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Pat Albeck 1930-2017

9/26/2017

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“Never do anything just because you think it’ll sell.
​Do what 
you like and what you would buy” - Pat Albeck

British designer Pat Albeck has died, aged 87. She had a career spanning 60 years, designing for many famous UK retailers, including Horrockses, Sanderson and John Lewis. With over 300 National Trust tea towels to her name, it's no wonder that Stuart Morris - who printed many of them - came  to call her "the diva of tea towels, who exudes colour, life and flambouancy."

Pat was born in Hull, to Polish emigrants Max and Sarah Albeck. Her father was a furrier and anarchist (not a combination often found!), and he designed the "stockbroker Tudor" which Pat grew up in, so design was in her genes. She attended the Hull School of Art, where she was first drawn to direct her energies toward pattern. She felt she was not as good an illustrator as her classmates, nevertheless she went on to earn a place at the Royal College of Art, London. She remembered one critic saying  of her "even the Royal College makes mistakes." And yet it was here that Pat first gained the attention of Elspeth Juda, who purchased dress yardage of Pat's bold "Apples and Pears." Ms. Juda was no less than the Editor of The Ambassor, a British fashion magazine!

In the 1960s the John Lewis department store requested a William Morris inspired design. Pat told that that she wouldn't copy Morris' work, but that she would do something inspired by him.  "Daisy Chain" wasn't quite what the client had in mind, but it went on to become their "Best Seller" being released in new colorways - and all sorts of product, every year for 15 years! It was recently re-released in 2014 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of John Lewis department stores. 

Pat gave other British designers their starts over the years, when she began taking on a new assistant every year. Amongst her former assistants were Susan Collier, later of Collier and Campbell. She was surrounded with creativity; her husband was Peter Rice, Theater designer. Son Matthew Rice is an artist, and her daughter-in-law is designer Emma Bridgewater. 

Like the best designers, Pat had a sense of whimsy and fun. Once John Tullis, designer at Horrockses, requested that she draw a lobster for a beach skirt. She bought a lobster, expensing the receipt. When she'd draw the lobster, she decided it looked odd all alone, so added flowers and butterflies to the design. When the accountant later told her he hoped she'd at least eaten the lobster, she replied "It took me three days to draw!"

Pat Albeck was busy at her drawing board until a few days before she died. 
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Apples and Pears, 1952
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Image from "Horrockses: Off-the-Peg Style in the 40's and 50's" by Christine Boydell.
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An add from Horrockses featuring one of Pat's designs.
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Daisy Chain, best seller for 15 years at John Lewis.
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Thatched Cottage Tea Cosy, 1970s.
A wonderful BBC radio interview with Pat Albeck herself can be found here. 

Having a design career that spanned 60 years, it's rather remarkable that Pat Albeck had a website with a large archive of her work. Learn more about Pat in her own words here.

To visit source pages, click through on the images
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The Queen of Tea Towels' last, designed for the National Trust.
~ Pamela Farmer
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Design House Pierre Frey Video

9/8/2017

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In 1935 Pierre Frey and Jean Chatanay started the French design company Chatanay and Frey. 82 years later the company is still going strong, now known as Pierre Frey. Currently run by Pierre's son Patrick and his sons, they still produce high quality fabrics, wallpaper, rugs and furniture. The main page of their website hosts a must see video that showcases the artistry of achieving their classic to contemporary style. View their archives, weaving mill and screen printing; get a sense for how a historic design company maintains it's quality.   

--Jennifer Thayer

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Pattern and Color Cabana Magazine Has it All

5/24/2017

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If you have not perused the London based Cabana magazine you are missing something truly fantastic.  Full of lush vibrant photos of home interiors and fabric, this twice yearly magazine is a feast for the eyes.

Don't have the moo la to invest in a subscription of the design and decor magazine?  Then check out their Instagram page, Cabana posts image after image to inspire any Surface Pattern Designer with pattern and color. 

