Valentine's Day Edit

There is some great Valentine's greetings design out there this year. Lot's of humour, some interesting new font styles and plenty of hearts of course. Some great illustration but sometimes the simple forms are the best for this season -  red and heart shaped! Here are a few of my faves.

VALENTINE'S DAY EDIT - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise: forever and ever card by sadler jones, forever my valentine's day card by woodmansterne, pizza time by carolyn suzuki studio - papier, love heart valentine's card from paperchase, i love you to the moon & back by lagom, mon amour by emma block - papier, word up kiss! concertina card from trouva, you make my toes tingle card by lagom, so in love valentine from paperchase, conversation hearts greeting card from ohh deer, you'll do hand lettering polka dot heart card from oh squirrel.

#paperlove #stationerylove #valentinesday #SS18

Top Drawer S/S 2018

Last week was a fantastic start to 2018 with Top Drawer. The design-led show is one of my favourites as we can see the trends arriving for the coming seasons.

I especially loved this year's Paper Awards which gave real focus to the best in the Greetings and Stationery industry. Winners Sadler Jones and Hotchpotch captured the mood of 2018 so well. I also hugely enjoyed the paper fest talks and was lucky enough to see the stationery trend session - I'll be following up on these predictions in later posts.

It was a fab day all round catching up with old friends and making new ones. I'm very much looking forward to what 2018 brings.

TOP DRAWER 2018 - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise: the olympia, paper awards finalists - pressed and folded - purpose & worth and wolf & ink, trend predictions talk with #NealWhittington of present & correct #LauraJaneBoast & #LucyEdmonds of quill london & #AudreyWoollen, products in the spotlight, a lovely sky over the show, paper awards winner hotchpotch and finalists noi publishing - lagom - scribble & daub - alison hardcastle.

#paperlove #stationerylove #topdrawerss18 #defineyourstory #topdrawerlondon

Abigail Ahern Design MasterClass

Well it's not everyday you meet your design hero. I've long been a fan of Abigail Ahern's interiors (see my mini bar project here). I was hugely excited to attend her Manchester masterclass on Saturday and was not disappointed.

Abigail's bold style inspired the trend for dark walls and her work often features elements of quirk, dramatic contrasts of proportions and unusual art. What especially attracts me to Abigail's style is the illustrative way in which she styles a room creating spaces with a story that invites us in. Her instagram has some wonderful examples of this.

We had a full day packed with amazing inside info. Heaps of advice on use of colour, contrast, texture, scale.... much of which can be applied to many creative fields including print.

ABIGAIL AHERN DESIGN MASTERCLASS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above clockwise: abigail ahern at the manchester design masterclass, a scribble from my new notebook filled in just one day, a favourite quote of abigail's, a picture of the class from abigail's instagram - me on the front row there - i wasn't going to miss a thing! the hollywood mirror i bought from abigail's collection which i love, styling tips still, my cuppa, more scribbles, inky hues still. 

Abigail's style is not for the faint hearted but the results are amazing. These fantastic masterclasses can be booked here.

#aadesignclass #abigailahern #designlove 

New Year New Stationery

Hello 2018. After a lovely Christmas break and New Year travels in Scotland I'm back at the desk and ready to start the year. My new stationery has arrived from the printers. Hot foiled on dusty pink + crisp white with a hand embossed envelope. I'm looking forward to scribbling away.

above: latest print project hot off the press, sparkly new business stationery for 2018, hot foiled copper and abalone. Tricky to photograph in the low January light!  #paperlove #stationerylove #2018