I have promised to do a tutorial on flourishes, but my RSI is quite chronic at the moment so I’m reducing the amount of fine pointing activity I do – unfortunately this includes flourish work in Illustrator! I do have some free vector shapes lined up (peacocks!), but I’m quite snowed under at work right now and tend not to want to sit on my computer at all when I get home!
Right now – it’s my lunch break, and I’m sneaking in a quick blog entry just to let you know I’m still alive and thinking about you.
As I approach the upcoming flourish tutorial, I’ve been thinking a lot about individual style, and what I’m inspired by. A lot of my flourishes are derived from the lines and forms I see in gardens – albeit highly stylised. I’m also an avid fan of lurid patterns in textiles and anything tactile in general. I try to bring as much of this aesthetic into my own design work as possible, so I keep an eye on lots of interior design, craft and graphic design blogs.
The other night I came across a mother lode of gorgeous vintage floral and paisley fabric images on ebay, so I’ve transloaded many of the images to my flickr account. I’ll post my favourites here, along with a selection of other flora inspired items that really inspire me.
I don’t have any information on who designed these gorgeous vintage textiles – but enjoy!
“Botanical & Feathers” by Kristen Doran – two of my ultimate favourite things in one gorgeous fabric piece!
This is actually the accompanying image from a Peter Pan collar tutorial on the Wiksten-Made blog. The wallpaper is yummy!
Ok, I know the blue velvet chair is awesome, but check out the fabric draped behind it, designed by Sheila Coombes! You can read more about this picture at Traditional Home.
Zahra print by Granada Design.
Teapot on Blue print by studiolyon on etsy.
Go forth and make pretty things!