How could I not enter this challenge? As a very proud Canadian who lives on the beautiful West Coast on Vancouver Island, I decided to revise one of my very first fave designs inspired by the Salish Sea, the system of coastal waterways that surround where I live and which is home to all kinds of amazing-looking fish, including many varieties of rockfish (such as Quillback and Tiger Rockfish) and flounder. Did you know that baby flounders have eyes on either side of their heads like most other fish, but as they mature one eye migrates to the other side so adult flounder have both eyes on one side? Weird, eh? Check out all the entries at this week's Voting Page!

“GO BANANAS!” This is what I named my entry for this week’s Spoonflower “Line Art Safari Wallpaper” Design Challenge!
And I hope you’re not literally going bananas after a month of staying home...
If you would like to see all the entries, check out the Voting Page!
And this fun design is now available to purchase in my Spoonflower Shop on all kinds of fabrics, wallpaper and home decor!

The Doc Cotton Marketplace is now LIVE! Doc Cotton is a London-based company offering 100% organic and ethically made-in-the-UK (in Peckham, London, specifically!) clothing and tote bags featuring unique pattern designs by independent designers...including me! All garments are made to order.
I invite you to check out my brand new Doc Cotton Shop which features a curated selection of gorgeously-printed products. I hope to be adding more in the coming months...so check back often!
AND a SPECIAL OFFER: the first 5 customers that buy from my Shop using the discount code "unblink10" will get 10% off their order!

I just started a brand new pattern design course from Victoria Johnson Create Explore called "Create Collections" and have been developing colour palettes and drawing new motifs (butterflies, moths and florals so far!) and thinking about how different types of patterns co-ordinate to make a larger pattern collection. Sometimes it really helps to have someone guide you through their process which really makes you think more deeply about your own design process. So, I started with these two placement prints. I might adjust the colours a bit as I get more into the collection, so stay tuned for more to come! Repeats!

I just entered my "Butterfly Breeze" design in this week's Spoonflower "Pollinators" Design Challenge...Although not as effective as bees, butterflies are still very good pollinators! Check out the Voting Page to see all the amazing entries! 

One thing that is great being a member of The Colour Gang is it makes you think about colour palettes and how re-colouring existing motifs can really revise an older pattern design into something fun and new! As an example, I recoloured my "Coastal Critters" motifs (originally designed as placement prints for round plates!) and used them to make some eye-catching, sea-themed repeat patterns. I did try to put all 3 creatures into a single design, but that just didn't work. I also tried using differently coloured creatures in a single design (I tried so many combos) but that didn't sit well either. Sometimes simpler is better. So I finally realized that making 3 separate designs, each with its own creature and monochromatic colour scheme (based on my Japan-inspired "Neon Nights" colour palette from a few posts ago), somehow worked the best, in my opinion! Now I love these! So here they are..."Blue Jellyfish", "Pink Squid" and "Green Octopus"! I hope they make you smile!

This week's brief in Folio Focus 2018 was to create some fun farmyard characters...So here is my "FAMILY FARM" collection of pattern designs featuring affectionate roosters, hens and cute little chicks! I can see these guys on some fun kitchen linens, stationery or childrens wear! Contact me if you would like to license these designs!
To see all my newest pattern designs, I also invite you to check out my IG at: https://www.instagram.com !

I love how my newest pattern designs look on these cozy quilts! On the first one are my "Little Grunt Sculpin" and "Constellation of Starfish" pattern designs; the second one has my new "Cupcake Dreams" and "PomPoms" designs. These would make great gifts (I'd like to get one!), don't you think?

Just wanted to share the beginnings of a new collection I am calling "Little Grunt Sculpin". Grunt sculpins are one of my favourite fishes, they are super funny and cute! I suggest checking them out on Youtube. They are sometimes called "bizarre" and "ridiculous" and don't really swim but rather scoot along the sea bottom!

I love birds with BIG FEET! So I've been working on my pattern designs featuring water birds...herons, oystercatchers and scarlet ibis! This collection will be available at both Surtex and Blueprint Show 1 this May in NYC where I will be showing with Nerida Hansen Print & Textiles! If you want to see some of the coordinates in this collection, check out my Fauna page in my Portfolio! Happy Weekend everyone!