3 Things I Learned this week...

Morning!

Hope you had a great week... Here's what I learned...

1. Bureau Direct is awesome.

I am huge fan of J Herbin inks so I was really excited to learn that they produce a rollerball pen that takes ink cartridges. I bought mine from the very fabulous Bureau Direct who also do some great deals on Herbin inks...


2. We have a limited capacity for making decisions...

You can read more about it here. I'm all about planning this year!


3. That I really like this song a lot...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone,
Love
Frankie x

Getting my blog together... FABULOUS AND FREE RESOURCE

Morning...
So every once in a while the universe hears ya and you get a little bit of what you need landing in your lap... or your inbox.

I really like the idea of having a blog. I have blog envy when I look at some folk's blogs - they're consistent in style, tone and posting. Me? I'm a little bit all over the place but I'm enthusiastic.

The big buzzword for me this year is PLANNING since I've heard a lot of people talking about individuals only having a certain amount of Decision Juice. What you use up deciding what to wear and what to eat each morning you don't get back... so you might have run out by lunch time if you're anything like me and suffer DECISION FATIGUE!!!

Therefore, planning is bang on trend. Schedule a time to plan your weekly wardrobe, or whattheheck: be like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama or Albert Einstein and get your own uniform wardrobe. I don't think I can bear to wear or eat the same thing everyday but I can spend one moment each week planning it. And I can simplify lots of other things in my life by not having to make a series of decisions about them every single day.

So how does this relate to my blog? Well I'd started back with enthusiasm a few weeks ago with a new schedule of 3 times a week. On Monday I missed my post. I just couldn't think what to write and I have so much design work to do at the moment that I just couldn't spend the time deciding what to write about. Then I saw THIS... I can't quite remember in all the madness of trying to get stuff done if the offer for it just appeared in my inbox or if I clicked through some links in an email about something else but whatever happened it appeared without me searching for it at all.

It took me no time at all to read through it and fill in the plan and oh what a plan! Themed weeks and scheduling stuff will really help to keep me enthused and organised and get the blog that I really want for you, dear reader (I love that phrase!!!).

So, Beth Kempton - cheers, you really are fab.
Love
Frankie x

Progress...

Morning,

Just thought I would share a little bit of the work I've been doing this week. I am preparing for my first trade show and trying to add lots of one off patterns to my portfolio. 

Hand drawn geometrics with a floral twist really are my most favourite patterns to make and the reason I started making patterns in the first place. This one reminds me of looking through a kaleidoscope a little bit and I really enjoyed creating it. It was inspired by some drawings of Edwardian brooches I have done this week and I can't wait to make some more like this one. 

This culinary inspired repeat is something that I created whilst on Lilla Rogers' MATS course. I spent some time improving the repeat, polishing up some of the motifs and recolouring it. I still think I might try tweaking the colours further. I'm spending this month reviewing the work I did on the course and further improving it so I can add it to my portfolio. 

Also this week, I've been looking at Islamic art and tiles for inspiration. And I'm loving this book that I got for Christmas...

Marnie Fogg

...so expect some 1950's inspired doodles soon! 

Love 

Frankie x

Back to work/school...

Hi everyone,

Hope you are breezing through the beginning of the year with lots of energy and excitement for whatever you might have planned for 2015. I've got a rotten head cold which has slowed me down a little but I'm pushing through with lots of tea and paracetamol!

At the moment one of the things I am working on is a daily task sheet design. Here's a screenshot of it and once it's finished I'm going to put it up as a free downloadable resource here on my blog.

I'm testing it on myself at the moment and when I am happy with the format I'm going to jazz it up with lovely lettering and patterns! Basically, I just really wanted to make a daily to do list for myself that has everything on one sheet. I've lost count of the diaries and notebooks I have bought over the years and abandoned after a few months... I also used Evernote for a while but I've found that what I really need is something I can pin up in front of me and see in order to keep me on track for the day.

How are you getting organised and keeping on track? I'd love to know!
Love
Frankie x

Hello 2015!

Hello and Happy New Year!

I've had such a lovely break and now that I'm set up in my new studio I can't wait to make this year a fun filled pattern adventure. What are your dreams, goals and intentions for this year? Have you planned and mapped your journey to success?

My work related goals and intentions include:

• Seeing my licensed work on products in the soon to be launched Shibumi store.
• Redesigning and updating my website with my new work
• Launching some own brand products
• Writing my first ebook
• Getting my work seen at trade shows
• Finding an agent

I have some other bigger goals and dreams that I feel a little afraid to share on here right now so I guess I need to practise telling them to myself a little bit more first. Recently I've really started to realise just how important it is to believe that you can do something in order to get on with doing it... Or as Mahatma Gandhi so wisely and eloquently put it: 

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 

Your thoughts become your words, 

Your words become your actions, 

Your actions become your habits, 

Your habits become your values, 

Your values become your destiny."

Wishing you all the best for the new year,

Frankie x

Merry Christmas everyone

Hello!

Yesterday I spent the day putting the final touches to my studio in readiness for 2015 - I'm raring to go and intend to make it a really productive, happy, creative and successful year. The rug and some other bits arrived from Ikea... I know it's become a bit of an Ikea showroom but really they are so brilliant at doing great storage solutions and lovely textiles at great prices it makes it hard to resist.

After clearing the desks and moving furniture, assembling things, sorting out drawers and then making it all tidy again I was treated to a delivery of mulled wine and mince pies. Yum! It was pouring with rain outside but with Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald playing and my favourite scented winter candle burning, the atmosphere felt magical and festive and now I really feel Christmassy and ready to celebrate.

Bog Standard make such beautiful candles

This is my last blog post for 2014. So I wish you all the very best for the festive period and I will be back in 2015 with patterns galore!

Love
Frankie x