Recently I have been working with brilliant design studio Graphic Thought Facility on a wallpaper for Pizza Express, as part of a project looking at a new approach in the interiors and graphic design of Pizza Express, which was being led by interior architect Ab Rogers.

The basic black and white stripe synonymous with pizza express was the basic starting point for the wallpaper design, as well as an abstract landscape pattern I had previously designed. A reference point in terms of overall atmosphere, was the hotel of Gio Ponti's Parco die Principi in Sorrento, a feat in modernism; the attention to detail, and the functionality of his design is brilliant.

I was asked to explore creating a pattern that would develop a sense of an italian landscape, but the main emphasis was to be on forms and composition rather than figuration.

During the initial research stages, I looked a lot at the tuscan town of San Gimignano, which aside from being the birthplace of my grandma Luigia, is a incredible hilltop town with numerous towers punching the skies, a steep hill climbs to reach a square in its centre, and in every direction a pleasing jumble of architectural beauty. The challenge was breaking down the architecture I was seeing into the simplest forms I could, and trying to retain a balance of everything that was in mind. Trying to see the negative space as being of equal importance to the forms.

A site specific variation design can now be found at Pizza Express Fulham (see photos above), and then shortly the complete wallpaper design at new branch Brent Cross (I will post up soon), with possible other locations to follow.

It has been a wonderful project to work on, many thanks to Mike and Andy at GTF.

workbook with reference of San Gimignano:

One of the initial original drawings i made for the design:

The final composition of one of the panels of wallpaper:

Details from the design:

This week I cut my weaving off the 4 shaft table loom that I have been working on since the start if my weaving course which I began in September. The first month or so was getting to grips with knowledge of how to put the warp onto the loom which is quite an undertaking, but I imagine would get easier the more you do it. The close up photos above represent about 4 or 5 hours work in each section, to give you an idea of the time involved, if you are not familiar with the process of weaving. After listening to what I hoped to explore within the process of weaving, the course tutor directed me to try out various open work techniques such as leno, brooks bouquet, danish medallions, spanish lace within sections of plain weave, as well as twills (the diagonals), and I also tried double weave which allows you to create 2 layers of weaving simultaneously which provides strength in the fabric as well as possibilities of different faces on either side of the fabric. I tried to approach the weaving as I would normally approach making work, to find a spontaneity within a rigid structure.

I have been reading a lot about weaving, about weavers of the past, and weaving in different cultures, looking mainly at pre-columbian south american techniques and what often overwhelms me in learning about weaving is the amount of pre-planning needed to make a weaving, which is something I don't feel I have a great capacity for. When making work I like to take a starting point and then explore it as I go. I don't find much joy in the idea of mapping everything out and then fleshing it out. I get very bored easily and hope to always be discovering and experimenting. So I am happy to learn that there is a way of weaving where you can just see where it takes you.

Hanging in the window, the light shining through the fabric, to reveal the open work.

Yesterday I visited The Handweavers Studio in Finsbury Park, which is a treasure trove for weaving with yarns and unspun fibres of every kind and beautiful hand crafted tools as well as looms, and books and basically everything you could ever think of for weaving. I spent a good few hours there, and chose some new yarns for my next sample. What I want to explore next is the surface texture of the fabric, as well as the balance between strength and fragility, bold and intricate, open and compact within the construction. I chose linen for its strength, and numerous samples of yarns containing plastics and metals, which is something I will think about using in the future.

Other than weaving, I am currently undertaking a wall commission for pizza express with Graphic Thought Facility, and working on a short artists book for Little Otsu. More about those projects soon.

The second edition of my book 'Rain Day' is now printed and available to buy direct from the Duke Press website. The new edition is printed in one colour at a slightly smaller format with a 2 colour wrap around cover in an edition of 1000. We are also giving away a limited edition A5 risograph print inspired by a spread from the book with each of the first 50 copies bought online.

To find out more about the book, visit Duke Press.

Its been a really enjoyable process working with Ryan and Jess at Duke to translate the limited edition of 50 books in the first press, to this much larger run. Many thanks to them for everything.

