July was a bit of a whirlwind of activity but I feel like I didn’t get much done, I know I did get lots of things done but it all feels a bit scrappy for want of a better word. Mainly lots of tying up loose ends & starting new projects off.

So what exactly did I get up to here at Claire Salisbury Studios & Creative Sparks Club HQ this month?

Well I brought back my blog - which is obvious because you’re currently reading it lol! I’ve always loved blogging but I just didn’t have the time to keep it going, however, I’ve had a re-jiggle of stuff & now have worked something out time wise so I’m looking forward to getting back into my blogging groove over the coming weeks & months.

I started creating a new range of printable wall art for my Etsy shop 

They’re filled with positive messages perfect for decorating your studio, office or creative space - they’ll also look good in teen bedrooms. And as you print them yourself they’re super affordable too! The plan is to launch them at the end of August or beginning of September.

I started work on a new surface pattern collection & Make It In Design’s Summer School started on Monday this week so I’ve also made a start on the Advanced & Intermediate Briefs from that. I foresee a LOT of surface pattern designing in my future throughout August - Yay! It’s my favourite part of what I do!

These are some of the motifs for the collection I started just before Summer School began. I’ve got a chilled out, cool pastel vibe in mind for this collection.

I also created some prototypes for a new physical product I’m working on too - Positive Postcards, I’m still finalising the details on these at the moment. I can’t decide if they should be fully printed or hand finished by me using gold & coloured vinyl for stars & other accents, which would you prefer?

August is shaping up to be an exciting & busy month looking at my planner, there’s exam results day for H, several hospital appointments following from my collapse back in May, new products to work on, surface pattern collections to design, tutorials to film, tea to drink, cake to eat & I may even squeeze in a movie day too. 

Hope you all have a wonderful August & enjoy the Summer weather whilst it lasts!

Happy Creating!

Ok, so you know I’m a Surface Pattern Designer, but what exactly does that mean? What is it that I actually do?

I create patterns & prints for all kinds of things such as fabric either on the roll or by the metre, stationery like notebooks, pencil cases & back packs, clothing like shirts, dresses, t-shirts, even greetings cards & giftwrap. These product mock-ups are from my Interstellar Collection. We've got a cushion, an umbrella, bedding & a mug. Creating product mock-ups helps to show how your pattens & designs can be used which is very useful for companies interested in working with you.

So how do I do that? Well, it depends on what I’m designing for, if it’s for a company or a commission piece I’m given a brief to work from which gives me the colours, theme & overall feel they’re looking for.

If it’s for a personal project then it could just be an idea I’ve had or an occasion I want to create something for, so I always start with a moodboard on Pinterest collecting pictures of flowers or colours, or other things relevant to the collection I’m creating, I try to avoid looking at other surface pattern designs when creating a mood board because I don’t want to be influenced by them when creating my own collection, I find cakes to be a great source of inspiration on Pinterest oddly enough.

I decide which colours I want to use & make a note of their colour codes. This was the moodboard I created for The Creator’s Collection last year. It has they key words I was thinking of for this particular collection, I wanted to use my brand colours as this is my signature collection which I'll be using for a variety of different printed & digital products for my own label range.

Once I’ve pulled a moodboard together I start sketching out motifs suitable for what I’m creating. Once they’re sketched out in pencil I ink them up using various sizes of fineliner pens & the occasional Sharpie pen.

Then I scan them in & clean them up in Photoshop. These floral sketches were from my Floral Doodle Doo Collection. 

When I’ve cleaned up my sketches in Photoshop I can start to colour the motifs then put the patterns together moving all of the pieces & motifs around until I’m happy with how they look. 

When I’m happy with everything - the colours, placement etc I’ll save the design & create mock-ups of whatever products I was designing for & Ta Dah! Done! One set of Surface Patterns.

I really find it so enjoyable, I absolutely love sitting down in my studio, blasting out some tunes & creating new collections.

I really hope you've found this interesting & that it explains a bit more about what I actually do here in my studio.

Happy Creating!