The Wanderer Returns!

 I can't believe that it's been such a long time since I've posted on here!

The last few years have been filled with ups and downs and have been rather busy creatively. Sadly so much so that I never really found the time to share any work on here.

Over the last few years I've worked as choreographer and costume designer for a troupe of dancers called Dionysus' Darlings. This was obviously a rather hectic schedule of devising routines and designing and making the group's costumes.

The majority of costumes were made from the wealth of vintage 1960s and 1970s dress patterns I have in my collection and several were actually made with vintage fabrics of the same eras. Having a vintage May 1960 produced Singer 185K and a 1975 Singer 367, I even sewed them using these vintage machines. The sense of satisfaction of making costumes from 1960s and 1970s sewing patterns using era specific fabrics and machines was incredible for me.

These are my two vintage Singer sewing machines.

I plan to get some photos of some of their costumes to share on my blog over the coming months. Unfortunately one of the dancers stored their costumes in her parents' shed and last Bomb Fire Night a stray firework burned it down! Over 300 costumes went up in flames! I was understandably devastated. But hey ho these things happen. Onwards and upwards!

As two of the dancers are currently pregnant the group is on an extended break. As much as I loved working with them it left me little time to do anything else creative. The group's current hiatus will give me the opportunity to realise a dressmaking challenge I've been planning for a while.

I'll explain more about this project soon, so watch this space!

Until next time,

Cheers Then!

Wow it's been a long time!

Wow I really can't believe I haven't updated my posts on here over the last 12 months. Oops! Obviously since the beginning of 2020 the world has been battling this horrific Covid19 pandemic.

This has had a severely detrimental effect on my mental health, as I have a mental health condition called Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. However the horrifying situation we find ourselves in is affecting everyone's mental health.

Hopefully we will all come out the other end safely. I hope everyone is staying safe and voicing their support and respect for not only all the truly amazing health workers but also all the other brave and dedicated essential workers.

So I wish everyone my best wishes. Please adhere to whatever lockdown and social distancing advice you are being given wherever you are. If we adhere to these rules I'm sure we will end the spread of this terrible killer virus much sooner.

Love to you all.

Until next time,

Cheers Then!

Instagram

Hi everyone!

Just a quick reminder that I also have an Instagram account. Give it a look! You can find it here www.instagram.com/bananadiva1/

Anyway until next time,

Cheers Then!

Emilio Pucci Inspired Surface Design Range

I've been working on a surface pattern design range for fashion over the last few weeks so I thought I'd give you a special sneak preview. My primary inspiration has been fashion prints of the Mod era. I've taken particular inspiration from one of my all time heroes, Emilio Pucci. His fantastic designs, especially those from the 1960s and 1970s, have always been some of my favourites. I love the fluidity of them (which have always reminded me of the flowing lines of Art Nouveau) and have always been in awe of his wonderful colour palettes.

I love these particular samples from the collection of more than a dozen design layouts. The swim suit surface design is definitely one of my personal favourites of all the designs for fashion that I've produced. I think it looks amazing on this plus size model. I'm very keen to design for plus size women because as Supremes siren Florence Ballard once said ... 'Thin may be in, but fat's where it's at! Personally I couldn't agree more. I love the idea of designing for real woman ... and not just putting them in black to hide their 'so called' figure flaws! Anyone who thinks only size zero girls can look amazing really need to think again!

 Anyway I hope you like these designs. Feedback is always welcomed.

Until next time,

Cheers Then!

New Designs For Kitchen Ware

I've recently been working on some designs for kitchen ware. Here is just a small sample of some of the designs.

The first placemat and coaster set is inspired by the Op Art designs from the 1960s that I love. Inspiration came from work by such artists and designers as Barbara Brown, Bridget Riley, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Janet Taylor and Peter Hall.

The second placemat and coaster set was inspired by my love for Art Nouveau. I've always had a passion for the astonishingly beautiful work of such artists as Alphonse Mucha, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Louis Comfort Tiffany and Emile Galle. I was inspired by the beautiful fluidity of Art Nouveau architecture as well as illustrations. I was particularly inspired by the beautiful Metro Stations in Paris designed by Hector Guimard.

The final design is inspired by Celtic designs. It was originally conceived as a circular placemat and coaster set but now I'm leaning towards producing this design as ceramics and having plates, side plates and bowls created.

Anyway I hope you like these designs. Feedback is always welcomed.

Until next time,

Cheers Then!

Metropolis/Siobhan Fahey Inspired Catsuit Design

My original inspiration for this surface pattern design was strangely enough Brigitte Helm's character in the silent masterpiece Metropolis. This is because a reference point mentioned in the brief was science fiction. As the surface pattern design progressed and I decided upon a fashion based textile responce I was reminded of the fantastic costume Siobhan Fahey wore when I saw her perform. The theatrical monochrome catsuit really evoked the idea of the character of Maria in my mind and Siobhan seemed more like a sort of mechanical creature than a woman on stage. I could immediately see her wearing a catsuit with this surface design as she is well known for her fantastic edgy style. I think she'd look amazing in it.

This is the original catsuit worn by Siobhan on her 2010 tour which inspired me to use my surface pattern design on a catsuit.

This is how Siobhan would look if I was lucky enough to apply my surface design onto a catsuit which she wore.

I'm really pleased with how my Metropolis design would look. Although I would prefer my surface design added to a catsuit more like the original illustration.

I hope you like the design. As ever feedback is always welcomed.

Well until next time,

Cheers Then!

Baby Gifts

October brought a new arrival for my friend's daughter, her first baby Libby. I made a few hand made baby things as a gift for the new arrival. I've also made similiar gifts for my Nephew's latest arrival, Myla. My Niece in Australia will give birth to her first daughter in February so I'm curently making some gifts for her new arrival too.

Here are the gifts I made for Libby. I hope you like them.

By the way, Sorry the pictures aren't the best quality to my camera has been playing up so these were taken with my phone camera!

Until next time.

Cheers Then!