shop update

New fabric is in store! Finally, after a slight daley, SKAZKA and TROPINKA fabrics can be purchased in BlueBerry Ash stores. Etsy and Craftumi. For the first run I printed these just in three colours, but there are more to come.

Story and sneak peek.

Walking in the woods with my family, picking little forest strawberries and immediately consuming them along the way…Baskets full of mushrooms… Spotting birds between the branches.

For my inspiration I quite often go back to my childhood. The memories of it make me smile and warm my heart. I think my parents did a truly great job at providing me with experiences that later in life brought me beautiful reminiscences and with these are inspirations.

I especially remember our trips to the woods for mushroom picking. We would leave for the woods early, about 4 am. My dad carrying me to our tiny car half asleep and I am waking up with the forest scenery. Grandma and grandad explaining about mushroom picking. Having a picnic lunch in the meadow, don’t know why, but food always tasted better on our mushroom picking adventures. The sounds, the light just beautiful…I even can smell the woods air, now, while writing about it.

My imagination would run wild on those trips, I would dream about bears walking up to me. Or are witch flying above and forest creatures following our steps. I would end up in imaginary fairy-tale for the rest of the day.

The fairy-tale is called skazka in Russian and that’s what I called my new collection, because SKAZKA designs are enthused by those memories…

All above, is my little story and sneak peek of my new work. I thought it’s important to share here with you a bit of my life, in order to understand what is behind my designs and where some of them are coming from.

Heavy rain woke me up this morning. I think it was trying to spoil my day 😉 But it’s not that easy when I have new fabrics to work with that just arrived.

On the weekend I have been making market bags, using some fabric leftovers that may not have printed well. I managed to turn scraps into two perfectly scruffy bags, hand printed, handmade and a bit of hand stitched. I don’t know why, but I got attached to them quite a bit, it’s kind of silly, but I hope they will be found by someone special who will love them to bits 🙂 Meanwhile they will be in my shops here and here waiting for that special to come along…

Lesson with Eeli #2

Continuing art lessons with Eeli... her next lesson is called Cut and clue paper collage. Eeli recomends: “Cut pieces of colored papers in various shapes, round, square and triangular. Before gluing pieces on paper, play with them and try a variety of compositions, try to find compositions where color and shape fit better together.” I have been thinking on how I can implement my craft into her lessons. Cut the fabric scraps? but guess what, I hardly have any leftovers, as I don’t like wastage and tend to print very precisely 🙂  An idea came to my mind when I was experimenting with silk/cotton fabric painting and holding masking tape in my hands. Instead of cutting fabrics I thought why not divide! I stuck masking tape on fabric in no particular order creating something abstract  and geometric and used textile inks that I had left over to fill out the created shapes. Well I love the sudden results not particulaly how it looks, but of possibilities that I can see were created with this technique.

Whatever I have made will use it as a scarf for the new autumn season 😉

More about me…

About a month ago I was approached by Sarah from Boxed, asking if I would like to get my fabrics and homewares selling in their store.  After a little research about the company, I said “absolutely!” So one month later my products are listed on Boxed online store and my profile has been featured on their front page. Interested to find out more about me?
Read it here 🙂

Just created, not for anything in particular … maybe I am in an Easter mood 🙂

I am back!

     I know I disappeared too suddenly, without notice and all to blame my lack of organisational skills. We’ve been moving house, it was chaotic! I simply was overwhelmed by how much stuff we accumulated fover the past 7 years. Especially me, with my papers, paints, fabrics and such…Unpacking isn’t done yet (can’t wait to sort it all out) and internet has not been fully resumed, but I am back. And I have got something interesting too. Valentine’s Day is less than a week away and if you are like me not prepared for it, here is your help. Valentine’s Day free printables! Card or gift wrap or choose both! I have made it in two sizes A4, A6 and in two styles. Whichever you prefer 🙂
Print it out and share your love!

Click on image to download.

Spoonflower competition!

Hi everyone! Recently I have entered my first Spoonflower competition with my new Baghdad design.
It was inspirited by old Middle Eastern stories “1001 nights” that my mum used to read to me. No one knows where these stories exactly came from, but the city of Baghdad was one of the main places of heroic and adventurous legends.
This competition is up and running you can find out about it here. And If you like to support me, please vote for my design at the Spoonflower competition page! There you will find my design, click on it and it will get selected, to complete the vote you will need to go through all the pages till the last one and press VOTE.
I know it will take a bit of your time, but I will really appreciate it!

And a special THANK YOU to my Facebook fans in helping me to choose the perfect colourway!

Isn’t there something sweet, comforting and cosy about blankets and quilts? I just love them.  I thought for some time about making one, but never could fully commit myself to such a big project.   Making this summer blanket for day dreaming turned out to be an organic process after printing the last batch of fabrics.

My Creative Space

Wow , between creating,  reorganising and cleaning my house for in laws arrival, this week has passed so quickly,   It’s time for Our Creative Spaces again! I decided to share what I am working on, a few things actually. Africana designs that’s in the developing process can be seen on my mood board, when I finish I am thinking to send the  designs for digital printing,  as I want to use a lot of colours in this collection and will be impossible to screen print it in that many colours.

There is other collection I have been spending time on that has been inspired through my love of Asia. I am mesmerised by oriental decorative arts, under its influence I have been sketching different motifs that would come to my mind and use those drawings in feather patterns development. The collection is nearly ready a few little touchers and its will be ready to print. Stay tuned!

Our Creative Spaces