Monthly Archives: April 2017

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Mark Conlan

April 14, 2017 12:03 AM \

Mark Conlan is an Irish multi-disciplined illustrator currently living in Melbourne, Australia. His style shows a strong use of characters, vibrant color palettes, and whimsical situations. In an interview on Medium.com he reveal a few things about himself:

“I am a big believer in keeping notebooks on the go all the time. I believe this is a huge part of development and discovery. I also love the idea of having full notebooks to go back on and pick up ideas for future projects.”
“In these notebooks, I try experiment as much as I can. I think being experimental keeps me fresh and it can give me some great techniques to bring into my digital work.”

“I guess defined is a hard word to use when it comes to my style. I would like to think that I am beginning to find a style that I can call my own. I have only really been an illustrator for over a year now, so it could always take several more years to really define it.”
“Yeah I really do feature several elements throughout my work quite regularly. I guess the main reason is because these are subjects that really interest me and I find it easiest to express myself through them.”

You can see more of his work on his website, Facebook, Instagram, Behance, and Dribble.

Images: Courtesy of Mark Conlan.

Posted in: Illustration, Surface Design

Cari Mateo Patterns

April 12, 2017 12:03 AM \

Here’s our latest patterns.  The themes are hexagon, tangram shapes, and hearts.  These designs will be for sale soon so please visit our Spoonflower shop at:  https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/carimateo

All designs:  © Cari Mateo.  All rights reserved.

Posted in: Cari Mateo Designs, Surface Design

Beyond the Reef

April 10, 2017 12:03 AM \

Love the story behind these handmade bags from the Japanese brand, Beyond the Reef. We’ll summarize the story with excerpts from their website:

“After her dear husband passed away and her two sons left the nest, my mother-in-law, a typical housewife, started to absorb herself in knitting, one of her most favorite things, as if to make up for her loneliness. Even though she had more than enough time, she had nothing to do… “No one needs me” – it could be one of the most cruel, unbearable realizations for a person to face. I started to think about what I could do for her, and came up with an idea; I could do something using the power of knitting, my mother-in-law’s favorite thing to do. That’s how Beyond the reef was born.”

“I saw my mother-in-law knitting diligently and happily, I realized that there might be the other elderly women who would probably in the same situation too. If only I could help by giving them a chance to work as a knitter and join society again, their life would become more meaningful. Then, I started looking for some elderly knitters, and luckily I happened to find them .”

“With their own purposes, women in different circumstances joined Beyond the Reef. Mothers learn how to knit from the skilled elderly knitters and young people order the products. It is fun to see their interaction across the generations, and I truly hope our bags can work as a link to connect many people.”

You can follow the group on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Images: Courtesy of Beyond the Reef.

Posted in: Handcrafted, Japan, Knitting
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