--Jennifer Thayer

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Paint Me Bright Blog Reviews Abstract: The Art of Design

3/17/2017

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Check out Surface Pattern Design Guild member Pamela Farmer's most recent blog post on the new Netflix documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design. It sounds like something every Designer can be inspired by. 
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Inspired by the Hand Painting of Sarah Campbell...  to be edited

2/26/2017

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I find it mesmerizing to watch an artist at their craft.  To witness them in their element at the time of artistic creation can be a moving experience. 
I stumbled upon these two videos of the amazing textile designer Sarah Campbell painting in her studio and was stunned by the grace in which her brush flows across the paper and certainty of her creative vision.  I hope they are as much inspiration to you to get your hands a little dirty as they are to me.

--Jennifer Thayer 

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PATTERNITY. A New Way of Seeing: The Inspirational Power of Pattern

1/11/2017

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Patternity. A New Way of Seeing:
​The Inspirational Power of Pattern

Anna Murray & Grace Winteringham
Publisher: Conran (2015)
ISBN: 978-1840916942
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Patternity on Instagram
Until I stumbled on their Instagram feed, I'd never heard of PATTERNITY. When they announced their book, I was intrigued, and they very kindly sent me a copy for review here. 

PATTERNITY is a London based design studio, consultancy and archive founded in 2009 by photographer/art director Anna Murray, and surface/product designer Grace Winteringham. And yet, like me, many surface pattern designers may have never noticed them This almost seems to be "by design." To briefly summarize the PATTERNITY Manifesto, they believe that by drawing from the patterns that occur all around us everyday, designs can be created that are comforting and can effect change.

​
PATTERNITY projects are driven by the core belief that a shared engagement with pattern can have positive and powerful results.
PATTERNITY the book is an unexpectedly intellectual look at one of our most basic instincts, pattern seeking. When you open it for the first time, you may be surprised. This is not the kind of design book you're probably used to; instead, the images are of urban photography, fashion and sculpture, juxtaposed in a way that highlights their similarites. PATTERNITYs design colloborations are shown throughout, everything from boldly patterened Clarks dessert boots to an art installation created with and about chocolate!

The book has three sections. Curiousity explores the design elements found in nature, and our urban environments. Collaboration is about the value in creating with others in an age when digital tools so often make it too easy to work in solitude. Connectivity explores the ways in which pattern can connect us to the larger world. 

When I sat down with the book, it was just after the holidays. I was feeling a little drained, and creatively blank. Afterward I went for a walk in my neighborhood, and suddenly noticed pattern everywhere, from the local diner's accoustic tiled ceiling, to the metal acces plates in the sidewalks. I can see myself dipping back into this book again and again, for inspiration, and to see the world in new ways. And their online archive is well worth frequent visits too.
~Pamela Famer

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Pantone's Color of the Year 2017

12/8/2016

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Pantone has announced it's Color of the Year for 2017, and I like it! After what could be described as a newsprint-grey headache of a year politically - what with various campaigns, elections and referenda, this may be just the bit of freshness we all need.

As usual, there are downloadable .ase  palettes which incorporate 15-0343 Greenery. 
 
Because these colors of the year have generally been right under our noses, here is SPDG's fresh new Pinterest board, with a few selected pins from the past year. See if you can spot the pin from a pair of our own guild members! 
~Pamela Farmer
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Inspired by TV Textiles with Katja Ollendorff

12/6/2016

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Katja Ollendorff has gracioulsy allowed to share a recent post from her blog here. 
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A page from Katja's sketchbook.
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Abstract ©2016 Katja Ollendorff
​A lot of things inspire my designs. Being outside and walking around town or in nature are big sources of inspiration. But on days when I'm stuck inside or just enjoying some TV time all cozy on the couch, I still can't stop myself from noticing patterns wherever I look. I have even saved a few images over the years on my Instagram feed #tvtextiles.
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The 1930s Art Deco patterns from The Durrell's in Corfu.
I love the series The Durells in Corfu (PBS Masterpiece Theater). It's set in 1935 and I am so in love with the fashion that is depicted on the show. I can't help but take snapshots of special patterns I notice as I watch. Afterward, I will look through the images and make little sketches to see a theme arise.  Attached are (blurry) examples of my captures and the sketchbook entry, then design, that followed. Inspiration has no boundaries! What's your secret source of inspiration?
~Katja Ollendorff
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Screen grabs for inspiration.
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An Afternoon With Helen Nicholas, Majolica Artist