In my online shop you can also see that there are limited edition risograph prints for sale as well as the miniature versions we are giving away with the first 50 copies. They are A3 in size and available for £15. A big thank you to Hugh from Landfill Editions for printing them.

The Poundshop created their third event, for the christmas season, on the weekend of the December 10-12th within the Super Christmas Market at Somerset House. Having created wrapping papers for their previous two pop up shops, I decided to make it a third and look at making a pattern that was relevant to a christmas theme as a challenge to myself. I took reference from a set of candles that has always been a part of my christmas, particularly to its sounds, kinetics and the flickering shapes amidst silence.

I also wanted to make particular use of the process of screen printing for this paper, and translate the qualities of the object to the paper. The benefits of screen printing for this project are that I can create at low cost special textures, colours and surface quality. This passage of writing by Anni Albers, taken from her book 'On Weaving' was particularly in my mind when working out the design. I hoped to create a hand printed paper that was tactile, where attention would be drawn to the surface texture as well as surface 'matiere'. I always think one of the benefits of screen printing is the way it feels when you run your fingers along its edges, and recent print making work where I have been using relief/embossing, different textured ink (glow in the dark inks) and linework is paying more attention to this quality of the process.

I have a new poster in the editions section of my site, which brings together all the shapes I have been drawing thoughout the last year, where I have been experimenting with new mark making within the confines of a simple task. It is screenprinted in an open edition (artists stamp on reverse) on 100 gsm cartridge paper at A1 size and available for just £20.

I have also recently finished another weaving experiment on my rigid heddle loom, this time exploring a technique called the soumak technique which allows one to integrate line work into the structure. I am looking forward to returning to my weaving course next week where I will continue to learn the many different techniques involved, next I will explore twills, leno and creating structured patterns.

Lastly, I received lately the Fenchurch t-shirt using my graphic I posted about recently and a tote bag I designed for Psychology Press which you can also see on my website now.

Happy 2011

New website up, with more to come soon.

Available to buy now, in 3 different colourways, in store at R.Newbold in Japan, or online here.

I am now back in one place and have been looking over some things that happened in this summer.

Above, some screen print accidents which occurred whilst I was printing. The first I find interesting because of the way the crosswords/grids of the puzzles page interacts with my print to encourage the architectural elements. I like that the frustrating rushed moments in the print room can later become the opposite. It reminds me that processes out of one's control are vital.

Similarly in the second I can see how colour could be introduced into these prints in a way I hadn't considered, and this is something I may develop as I work on a riso print edition for Landfill Editions.

In Berlin earlier this summer I went to Boxhagener Platz Fleamarket and after innocently poking my nose into a box, found myself being sold the following by an elderly german woman who wouldn't take nein danke for an answer. However I found these old woven coasters very beautiful and wondered what I could do with it all, so I had a go at weaving in a different way, the experiments are a little crude in their execution but it led me to some observations that I think I wouldn't have got at for a long time if I hadn't done it.

And today I began my weaving course at Greenwich Community College which also teaches spinning and tapestry, it also looks like there could be the opportunity to do rug weaving too, so I am excited about everything I will learn.

Almost 2 years ago I sold this design to Fenchurch to use as a tshirt graphic, now it is released.Available here.

Also here is the jacket for which my all over print geometric rooftop pattern was used as a jacket lining. But this is the first and last you'll see of it, as the big bosses in Japan decided the cut of the jacket was not right. But it was great to see the application of my work.

Over the summer I read some really good books, but I'd especially like to recommend The Thinking Hand by Juhani Pallasmaa. It looks at things from an architectural point of view but I think it has so many interesting ideas that relates to any artist, craftsperson, designer etc. I wish it had been on my reading list at university so I would especially recommend it to students or those involved in education.

'Knowledge becomes useful for a creative endeavour when it is forgotten after it has turned into an ingredient of one's body and personality. The moment of looking at the world or at a specific task as if neither had been encountered before, that is the creative instant and frame of mind'.