I spent the first month of lockdown designing, filming and editing the How Pattern Works online workshop, which launches today. I developed the course out of my teaching experience with Ace Camps in Portugal, where I was using the amazing tile heritage of Lisbon as my teaching tool. While teaching, I noticed how the energy …
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How Pattern Works
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Sun & Moon and Matchsticks
Ever since the first teaching trip to India with Ace Camps in 2014, we’ve been working with the same small-batch blockprinters in the Rajasthani village of Bagru to produce our small batches of limited-run blockprinted scarves. So far, we’ve produced 5 different designs, and now we’re thrilled to introduce two new scarves: Sun & Moon …
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Heading to Porto with Ace Camps
Are you coming to Porto with me in June? I’ll be there with Ace Camps, using the tiles of the city to teach you about how pattern is generated so that you can look at the riches of Porto’s azulejos heritage with fresh eyes.
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Making Friday: Batik in Swaziland
My role on April’s trip to Swaziland with Ace Camps was to teach the group of travellers about pattern, and to give them an intro to the principles behind designing for batik. They came up with some really, really nice designs (see below), which set us all up nicely for the three subsequent days we …
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Colour in Swaziland
The thing that’s so good about travel is changing up the things we see every day. Arriving in green, lush Swaziland (or, as it was re-named just after our visit, eSwatini) with its rolling hills, songbirds and afternoon thunderstorms was a refresher for my city-weary eyes. Here are some of the shapes and colours that …
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A year of Making Fridays: 2017
I’m starting 2018 with a creative break, spending as much of January as possible in the studio, getting my creative batteries recharged. So instead of the standard ‘year in review’, I’ve decided to do a “Making Friday year in review’ post, taking stock of what happened during my behind-the-scenes studio practice, which I like to …
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Ace Camps – Batik printing in Swaziland
The 2018 Ace Camps lineup has been announced, and I’m excited because I’ll be teaching in Swaziland next year! Read all about this exciting African rural adventure, complete with Kruger safari right here, and sign up quickly, as places are filling fast. PS: Also check out the very foodie Cape Town Ace Camp, led by …
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I got the blues in Lisbon
I’ve been in Lisbon for a week, first for a few days on my own, blissfully wandering the city, and then I’ve been teaching a 3 day course in pattern generation to a bunch of students on an Ace Camp. I simply can’t believe how many pictures I’ve taken while in this city of patterns, …
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Skinny goes to Europe
Did I mention what’s happening next? Skinny goes to Europe for a big fat 22 days! Here’s what’s on the cards: 18-29 June I’ve got 11 whole days in Lisbon, where I’ll be in a patterned-out haze with the Ace Camps group, learning and teaching all about azulejos, and taking frequent breaks to pop yet another pasteis …
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