freebies // The 2013 Designer Calendar :: September

Hello everyone!!!

I've been a little naughty blogger and haven't blogged much this summer, but it is all going back to normal now that summer is about to end. We have 3 more weeks to enjoy and celebrate it, so why not do it with this funky floral design by Mary Tanana? Mary is the designer behind Groovity… her work is very detailed and with a folky vibe. I really like her organic lines and was more than happy to have her on board with my 2013 Designer Calendar project.

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About Mary:

Mary Tanana is a designer who is inspired by many things; art, photography, gardening, landscapes and nature. She approaches her work with a boho, edgy flair. Mary has had a life-long love affair with anything patterned, and after a long and successful career as an award winning jewelry designer, she has once again embraced her first love of surface pattern design. Her style is defined by very intricate pattern work.

She loves to sketch in a variety of mediums, and often refers to her many sketchbooks, both old and new, for inspiration. She is fascinated with henna designs from India, folk art from the Ukraine, Russia and Poland, and loves Zentangle art. She has traveled extensively, and takes a lot of photographs wherever she goes. Mary tries to translate textures that she sees in landscapes, nature, or architecture into something fresh, eye-catching, and colorful.

Her quirky detail: 

"This one comes from when I was a child. Age 3 or 4. I would make my mother take me to the bathroom when we were out shopping, but only to see the tile on the floor and walls, the wallpaper, what colors were used. Really. I drove her crazy doing this! I bet I had her quite worried, but now I look back, I guess I was born to be a designer. Someone still brings this up at the dinner table at family gatherings from time to time."

Her favourite Designer: 

"Kaffe Fasset is my absolute fave! His colors are just the yummiest! I love his organic shapes as well. I love complex designs, and I really admire how both Jenean Morrison and Josephine Kimberling put so much into a pattern and make it all work, make it saleable, and pleasing to the eye. That's really a challenge to do! I also love Jessica Swift's free spirit style and design sense."

You can download September here or clicking on the download link below the image above, and remember, it can be printed as big as an A3 format (42x29.7cm / 16.5x11.7in). Don't forget to visit Mary's portfolio to see more of her groovy designs.

freebies // The 2013 Designer Calendar :: August

Hello everyone (from Milan again)!
I'm so sorry I'm coming late with the monthly calendar, but I had some tech problems. Actually, I kind of messed up. I had scheduled it to be published last Monday and didn't really check if it had because I was busy doing last-thing stuff before my flight on Wednesday and saying goodbye to friends and family. Special sorry to Kathryn (the fab designer) for my mistake. She was the one to notice the calendar wasn't posted yet, so I went to check why and discovered I never clicked the publish button (it was still a draft) - dumb MaJo! Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I hope I'm not to late 'cause this month is pretty special to me :) August is not only the month of my birthday, but also that of my mom, 2 of my aunts and 2 of my very best friends! Kathryn Pledger, an Australian designer based in the UK created this gorgeous calendar especially for you all (and I kind of feel it was designed especially for me too, hehehehe… I really love it!) So… let's not wait any longer, and download August 2013 Designer Calendar now :D

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About Kathryn:

Kathryn Pledger is a trained graphic designer who creates digital and online artwork for industry, local government, international standards bodies and bespoke freelance commissions. 

She has a BA (Hons) in Visual Communication from the University of South Australia. Kathryn has worked on many leading international household brands, designing identities, point of sale displays, exhibitions, print collateral and online resources. She has also worked with industry leading blue chip companies on their corporate responsibility reports and materials. 

Born and raised in rural Australia, her career has taken her from Sydney to Ireland and the UK where she’s recently been able to focus her love of colour and texture into surface pattern design. Her work is strongly influenced by her years of travelling and her love of hand drawn elements, typography and photography. 

Kathryn runs her own successful freelance graphic design business, which has enabled her to move closer to her true passion of surface design. 

She is currently working on new collections for KathKath Studios, her new collaboration with textile artist Kathy Schicker. 

Kathryn has a number of her surface pattern designs licensed with companies including Artscase, Keka and KESSinhouse. She will also have designs published in the upcoming PatternBase book. 

Kathryn Lives and works in London, UK.

Her quirky detail:

"I have been known to purchase clothes purely based on pattern and colour regardless of fit!"

Her favourite Designer:

Florence Broadhurst; Australian; came to surface pattern design late in life and was a massive success, bold and fearless in design and life, a real entrepreneur.

You can download August here or clicking on the download link below the image above, and remember, it can be printed as big as an A3 format (42x29.7cm / 16.5x11.7in). Don't forget to visit Kathryn's portfolio to see more of her amazing designs.

blog lovin' tour // trust

Hello everyone! and welcome to the eighth and last week of The Declaration of You! Blog Lovin' tour [boo-hoo :( ]

The Declaration of You will be published by North Light Craft Books this summer, with readers getting all the permission they've craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! This post is part of The Declaration of You's Blog Lovin' Tour, which I'm thrilled to participate in alongside over 100 other creative bloggers. Learn more and join us, read here!

This Blog Lovin' Tour has been an amazing journey for me. I've had the opportunity to think and reflect on so many important things that might be obvious for some (self-care, celebration, money, success, etc.), but they weren't for me. What better way to close the 'self-insight holiday', but to think about trust?

I'm not one that easily trusts others, but even worst… I'm not one that easily trusts myself. When I was younger I used to have a lot of trust in my potential to be able to do whatever I dreamt of. Then something happened… something broke inside of me. When I graduated from university I felt overwhelmed. I felt like I didn't really know everything I hoped I had once I had finished studied. I felt like a tiny little fish in a huge ocean of sharks. I felt I didn't have what was needed to succeed. 

I felt this way for many years… and the feeling increased the more difficult it got to find a job in design. It wasn't until early this year that I started feeling like I not only deserved to be a happy and successful designer, but also had what was needed to achieve be it. I finally started getting the trust back. It doesn't happen magically… it is a process and I'm just starting it. But, what allowed me to start that process? Well… I started getting some 'yes' after sooooo many 'no'. I started seeing truth in what people had been telling me for so long, because you know what? No matter how often you are told you are good and who tells it to you if you don't already believe it. Back when I was in No-Trust-Land I looked at my work and didn't think it was good enough even after hearing (or reading) people complimenting it (like when my family and friends tell me I'm beautiful… as long as I don't see it and believe it (work in progress), I can't trust their words.) The moment I started appreciating my uniquity my trust started coming back, and even though it is still shy and sometimes tries to run away when I experience some sort of rejection, time is helping me grow stronger in believing in me as a designer no matter what others say or don't say about me.

Trust is a state of mind, and so is happiness and success. They are like triples with dependency issues: they need each other in order to exist, and I need them too in order to feel fulfilled. 

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PS. I really want to thank Jessica, Michelle, Abby (the organiser behind the scenes) and Pierre for putting together this amazing and happy weekly party for the let 2 months. Like I said before, I've really enjoyed it and it has been an eye-opening experience. We all have our own thoughts and opinions about many (if not all) of the themes discussed in the tour, but we don't always stop to think about them. Realising what each of the concepts was for me, has given me a lot of insight about myself and the person I want to be not only as a designer but also as simply MaJo. Thank you!!! It's been FUN :)