Check out my latest rug and pillow launches with Peking Handicraft! Some of these will be available at Makers Collective, Amazon or Wayfair, and in stores across North America. If you're a retailer looking to stock these, request a catalogue on Peking's website.
Today, I’m sharing a bit about an upcoming event that I co-founded in New York with a group of other talented women! Field Trip is a pattern and illustration event conceived of by a small, diverse group of established artists. It takes place on Monday, May 21, 2018, in a beautiful, light-filled loft, just a stone's throw from other Design Week events taking place on the same day at the Javits Center.
Some images of our show last year! Photos by Christine Han
Our goal in starting Field Trip three years ago was to depart from trade show norms. We wanted to show our work in a more curated and intimate setting, where artists and clients could relax and really enjoy the experience of engaging with one another. The concept was successful from the outset, resulting in many exciting collaborations with leading retailers.
The show gives clients and artists the chance to get together, review new artwork for purchase or license, and discuss collaborations. Clients can expect to see beautiful prints, patterns and illustrations, in a variety of different styles — from clean and organic, to bold and graphic, to quirky and hand-painted.
The show is fun and informal. Guests can sip cocktails, sample nibbles, and listen to great music, while browsing through stunning artwork from artists with well-established brands.
The event was conceived by artists, and is totally planned by the artists participating — it’s a really inspiring collaboration for all of us. This year’s artists are Ampersand Design Studio, Bikini Sous La Pluie, Carolyn Suzuki, Elizabeth Olwen, Kelly Ventura, Nottene, Suzy Ultman, Jillian Phillips, Sara Boccaccini Meadows, Victoria Johnson and Monika Forsberg.
Products and art by this year's participating artists
Field Trip is a trade-only event, and attendance is by invitation only. For more information or if you are an Art Director, Buyer, or potential collaborator interested in attending future events, please request an inviteon our website. Hope to see you there!
About 6 months ago, I got on a plane and headed to Lisbon, Portugal, to see what life might be like in another land. It turns out that this departure was not just an environmental one —it also marked a decided departure from my old way of doing things. Lisbon has inspired me in many ways… in the ways that you might expect, as a pattern and colour lover (this city is a candy-coloured and pattern-filled dream) but taking space outside of my routines and my regular world has resulted in a beautiful shift in ways that I wasn’t expecting. Here, I have really tried to figure out what drives me to create, and how to find a way to make more room for that in my world. I feel like I’ve undergone a metamorphosis, and it’s enabled me to reconnect with my work, in a way that I haven’t felt in a while.
Over the next while, I’ll be sharing my newest work, where I’ve been channeling my good vibes. Instead of producing a bunch of small, surface-level collections that I develop on my way to the next, I have decided to make a conscious effort to slow down. To really invest in one collection, and explore it fully, much like a fashion designer does in releasing seasonal collections. For my latest collection, Ethereal Jungle, I have not just produced 5 or 6 patterns in a collection — I have developed a much more robust collection complete with stand-alone illustrations, fused with storytelling, in an experiential magazine format. I have invested in the parts of the process that I love, and I am so proud of the outcome.
I have always loved patterns. From an early age, patterns were my great escape, where I went to daydream. I would dive into them, try to figure them out and delight in the details. I appreciated patterns that you needed to spend some time with to figure out, and would feel a flutter when a shape or colour struck me as being pure perfection. I developed an intense relationship to beauty, to the things that brightened and inspired my world. I could feel the love and joy in them. Now, as a surface pattern designer myself, I aim to keep with this tradition of spreading beauty, and infusing my work with heart and soul. I pride myself on highly considered patterns, and lovingly assembling each piece into something special. I want to create products that are a manifestation of this desire to spread beauty.
Surface pattern design, by its very name, sounds superficial, but I am committed to going deeper, to diving in, to spending time with each pattern and infusing them with love. I believe that our minds are satisfied and deeply soothed by patterns, that they offer a meditative space. So I invite you to slow down with me, to dive in with me. To come into my world, one where beauty is paramount, and where good vibes are abundant. I hope you can feel it.
If you are a company or potential collaborator who would like to see the full presentation of Ethereal Jungle, I’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch and I’ll provide full access to this new body of work.
With love,
Elizabeth