FABRIC FANTASIA NEW YORK EXHIBITION AT ICFF

I have been invited to take part in an exhibition while I am at ICFF in New York, details are below. This is an exciting exhibition to show how the interior and fashion accessories cross over

FABRIC FANTASIA 


British

 INSPIRATION & INNOVATION IN TEXTILES AND FIBRES

A special exhibition showcasing the best of

British talent in surface design

ICFF 2010, NY 15 – 18 May

Curated and organised by the British European Design Group

Supported by UKTI Sector Panel Creative & Media

Co-sponsored by GLMShows, ICFF, White Plains

THE EXHIBITION CONCEPT – CROSSING BOUNDARIES

Karin-Beate Phillips – British European Design Group

Especially in the USA, the concept of using clothing textiles for home furnishings is as old as the first settlers, who made the most incredibly beautiful quilts from the bits and pieces left over from making garments or rags from old clothes.

In recent years the fashion industry has also discovered the added commercial value of using their signature brands and designs not only for their targeted end consumers, i.e. brand and fashion conscious women, but also aiming at interior designers and architects working on residential contracts for lifestyle clients. 

‘Fabric Fantasia’ is reversing this trend by using materials traditionally destined as wall- and floorcoverings and other home furnishings in a cutting-edge fashion context for day and evening wear incorporating decorative accessories.

                   

Getting excited about going to NEW YORK!

I'm getting really excited about ICFF! It is now 12 days until I jet off to New York City with Hana Moss! We are really lucky because we have found a really cool looking place to stay in the East Village with AirBnb,  I haven't been back to New York since i finished my placement with Diane Von Furstenberg in their printed textiles department over two years ago! I'm getting excited to go back to some of our favourite places such as Piano's and Max Fish Bar!

At ICFF I am showing with BEDG, we are group of British designers who are representing British Interior design in the USA. I have been really lucky that the chamber of commerce has supported me by giving me a grant to cover the cost of the stand!

It has been a massive challenge to work out the best way to dress my large 3m by 1.5m stand, but with a lot of research and to scale drawings I think I have now cracked it.... (pictures will follow to show once the stand has been set up)

Now its just the case of working out how much baggage Virgin Atlantic will let me take and how best to pack to make sure everything stays a pristine as when I packed them as well as keeping under the weight limit and being able to carry and transport things once I get to New York!

WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY 26TH APRIL 2010

Below is an extract from the ACID news letter describing why intellectually property rights are so important. I am a member of ACID myself and am forever seeing cheap copies of designers work on the high street. This isn't allowed to take place in any other area of work, so why has it become so accepted in the design world? Dids Macdonald, CEO of ACID writes an open letter to the Chancellor for World Intellectual Property Day 26th April 2010 WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY 26TH APRIL 2010    Dear Chancellor 12 years ago I nearly lost my business and livelihood in the creative industries as a result of repeated IP infringement. Today I am now Chief Executive of an organisation, ACID (Anti Copying in Design), which helps 1000+ design led companies within the UK to protect, exploit and commercialise the Intellectual Property they create. WIPO Day 2010 will also see the start of a new and ongoing campaign launched by ACID (Anti Copying in Design) to encourage UK PLC's to include the respect for intellectual property (IP) in their Corporate Social Responsibility commitments. As a result of the pioneers and campaigners, many PLCs now focus on ethical issues - human rights, sustainability, the environment, employee welfare, etc., but all too often the communication of high ethical standards and respect for IP do not get a mention. A simple statement such as, "(name of company) respects the intellectual property rights of other companies and individuals" would go a long way to ensure that UK innovators and creators could rely on the knowledge that they could trade with ethical companies who demonstrate a commitment to encourage respect for IP. According to the British Library and IP Centre 79% of users prefer to work with companies who have ethical standards. The economy will play a central role in the election campaign and future Chancellors must show how they will stimulate recovery from the longest recession in modern times. Tax, financial regulation and public spending policy will be at the top of the agenda. However, another effective way to foster the green shoots of recovery is by innovation, creativity and a knowledge economy encouraging collaborative use of IP, safe from the threats of infringement. Key UK PLCs who take the important step of declaring their positive policy on intellectual property within their CSR will compel other market leaders to follow suit and, hopefully, it will become a "must have" for ethical trading inclusion. After all, in tough economic times it will be the knowledge economy and the encouragement of innovation and creativity which will be a significant stamp in the passport to economic recovery. Currently the UK Creative Industries contribute 8.2% to the UK's GDP. Commenting on the World Intellectual Property Organisation(WIPO) Day's theme of Innovation linking the world, Francis Gurry said, "Rapid innovation and its global adoption has transformed our outlook. We are now linked - physically, intellectually, socially and culturally - in ways that were impossible to imagine. This universal connectivity, sustained by the Web and wireless technology, has huge implications for the future. With the 'death of distance' we are no longer limited by physical location - and the benefits are legion. Innovative technologies are creating a truly global society. WIPO is dedicated to ensuring that the intellectual property system continues to serve its most fundamental purpose of encouraging innovation and creativity; and that the benefits of the system are accessible to all - helping to bring the world closer."  I do hope that amongst the many challenges a new chancellor will have to juggle to re-ignite the economy will be a simple Government endorsement to encourage key UK PLCs to include respect for intellectual property within Corporate Social Responsibility. Others will follow suit. Yours sincerely   Dids Macdonald CEO ACID (Anti Copying in Design)

