Sometimes I come across something which makes me sit up and take notice. When I followed the link in an email sent to me by Karen (a graduate of the Royal College of Art) of Red Brick I was totally bowled over. The vibrant colours and designs of her scarves are amazing, as is her jewellery.
I thought that it would be nice to share not only Karen's designs with you but also more about Karen herself and her design ideas and inspiration, so over to you Karen....
"I did my first degree in jewellery at Edinburgh College of
Art, and then went to the Royal College of Art in London and studied a Masters
in Jewellery Design. During my time there, I worked on jewellery designs for
various fashion brands, ranging from River Island to Margaret Howell. I also
worked as a design assistant to the accessories designer and prop stylist, Fred
Butler.
[Robbery in a sweet shop]
I decided to launch my own line on the premise that great
design should be accessible to everyone. I used to get really frustrated that I
couldn't afford the unusual and individual designer pieces that I really loved,
but there didn't seem to be an alternative apart from high street copies. I try
keep my prices as affordable as possible, whilst maintaining a high quality of
product. I think people are very careful about what they buy at the moment, and
I think my pieces cater to this.
[Running design - included for those of you taking part in the Birmingham half this weekend. Good luck! x]
I absolutely love the sense of humour in high fashion brands
like Moschino, Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs, but I try not to look too closely at
other designer's work when generating ideas as I like to come up with something
completely different. Instead, I look at printmaking and graphic design, and I
love British artists like Peter Blake and David Hockney. I also love car boots
sales for picking up old scraps of fabric or old interiors magazines!
[Coney Island Funfair]
I use digital fabric printing on 100% pure silk to make my
scarves. I make each colour separation by hand to try and retain some of the
pencil marks and give the digital print a richer quality. I always give my
friends samples of the prototypes to try out and listen to their feedback on
their wearability, the colour choices, etc. It's really important to me that
the pieces are comfortable and practical to wear."
[Boat design]
[Navajo celebration]
I can see these bright scarves really adding something to a simple weekend outfit of jeans and a jumper, or to a dark winter coat. Personally I think they offer something slightly different that is quirky, individual and made by someone with incredible talent.
Just so that you know, I haven't been paid to write this post - either in scarves or anything else!
