Where have I been?... Re invention

Discarded chair I found while I was on my walk on the Greek island of Sciathos 

I have just returned from a fabulous holiday on one of the beautiful Greek islands, Sciathos.

No!.. I have not been on the island since my last blog post in January but lots of things have happened since then and I was not inspired enough to post anything new.

2013 began with many opportunities in the pipeline. I had been designing a new range of textiles which I had started in October of last year. I had also designed the branding, packaging, technical specifications for the printing and stitching etc and the concept was different and "my baby"...... actually the concept had been in the making for several years. I had completed several themes which consisted of 13 designs in each, so I was certainly kept busy during this time. It was all "under wraps" so I also was not able to show any images here on the blog. Another reason I had not been giving any updates.

Last year I had also completed a few Interior projects, the two Wisteria Murals and a few smaller ones. On the back of this I had enquiries which led to a few home visits.  I thought that all was looking great and I was looking forward to a new start after a tough few years.

I was given the added boost when a Creative Consultancy and the Printing company thought that my concept and designs were unique. This is where it all went "pear shaped" Without going into too much detail the Creative Consultancy had another agenda and in March the printing company wanted to produce the product without committing to any licensing deal or any other legal arrangement. Unfortunately they had already seen the collection and taken the concept, branding manual and actual designs and presented them to the buyer of a major UK retailer. I had to pull everything out of the factory, contact the buyer and go through all the necessary procedures to protect my Intellectual Property. Thankfully I am a member of ACID and all my work has gone through their databank. 

Dad died in Early April this year, he had been in bad health for a while but it is also a shock and set me back further. My sister and I also found out family things after sorting out Dads paperwork which I surprised myself at how depressed it made me feel....... too late to ask questions.

So where am I now?.............. Optimistic for the second half of 2013. 

I am working with another Creative Consultancy who will streamline my branding and concepts. I have to re think the product idea and temporarily shelve it due to costs and technical restrictions, but I certainly intend to re invent myself and start afresh. I have so many ideas which I am itching to create. ........... not ready to be discarded to the scrap heap yet like that poor worn out chair I saw a few days ago on my walk on Sciathos.