I like to think of myself as a multi-faceted designer. My work spans patterns for wallpaper and textiles to innovative light responsive canopies and lighting. I like to draw directly from nature but also research below the surface.
My design career began in graphic design, working for clients ranging
from the BBC, EMI records, Dance Umbrella and BAFTA. I spent two years working in
New York and it was whilst there that my earlier interest in
textiles was rekindled during a course in textile screenprinting at The
Fashion Institute of Technology. Returning
to London to run my own graphics studio, a growing interest in materials and
sustainability issues, led me to return to study for the MA at Central Saint Martins in Textile Futures.
At
Central St Martins, I won an industry sponsored competition to produce ecological
wallpapers for Graham and Brown. The winning designs are based on
the Bittern, a highly-endangered reed-dwelling bird.
I
also won second prize from Philips Design for ‘Breathable Felt’,
a collection of experimental smart textiles incorporating petals which open
in response to heat.
I am currently developing my final MA project, 'Solar
Sanctuary', which is a modular canopy enticing people
into its shade with ever-changing, ethereal patterns of light and
shadow. Its design was inspired by minescule natural structures - Diatoms,
microscopic organisms. If you've never seen a diatom, do a search for them and discover one of life's hidden gems!
In my professional work now, I like to combine drawing and hand crafting and incorporate these with cutting edge technologies.
