HAPPY CHRISTMAS !

im signing off today for the holidays, so its the end of term for print & pattern for this year. massive thanks to everyone for reading, commenting, contributing, and supporting print & pattern during 2009. i hope you will join me in 2010 for more designs, ideas, and trends. we'll look forward to the key spring seasons starting with valentines day, then onto mother's day, followed by easter. and in march we have the release of the print & pattern book - which many of you will be featured in. its been a long time coming - but hopefully will benefit our whole industry and raise the profile of surface design. the lovely images in this christmas post were provided by australian designer clare miller of victor fox, which although they are festive i thought they looked fresh enough to see us into the new year.

merry christmas everyone - see you on january 4th.

XMAS DESIGN - crowded teeth

well its our final day of christmas design and i wanted to finish on a high with these fantastic cards by michelle romo of crowded teeth, published by UK company PQ2. in 2007 we followed los angeles based designer michelle on her 25 project where she created a design a day, and it was obvious then that her work would transfer well to cards. the full collection of nine designs are available from amazon online here.

XMAS DESIGN - rock scissor paper

until today much of the christmas design showcased this year has been from british shops and companies, but there are also many american companies and stores i admire. one of those is rock scissor paper without whom no review of chrismtas design would be complete. click here to see old favourites and new additions.

XMAS DESIGN - lesley grainger

if you are looking for someone to design your christmas items for next year then check out the awesome portfolio of lesley grainger.

XMAS CARDS - night owl paper goods

now heres another fabulous card company from the USA - night owl paper goods, who once again have expanded their gorgeous christmas holiday range. these include their hybrid cards which mix their trademark wood with letterpressed card. as seen here.

XMAS DESIGN - kate's paperie

when i've been to the US for my card and stationery fix i would head to kate's paperie. and this year i've had to do with a little online browsing and pulled out my christmas holiday faves. its also worth mentioning the kate's now stock a selection of caroline gardner designs in the US, seeing as how i have been mentioning them a lot this season. see the whole kate's online collection here.

XMAS DESIGN - sainsbury's

all throughout december i've been posting store snaps from various uk shops and today is my final selection featuring christmas design from sainsbury's. i do feel as though this year it has been slightly harder to find good designs and in my own research have felt as though shops have definitely scaled back their ranges this year, which is hardly suprising. sainsbury's however didnt disapoint and still had a very decent selection of cards and wrap, my faves of which are featured in the next two posts.

XMAS DESIGN - sainsbury's pt 2

more choices of christmas design from sainsbury's, the uk supermarket who i thought had sucessfully managed to have something for every taste this year.

XMAS DESIGN - etsy

for more individual cards sold by the designers themselves there can be no better website than etsy. a browse through its many shops will reveal christmas design that is highly individual, stylish, sometimes quirky and of course handmade. no art directors or clients will have been dictating the brief and the designers will have a free reign to create whatever they like. i've been saving up a few of my favourites to create this post starting with 'english robins' by foxy and winston (above) and below rudolph card by miss pickles press.
below two designs from up up creative. above, 'ding dong' card by gemma correll and below two letterpress designs from the dutch door press.
below nice typography and christmas trees from two trick pony.

below, a robin in ice skates from kate sutton
above the natural look from laurie coyle, and below a sketchy feel from emily ann designs.

who doesnt love a decorative font, especially at christmas, like this one above from lisa stubbs, and below print and make christmas creatures from mibo.

and finally a selection of cards from the wonderful etsy shop wonting.

XMAS DESIGN....

above partridge card from little birdy designs on folksy, and below designs from beaumonde. the first four are by kelly hyatt and the next two by bo lundberg.

below surface and card designs by lee baker from her portfolio. below unique offbeat cards from la familia green

above, snowflake design by amy biggers at snowpea for moma, and below 'noel' card by laura sherratt.

MORE XMAS DESIGN.....

finally today, some christmas card designs that caught my eye at the dot com gift shop.

above, snowdome design from the strawberry card company available from papergrain. below card angels from catkin.
above a perfect card for little ones from olive and moss, and below three cards designs by fifyfofum.

below some of my fave choices from the pinkerton design website...

XMAS DESIGN - waterstones

we are now on our final few days of christmas design for 2009, and some suprising gems spotted in waterstone's bookshop. i especially love this one above which used cute characters with cool fonts, and below the woodland theme is bang on trend.

XMAS DESIGN - wh smith

wh smith is another british high street favourite. here are a few choice designs i picked out....

XMAS STORE SNAPS....

a few more snapshots of christmas designs spotted on the UK high street. first up a couple of cards from oxfam's (oxford famine) charity card selection.
followed by a few cards from clinton.

below, character designs on crackers snapped in homebase

DESIGNER - sarah jarrett

norfolk based designer sarah jarrett has a really interesting christmas portfolio featuring her 'collage illustrations'. sarah is regularly commissioned by art Directors to make images for books, cards, stationary, posters, limited edition prints and packaging, and she also finds time to teach art, textiles and photography to others. see sarah's online folio here for more designs.

XMAS SNAPS - cath kidston

today i've come down with a bad cold, but rather than post nothing at all i thought i would share these photos i'd luckily uploaded over the weekend. they showcase just some of the lovely vintage inspired items in the cath kidston range. most of the pics were snapped in their stores but some are from the cath kidston website here. hopefully tomorrow i'll be much better and able to create some cool new content to continue our christmas design week.

