Messing About in Boats and Caravans

Brad and I are spending the next two months travelling down the Murray River; but in very different ways. He's paddling the river in a kayak and I'm following along by road, towing our caravan!

He's has been dreaming of paddling the Murray River for years so we've finally taken the plunge to do it. He's learned a lot about what's involved in navigating the river in a kayak, and I am having to learn how to tow a caravan solo. Even though we have enjoyed caravanning for over 25 years, my role has always been the organiser of the inside. I haven't been tasked with actually towing it. We will only meet up every few days or so and I will be making my way down the river on my own between meeting up with him. But the allure of spending some quiet time by myself was just too good to pass up. Anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy being alone, but this is the longest we've been away from our children. So it's definitely a new kind of alone time and even though this sort of holiday is a little quirky and new to both of us, we are both looking forward to it immensely.

So keep an eye out on Instagram - I'm sure I will be sharing at lot about our unorthodox adventure!

The Artist and The Designer - Why You Need to Be Both

As surface designers it's easy to get caught up in the joy of creating. Following our creative instincts, chasing inspiration, sketching new motifs and playing with colour is a lovely place to be! That's the artist at work - intuitive, expressive and imaginative. But if we only embrace the artist role, we often end up with patterns that never get used. That's where the designer needs to step in.

The designer looks at things like composition, pattern flow, scale, and how a design could be modified to make it suitable for a specific product. The designer brings the structure and polish to make a design functional, ready to share, and suitable for licensing.

Both roles are essential. Without the artist, we lose the originality and heart of our work. Without the designer, even our best ideas can remain unfinished and unseen.

Developing both the artist and the designer roles and learning to apply them effectively in your creative work is essential. Mastering both results in successful designs.

So how should we approach our own creative process?

Being aware of these two different yet equally important roles has introduced a sense of purpose and intention to my work. I now ask myself: Who is this for? How will it be used? Knowing the context is helping me create designs that I feel are more functional and relevant. I'm finding that my designs are translating better when I apply them to mock-ups too.

Do you approach your design work this way? Like me, probably not. Reveling in the artist role is good for my soul. Allowing myself to create without having to produce anything 'useful' is still my happy place. But now I am aware of the importance of the designer, and I choose to step in to that role, I feel that my work is a better fit for the industries I'm hoping to license in.

When you sit down to create, which role feels more natural—artist or designer? How do you find balance between the two as you create?

Print Life Podcast

Leslie Kenehan is a surface pattern designer working primarily in the fashion industry. Over the last 15 years she has been a freelancer, an in-house designer and then created her own studio called 'White Buffalo Studio'. I find her insights into the design process, sales, marketing and mindset really helpful. Her podcast is a mix of interviews with seasoned designers and solo episodes where she shares practical advice on a wide variety of topics like finding your niche, goal setting and being conscious with the design process. I just finished listening to episode 131 this morning (The Power of Choice: How to Build a Creative Life That Flows) and I can highly recommend it! It was through one of Leslie's emails that I learned about the importance of the artist and designer roles I discussed earlier. Listen to episode 129 (Start With the Artist - Style Before Strategy) for a more in-depth discussion on the topic.

All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin

As someone who has always found marketing icky, this book has helped me change the way I think about it. All Marketers Are Liars is about the power of storytelling in building a meaningful brand. Godin explains how people don't just buy products; they buy the stories behind them. After reading the book, I now think of the stories that marketers tell as their ability to create a feeling in you that you then associate with that brand. As a surface designer, that perspective is slowly helping me approach marketing in a more honest and less intimidating way. If you're someone like me who was struggling with the idea of marketing, this book might just shift your mindset too.

John Henry Dearle (1860-1932)

John Henry Dearle was a British artist and designer closely associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. Born in London, he began his career at Morris & Co. in 1878 as a showroom assistant in the company's Oxford Street store. Under the mentorship of William Morris, he quickly progressed from apprentice to skilled designer, learning techniques in embroidery, tapestry and stained glass. In the late 1880s he began designing wallpapers and textiles for the firm.

From 1890, following William Morris’ increasing involvement in his social reform work, Dearle was promoted to head designer, and he contributed greatly to many of the Morris & Co.’s major projects.

Dearle eventually became Morris & Co.'s Art Director after Morris’s death in 1896. While many of his early works were attributed to Morris, later recognition revealed Dearle’s distinctive style. He blended traditional Arts and Crafts motifs with rich, exotic influences from Persian and Turkish design. His textiles and wallpapers are notable for their intricate patterns and bold use of colour. Throughout his long career with Morris & Co. he is estimated to have created at least 30 wallpaper and 40 textile designs.

Even though Dearle's work was often overlooked during his lifetime, it is now celebrated for both its artistic merit and craftsmanship. He preserved the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement while ensuring their design aesthetic continued to evolve. Through his decades of work, Dearle ensured the legacy of Morris & Co. continued well into the 20th century, leaving behind a large body of work that remains beloved and influential today.

(FROM TOP - Left to Right) Trent (1888), Ispahan (1888), Golden Lily (1899), Oak Tree (C.1986), Seaweed (1901), Single Stem (1905), Tom Tit (1896-1897), Compton (1896)

As you know, I love historical designs, including Arts and Crafts. I often use the V&A website for reference. It's worth having a look.

A New Website

Designing a website is no easy thing. There's so many options available that the process can be overwhelming. I remember when I was faced with creating my first website a few years ago, I was sure it required a higher skill level than I was capable of so I got a quote for someone else to do it all for me. (I had no idea the website design was so lucrative!) It wasn't only the design side I thought was above me - it was all the tech stuff involved like linking and hosting that's required too. Mind boggling. But I knuckled down and gave it a go. I used Wix and it turned out okay. I will never forget the first time I made a sale through my website. Realising that people were finding me was a very special feeling.

I have used Showit for my last two websites. I must say the more I've used it the easier it has become. I find using their free templates easy to use and they are very quick to respond if you need help. There are lots of online tutorials that are Showit specific so you can generally learn what you need as you go. Every time I found a design element I wanted to incorporate there was a tutorial for it!

I do love that I can start a new website design whenever I want. I can play around with new ideas, colours and layouts in the background of Showit without it interfering with my current website that's online. That's how I created this new one. I started with an idea and worked on it just for fun until I made a conscious decision to replace my old one.

Just two things to keep in mind if you choose to use Showit -

1. Showit does not provide you with a business email address - some others apparently do. One of the things I learned when I was researching how to start a newsletter was the importance of using a business email address; it lessens the chance of your emails ending up in your subscribers' spam folders and, I must admit, it does look more professional. I had to buy alison@greenacredesigns.com.au through a third party. It's just another cost that I wish I didn't have!
2. Showit does not have the capacity for you to automatically sell your products through their templates, but you can integrate another sales platform such as Shopify. I found an excellent You Tube video by Davey & Krista that allowed me to list my products.

The Importance of Solitude

As we travel along the Murray River for the next 2 months, I'll enjoy long stretches of quiet time. I'm curious to see how solitude impacts my creative process, how my daily routine might change and what thoughts and new ideas might emerge when there's time to pause and reflect. Spending time alone is so important. I believe it gives us a chance to reconnect with ourselves.

Until next time,