ACID No. 10 Petitions ACID's two No 10 Petitions, to improve design law, have been suspended until after the election.  However, the closing date has been extended to June 3rd so please take a minute of your time to support them after May 6th.More... http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/IPDamages/ http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/DesignRight/

Thank you for your support for ACID. Please feel free to forward this newsflash to your friends and colleagues.  You can use the twitter and facebook buttons below to do this easily - or click on the 'forward email' command.  ACID News Editor

Check out the new BBC show called 'Blood, Sweat and Luxuries'

I'm a massive fan of these types of programs which are being show on BBC3! This series follows six young British consumers who swap their luxury lives for the simple mud huts and shanty towns of Africa and Asia to work alongside the people who mine, manufacture, process and recycle luxury goods.


Being heavily involved in the fashion and interior manufacturing I understand the time, skills and effort it takes to produce an item. I think it is very important to highlight what goes into the items we import and consume in this country. I will definitely be watching the program being show on BBC3 this Tuesday evening at 21.00, which is looking into what goes into luxury leather goods such as shoes, belts and hand-bags.


The programs also reinforce my view that the products I produce under my label of Lorna Syson Textiles should be always be hand-made in the UK in my studio so I can always be confident of where they come from and how they are made. I also constantly keep reassessing where I get my fabrics and materials from, again it is something which is very important to me and I am striving to source all of my materials from UK manufacturers and sustainable sources. This is easier said than done because so much of the manufacturing has been moved abroad.

I am a massive believer that the UK needs to start becoming less reliable on cheap imports from abroad,  and bring back the skills to the UK creating more jobs for the UK and stop supporting poor working conditions for people abroad. I will be tuning in to watch these programs to learn more!

Micro Trend, Technocraft

I was delighted to hear from Trend Bible again, who feature my work along with other designer makers, Margo Selby, bleuet textiles, Sarah Ford and Emma Burton for their technocraft trend, see below!

Technocraft

There is a graphic element to this trend which runs alongside a growing interest in DIY projects and handicrafts. Lending inspiration from culture and travel to create a vibrant and optimistic colour palette of purple and turquoises this trend is not necessarily about looking crafted but about a personalisedresponse to design and moves us on to a more modern and sophisticated approach to textiles.

check out more of my work on my website

Spring has sprung!

Spring has finally sprung in the UK!! I did hear reports that last weekend was a brilliant as this one but I spent the whole weekend inside on my BCTF stand so I have no idea!

Anyway it was so beautiful I had the day off and my boyfriend and I went for a walk with his dog to the countryside. This wasn't meant to be a research trip but I find I just can't switch off, Below are some pictures I took whist on our walk. 

I found it very inspiring and loved to see how all the different flowers and petals are formed in nature. I think it's very important to take a step back from being so surrounded in my work so I can appreciate and look at the plants and flowers which first inspired me for my collection!

www.lornasyson.co.uk 

TAP (textiles and paper) Made to Measure exhibition

I am involved in a textile exhibition called Made to Measure! It's an exhibition by a number of textile and paper artists from the Midlands area which are all members of the TAP group.

All of the work is based around the same theme but with each member putting their own personal twist.

The work is displayed at the pop up shop at the New Brewery Arts centre in Cirencester. Check out the galleries blog

The exhibition is set to me a 'must see' event for anyone interested in contemporary textile art!

Check out some of the artists website by clicking on the links.

