal Paintings.

Nandita' Society 6 store

'Delicate Branches' iPhone or iPod case

.......

Countrymouse Studio, British Columbia, Canada

I create watercolor paintings of birds or animals. Love of nature drives me to create and humor makes the journey worthwhile so if you love nature and have a sense of humor you should enjoy your shopping experience. 

My store has unique, customizable giftware: T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, travel mugs, stickers, tote bags, shoes, ornaments etc.

Countrymouse's Zazzle Store

Well, this is a mouse pad! Cute Mousepad by countrymousestudio
 

.......

Wendy Flynn from S.W. London, UK

I am a surface pattern designer and Illustrator from SW London who designs under the name Doris & Fred named after her Grandparents.

I have been creating art for as long as I can remember, doodling, taking photographs and making a mess. I love colour and pattern and gets my inspiration from everything around me, from park trips with my son to digging veg at the allotment, vintage fabrics and trips to the beach.

I love using a mix of hand drawn motifs, photography and digital magic to create fun fresh designs.

Wendy's website

'Walk in the Park' iPad Case

.......

Inkflo @ Chez Inflo, living and working in France

I work from France and I love all things quirky! I am a bit of a fidget, so I'm constantly changing my designs, but hopefully that means I can't rest on my laurels, and it keeps my store new and exciting.

Inkflo's Zazzle store

I Love Shoes keychain. by Inkflo

Sarah Hudcock from Vermont

Sarah is a self-taught artist, but all that means is that she loves to draw, paint and create pretty much all of the time. She raises a small flock of chickens, sells her unique greeting cards to small shops around Vermont and elsewhere, and is fond of exhibiting yearly at the fair in her tiny town of Newfane.

Sarah's Christmas Cards and links to website

Roosters Carolling Christmas Card

Missed out this time?

If enough people are interested (at least 10)
 I'll hold another 
International Christmas Market
(in a couple of weeks' time)
 please just follow the instructions below
as soon as possible!

Surfacing Pattern Designers Showcase - Part 2

This is a continuation of yesterday's showcase of images from the 'graduates' of  'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' course - 

Liz Minton

http://www.lizminton.com

Hot Pink Floral

Louise Dewsnap

www.louisedewsnapart.co.uk

Swirls and Leaves

"A bright pattern influenced by foliage and organic materials, a subject matter that influences most of my work.  My patterns tend to be use quite delicate shapes with overlapping layers."

Maira Chiodi

http://www.mairachiodi.com/

"This pattern is warm, colorful and inspired by nature, just the way I like and try to live my life."

Mel Pope

"I created these designs for my step-son's ( James Pope) bedroom and then painted them directly onto his walls. He was 12 at the time, so the skulls, bones, rock, and graffiti theme went down really well. We had all visited New York together the previous year when his father was alive, so he loved the skyline - so not to scale, by the way."

Natacha Devaud

www.theLazyGiraffe.com

"The Pushkar Bloom patterns express my interest in cultural diversity and my love of travels: the designs are inspired by mayan and middle eastern motifs, while the color palette comes from a recent trip to India. "

Nicola Jones

www.gooseberrymoon.co.uk 

Winter Berries

“I love creating simple hand drawn motifs and turning them into patterns. Like these winter berry silhouettes layered over a chevron background.”

Rebecca Wilson

www.beckabonce.co.uk

Morning Glory

"I have always been inspired by nature and the organic shapes that can be found within the environment. This pattern in particular was inspired by the pretty little flowers 'Morning Glory'."

Ruth Thorp

www.ruththorpstudio.co.uk

Spring Burst

"A colourful pattern inspired by the beautiful start of spring and burst of fresh flowers."

Trina Esquivelzeta

http://surfacehug.com/

Irises

"From a photo of irises in my garden."

Wendy Flynn

http://dorisandfred.blogspot.co.uk

Freelance surface pattern designer and Illustrator from SW London, likes combining messy ink and digital colour, looking for fun projects, commissions, or licensing.

The theme for next month's showcase will be 'Spring' - due in on April 7th. 

E-Interview with Nicola Jones, Designer of Pretty Paper Goods

This month’s e-interview is with Nicola Jones, a very talented, self-taught designer from North Wales. 

Nicola runs a small but successful company called ‘gooseberrymoon’, designing pretty paper goods for weddings and everyday which you can explore here and here.

Artists often have interesting stories about how their talent first emerged. So I began by asking Nicky when she first realised that she was an artist. I’m sure many of us will identify with her reply:
'I’ve always enjoyed creating and I come from a very artistic family but never really considered myself an artist. I’m trying to get used to calling myself a designer.'

Have you had formal art/design/illustration training?
'I’ve had no formal art training. I’m completely self-taught, hence the reason I find it difficult to refer to myself
as designer or artist I think.'

Do you consider that your lack of training has held you back at all?
Only that I may have gotten to the stage I’m at now a little quicker!

What is the most important thing you have learnt on your journey as an artist and from whom did
you learnt it?
Never give up and believe in what you’re doing. It’s been said by so many people along my journey.

Which artists/designers/illustrators inspire you?
This changes as I discover new artists and designers. At the moment I’m loving the work of Lotta Jansdotter and Skinny Laminx.

How long has your business been up and running?
I had my first paid order at the end of 2008 and have been lucky enough to have a consistent flow of orders ever since, which enabled me to give up my day job in September this year to run gooseberrymoon full time.

Are there any particular pitfalls that have caused difficulties for your business that you would like to warn others about?

I’ve had a few learning curves along the way. The one I’ve learnt from most recently is always request a deposit before starting work on a time consuming project!

Do you enjoy the business side of things?
Not particularly! I’d much prefer to be designing. I’m pretty bad at leaving the paperwork ‘til last minute and I’ve not looked at my online statistics for months.

Have you had any training in the art business?
I’ve been studying Rachael Taylors’ The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design ecourse and have learnt so much.

Do you paint/draw regularly?
Not as much as I’d like to, but since starting the pattern course I’ve filled a couple of sketchbooks.

How many hours per week do you work?
I work anything between 30 and 40 hours. I do have the odd week where I’ve taken on too much and just have to work as many hours as it takes.

Do you have regular contact with other artists?
I connect with other artists mainly through twitter and Instagram.  I’ve also met lots of lovely designers and
artists (including you Judy!) on the art and business of surface pattern course.

What is your biggest achievement – or the one that pleases you most – so far?
It has to be making the break from my day job to run gooseberrymoon full time.

Do you have a favourite quote, art-related or otherwise?
I’ve got a Pinterest board with a few inspirational quotes and this one is something I should remind myself of more often “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today”. You’ll see from my work that I’m also a big fan of  the quote “less is more”.

What are your plans for the future?
This year I’m planning on taking a screen printing course at a local college in the hope that I’ll be able to apply my motifs and patterns on all sorts of surfaces. I love designing wedding stationery so I’ll be adding new designs to my existing collection in the spring.

Nicky, I'm sure all our readers will join me in wishing you joy and success in all your endeavours and in thanking you for taking the time and trouble to answer my questions. I'm sure your replies will provide someone, somewhere with just the information or inspiration (or both!) that they need!

If you have enjoyed this interview and would like to get to know Nicky and her work better, here are the links to her website, blog and social networking sites - 

http://www.gooseberrymoon.co.uk/

http://gooseberrymoon.blogspot.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/gooseberrymoon

http://pinterest.com/gooseberrymoon/

http://instagram.com/gooseberrymoon