11/14/2016

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While making the rounds at the Annual Sonoma County Art Trails last month, I came upon Helen Nicholas, an artist who sculpts & paints in the Majolica style. I went back to her studio a few weeks later to interview her because I was reminded that surface pattern design lives everywhere! We spoke for an hour and I wanted to share our conversation with you. Helen's journey reminded me that we head out in one direction and wind along our path discovering new opportunities at each bend. Here is Helen's art story.

With a BA in art from the University of Nevada, Reno, Helen started her career as an art director and designer including product development for companies who made needlework kits. This took her to Boston, New Jersey and finally to Southern California. Here she not only refined her style but also developed her business acumen.
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Her career took a 180 degree turn when she noticed that the grand old 1920's houses in Santa Monica and Ojai California were being torn down to build new modern homes. Her aesthetic for preserving history and style prompted her to enter the construction business resulting in her securing her general building contractor's license. She could now find those homes that needed loving care and restore them to their original beauty, and still making a living.

When the real estate market started its downward trend she once again pivoted and opened an antiques store in Ojai, which featured fine china, Majolica ceramics and sterling silver. She then added an eBay store to reach a wider audience, becoming an eBay power seller.

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Raffaellesco Majolica is characterized by grotesques and mythical beasts, like dragons or the green man.
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Frutta Majolica features bold fruit designs.
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Istoriato Majolica depicts historic or pastoral scenes, or portraits (also known as Bellas.)
While visiting Deruta Italy, the center of Majolica ceramics in the world, Helen became intrigued and reached out for something new to stimulate her artistic sense. She studied at La Scuola D'Arte Ceramica in Deruta. Here she learned about different glazes, the history of the Renaissance Majolica painting, and the different motifs associated with it. 
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Geometrico Majolica has roots in ancient Greek designs.

​After returning to the United States, Helen began working at the University of California Berkeley Arts Studios for two years, bringing her knowledge from Deruta to Berkeley students. She could also be seen in North Beach, the Little Italy of San Francisco, demonstrating Majolica painting at the front of the Birodi Ceramic Art Imports on Columbus Avenue. Here she sold small pieces and booked private commissions for larger personalized works. 
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In keeping with her love of the classics and the historical, Helen moved north to Sebastopol, California. Here she has set up her ceramics studio in the historic Brainerd Jones designed craftsman style summer home from 1915. The ceramic molding, casting and firing are done in the lower level, and her painting is done in the light-filled rooms on the upper floors. 

You can learn more about Deruta Majolica in this video.
This 15 minute documentary is about Biordi Majolica. 

~Jeanne Bosko
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October 13th Guild Meeting with Paisley Power founder, Patrick Moriarty

10/8/2016

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We’re excited to have Patrick Moriarty all the way from the UK speaking at our up coming guild meeting. Patrick is founder and textile designer of Paisley Power. His designs have been bought by many top companies worldwide including H&M, TopShop, John Lewis, Peak Performance, Intersport, BCBG, Calvin Klein, DVFurstenburg, Bestseller. He's also been commissioned to create designs for haute couture: Josephus Thimister, Jan Timiniau.

Join us for an evening of inspiration as Patrick shares his in- depth knowledge about the history of paisley and get a glimpse of his process for creating his intricate, paisley designs.

When: October 13, 2016 7:00-9:00 pm PST
Where: Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA 94702
Fee: members free, drop ins $10
Note: this meeting will not be broadcast. Meeting notes and photos will be shared on our private SPDG Facebook page.

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