Diane Cooke
Jenny Fergusson
Barbara Fidoe
Jane Freear-wyld
Ermine Jackson-Miles
Deborah Roberts
Michaela McMillian
Lorna Syson
Vicky South

Lorna Syson Textiles spotted by the Trend Bible

Below is taken from the blog of the trend bible. They visited me at the BCTF show in harrogate.

It feels great to be used in their blog and spotted by a second trend predition company! I'm also pretty chuffed that I'm wearing a very similar pair of brown brouges in my picture which can also be seen in their trend preditions for 2010/2011

Trends: A/W 11/12 Home Trends, Behind the scenes…

Blood, sweat and tears go into producing our seasonal trend forecasting manuals…we’ve been working on our Autumn Winter 2011/12 Home Interiors book for the past 3 months, researching the key social and cultural trend ‘drivers’ that underpin the trends, hosting colour forecasting panels and sourcing up-and-coming textile and wallpaper manufacturers to feature in our forecasts. We work 20 months ahead of the season and sell our forecasting manuals to interior designers, brands, retailers and manufacturers in over 18 countries. Our forecasts help our clients build effective forward-thinking strategies, understand shifts in consumer behaviour and have confidence in selecting the right colours, materials and prints to enhance their product ranges.

We thought we’d bring you some exclusive behind the scenes photos and explain the painstaking processes and methods we go through to  create our unique books…We will soon publish a preview of each of our four trends for winter;Perfected, Utilitarian, Geographique and Alpine Shelter in association with FashionMag.com.

“Pastels are big for interiors for 2011, which is unusual for a winter season that would ordinarily focus on darker colours,” explains Trend Bible Creative Director, Joanna Feeley. “This look isn’t about mixing typical peppermint, baby blue, sugary pink and lemon, but about a more sophisticated palette of tinted neutrals. We love buttermilk yellow and apricot which look great in woolly mohairs, felted wools and plush velvets. We’ve included these colours in our Perfected story for winter.”

We have worked with our highly experienced panel of colour forecasters to develop 4 palettes for winter, each palette has 8 colours that are represented in Pantone cotton swatches. Each colour is given a TPX, TCX and CMYK colour value for easy interpretation.” We only include the key fashion and highlight colours in our palettes, believing our customers have core colours they like to carry over from season to season,” explains Joanna. “Our Pantone colour swatches are presented on mini palette cards which allow users to remove the swatches for colour matching and palette creation- it’s really important to us that our books are as user-friendly as possible so little features like this make it a versatile design tool.“

We work with our panel of  ’unusual and inspiring thinkers’ to develop themes based on future social and cultural drivers. The Trend Bible team then edit and refine this information, creating 4 commercial trends dedicated to home interiors. We then host a seasonal colour panel inviting key colourists and forecasters to share their research, thoughts and ideas. This work underpins our trends for the season. We have a database of over 4,000 designer-makers who keep us up-to-date on their latest designs and products, so we’re constantly seeking out newness and finding the individuals that pioneer change and innovation. We share the contact details of every designer we feature in our Credits section, so that our customers can contact our contributors directly for more information. This makes our books indispensable design tools for interior designers.  

Our fabric contributors range from large manufacturers through to niche designer-makers. We spend much of the year travelling to trade showsand craft fairs, graduate events and textile exhibitions to source the latest talent for our forecasts.  This season we feature fabrics and wallpapers from MissPrint, Melin Tregwent and Madison and Grow to name a few. Each of our four stories has a fabric hanger page that shows eight key prints and materials for each theme. Each fabric is hand-cut in-house by our team- there are lots of blisters to show for it! “This year we’ve been to several shows including Maison in Paris, the British Craft fair in Harrogate, Top Drawer and Spring Fair, Birmingham. We’ve included the top picks from these shows in our forecasts which helps buyers really see the trends start to come alive,” explains Victoria Buchanan, Trend Bible design assistant.

Here are a couple of sample pages from our Autumn Winter 2011/12 book, the first shows our Colour Combinations and Key Materials pages from the PErfected story.

Below is a mood page from our Utilitarian trend for Autumn Winter 2011/12.

Trend Bible trend books help you gain an understanding of where the trends have come from, which colours and materials will be important and how you can commercially interpret each look. For your indispensable design tool, email us atenquiries@trendbible.co.uk for regional agents, appointments, pricing and order enquiries.

more BCTF photos!

 

Proud to be a British designer!

I've recently returned back from BCTF, where I was showing on stand number N13 in the newcomers section, and I can honestly say I was so amazing by the high quality of work and design by all of the 200 exhibitors who were showing their work. 

It was great to see so many brilliant and ideas all in one place and I was truly amazed by so many of the products available.