MORE XMAS DESIGNS.....

above two christmas card designs featuring trees and snowmen snapped in habitat. below typographic christmas tree by general pattern.
below xmas blocks by bob and roberta smith exclusive to the tate gallery shop.

XMAS DESIGN - mr.ps

fun christmas tea towels from mr.ps featuring christmas pudding and a christmas dinner menu. from etsy or online here.

XMAS SNAPS - boots

i'll be wrapping up my look at christmas design this week before the holidays. boots have really gone to town this year with lots of christmas card designs and exclusive wrapping papers and tags. here are some snapshots i took instore of those i liked best....

XMAS CARDS - solitaire

there is a lovely vintage flavour with these cards from uk designers solitaire. each design is hand screen printed onto recycled card, in packs of 6, or individually from here.

XMAS CARDS - belle & boo

nostalgia is also the name of the game with these delightful belle and boo cards from nineteen seventy three. i just love the typography. you can the see full collection here.

XMAS DESIGN - jamie oliver

i was impressed by the designs on offer at jamie oliver this year. using skillful designers and illustrators such as gail bryson and debbie powell they have put together a great look. whilst i was on their site i couldnt resisit posting some of their gift ideas for cooks and gardners. all online at jamie oliver.

XMAS WRAP - caroline gardner

im cracking on with the christmas designs today, and its no secret that for my family and friends i always use caroline gardner wrap and bags. i love the super bright colours and vivid patterns. here are a few designs on wrapping paper i picked up whilst christmas shopping in bath, uk.

XMAS CARDS - caroline gardner

a selection of caroline gardner card packs as snapped in paperchase on london's tottenham court road.

XMAS DESIGN - caroline gardner bags

finally in my caroline gardner design fest are these colourful gift bags which were snapped in mayther's card shop in bath, uk.

XMAS WRAP - paperchase

if i need wrapping paper on the roll and not by the sheet then i usually head for paperchase where there is always something to suit all tastes and ages. here are some snaps i took at their christmas press show. available in paperchase stores in the uk, and borders in the usa, and a few designs are online here.

PAPERCHASE - 2009 xmas cards

these are my last few paperchase christmas card snaps for 2009. all are exclusive paperchase designs and most feature a hand drawn style and lots of metallic foil. in stores now.

DESIGNER - alice melvin

alice melvin is a designer, illustrator, and book artist based in edinburgh, scotland. alice created this cute owl and baby owllets sewing kit for the tate gallery.it contains everything you need (bar the needle and thread!) to sew your own along with full instructions and comes lovingly packaged in a decorated folder. you can more of alice's work on her main website here, or head straight to her shop. and for alice's full tate collection see here.

XMAS CARDS - lisa jones

i've still got lots of christmas cards to post up before the holiday. like these designs from uk designer lisa jones. lisa has added four new designs (two recycled and two hand-printed) to her exisiting collection which can be seen in all their glory here.

XMAS DESIGN - boxbird

these limited edition wooden 'night stags' from graham carter at boxbird would make interesting christmas decorations. they are made from laser cut from wood then hand screen-printed by the artist. also at boxbird are a selection of christmas cards by sally elford. as seen online here.

XMAS DESIGN - katyjane

more christmas card design, this time from down under with katyjane designs of australia. featuring folk influences, polka dots and gingham with a strong colour scheme, as seen online here .

XMAS DESIGN - chi chi memories

for a cute kawaii christmas check out these self adhesive address labels from chi chi memories on etsy.

DESIGNER - patrick edgeley

patrick edgeley started out life as a graphic designer but has turned his talents to screen printing in the last few years. patrick is based on the south coast of england in brighton although many of his prints are based on new york after a trip to this amazing city.
he has recently added two kitchen themed prints to his portfolio and they along with all his work can be seen and purchased from his new website antigraphic.

XMAS CARDS - owaboo

becky carr is the fabulous designer behind owaboo who i first featured here back in january . now owaboo's first christmas collection is out in the shops - and its just as cute as their normal everyday ranges. you can also buy owaboo cards online at colloco here.

XMAS SNAPS - heals

more christmas design snapshots today - this time from heals, one of london's best and oldest homeware stores. brands stocked included caroline gardner, brainbox candy and moma.

XMAS SNAPS - fenwicks

here is another of london's famous stores fenwicks on bond street. i headed straight for the card department in the basement which has a great christmas selection including more lush caroline gardner designs, cardmix, and roger la borde, amongst others ...

DESIGNER - ellen giggenbach

new zealand based designer ellen giggenbach has been working on a new direction for her papercut designs. ellen is now making digital patterns from her artworks and would love to see them licensed by companies. read a great interview with ellen here at boxbird or visit her own website to see more.

SNAPSHOTS - the V&A;

a few things sptted and admired whilst in the V&A museum this weekend. some of the snapshots are from the gift shop which was packed with festive shoppers, and a few from the museum itself.

P+P ROUND UP - misc finds

have you ever seen such cool packaging for sweets as that on display at curious chocolate?amazing fonts, great colours and a lined and gridded note paper ground make this the perfect package.

spotted at hunky dory home this week were cute new owl mugs (below) and a stunning by graziela print (above).

below two new mugs by 'repeat repeat' as seen at the lovely 'one brown cow' online shop.

i know im slightly mug obsessed but this one by snowden flood also caught my eye recently. with co-ordinating tea towel.

CHRISTMAS DESIGN - creative review

this stylish card by alison carmichael was just one of the christmas finds in a round-up on the creative review blog. check out the rest here.