I spoke to a range of really interesting people from, interior designers, to galleries to small boutiques and the feedback and orders I received meant I came back tired but uplifted and excited!

I also was really lucky with the exhibitors who were showing on the adjacent stands, we were all is the same boat and kept it other going with chats through out the day.

  

Above are pictures from left to right of Kirsty Shaw Lighting Design, Love Textiles and Creme Nouveau. These were the other exhibitors who were in my section.

The first image show Kirsty from  Kirsty Shaw Lighting Designer, she was showing on stand N32. She creates stylish lighting, originating from a passion of colour and simple shapes, and constructed by employing unusual and innovative plastic techniques in her workshop to make perfectly fitting elements to create her lights, coasters and brooches.

The second picture shows Donna from Love textiles on stand number N31. She appliqués vintage and recycled fabrics with a nostalgic flavor to show images inspired by local landscapes.

The Third image shows Kat from Creme Nouveau, on stand number N13. She creates quirky, kitsch handmade jewelry and accessories made with cast resin, vintage finds and love. Inspired by nostalgia and decadent glamour. I tired on the necklaces and love them, I was surprised at how well they sat on the neck which is something Kat carefully considered and adapted when designing the necklaces.

I had a brilliant weekend and now its time to make and send out the orders... and get ready for the next one in NEW YORK!!

Really proud of Francie's prints on the catwalk!

Feeling really proud today, my very talented freelance textile designer friend, who has been selling her brilliant designs to fashion houses and high end designers for a while now. She rang me to let me know that she spotted one of her prints on a number of items on style.com! I was very excited and not surprised, i get a feeling this will be one if many such phone calls!

Below are some images from the Pre-fall 2010 collection by Adam Lippes! Gorgeous items, I especially like (and actually really want for myself) the blue empire line dress and think he has used the print and adapted it to his collection in such a delicate and elegant way!

BCTF!

So I'm getting ready for BCTF, and although I have lots to do such as printing out my price lists and making sure I have the correct items, it's not really hit me yet that I am going in 2 days!

I think it's the case of having so much to do, you just become slightly blind, don't get my wrong this event is really important to me, it is my first time there and I am in the Newcomers section on stand number 13 (good job I'm not superstitious) Maybe I'm just so nervous I'm trying not be think to much about it but I'm definitely going for that motto of 'If you fail to prepare you prepare to fail' so I am going to make sure every box is ticked on my huge to do list and keep professional!

My brochures turned up today and I must say I'm very proud of them, they were printed by Dave at positive printing (email info@positive-print.co.uk) and photographs taken by Vicky Hubbard of Victoria Jane Photography and fotos2art, and without their help they would not be looking so perfect and professional!

NEW WEBSITE

If you get chance make sure you visit the new website, skillfully created by a friend of mine who is a whizz on the whole web-designing front. I'm very impressed by such a brilliant job he has done, much better than the Iweb version I have had up since graduating.

As with everything it small steps get you to where you want to go so the site is being constantly updated and changed with adding new pictures, tweaking the layout and trying to add in a link to my  twitter page (I'm detemined to work out how to tweet properly!)

www.lornasyson.co.uk

So I would like to say a massive thank you for getting the website up and running! I have definitely learnt a lot about how difficult the setup behind a website is and I really appreciate having friends out there who are willing to help!

Lorna Syson Textiles spotted by MPDclick, trend prediction

While I was at the Ideal Home show I had a chat with Jo, a photographic journalist from Mud Pie Click, a trend predication company which goes around the shows and writes about up and coming interior trends! 

From the Mud Pie website " We know that occasionally it isn’t possible to attend every trade show on the calendar – whether its money or time, some of them may get missed. Thankfully, with Mpdclick’s Trade Fair area, you can keep up-to-date with our extensive coverage of the best trade shows and exhibitions from around the world."

She was kind enough to send me over her right up, check out a snippet below

London night!

Had a brilliant good bye night out with Kirsty Powell (far left) of Oromono and Kirsty Anne Powell, check out her blog for lots of news and updates as well as information on seminaries and workshops to help artists and designs in the creative industries and with Hana Moss (middle), very talented textile print designer! We've all been working together since January this year and it has been a very creative and busy three months!

I had my first introduction to a dim sum restaurant called Ping Pong in Soho, London. It was easily the best dinner and cocktails I've had for a very very long time, I recommend if you ever get the chance, get a group together and share some of the scallop and shitake steamed dumplings! Also check out the pic of my lychee and rose martini!