Posted on January 8, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Inspiring Designers

Here at Moody Monday we’re always keen to keep up to date with current design trends and show appreciation for other designers we admire. As such, this blog series will explore creative companies and individuals whom we find influential and inspiring.

To begin, we’re looking at Blacksheep design agency.

This London-based company always delivers fresh, cutting-edge design concepts throughout their respective projects which permeate creativity and innovation.

Blacksheep_PURO_Poznan_Project_06-740x492 — Photo: Bright furnishings for a lively atmosphere in the PURO Hotel, Poznan. ©Blacksheep 2015.

To this end, Blacksheep’s design solutions are always inventive, often incorporating technology into their creative concepts. Though their work is design-led, it remains accessible, approachable, and liveable – even playful – which is what makes this dynamic company so special.

We particularly admire their work on the PURO Hotel in Poznan, Poland. The concept behind this compelling space aims to reflect the cultural and artistic sensibility of the city, therefore, Blacksheep produced a design-focused environment in which the hotel’s guests could feel at once inspired and welcomed.

Photo: Artsy yet accessible. ©Blacksheep 2015.

The use of geometric surface patterns and bold colours is stimulating, and the furnishings make use of contemporary shapes which make the space feel fashionable though with a distinct absence of pretence.

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Boutique Hotels Inspiration

Here at Moody Monday, we’re always on the lookout for inspirational ideas and design concepts. As our designs cater to luxury interiors, bespoke spaces such as boutique hotels offer a wealth of creative inspiration for our designer, Eliza, to draw on.

Over the next few weeks, our blog will feature particular spaces which we feel showcase the best of design imagination and innovation.

The first of this inspiring selection is the Mira Moon Hotel, Hong Kong.

This spectacular space is the product of a design collaboration between Dutch designer Marcel Wanders and hotel and residential design company Yoo. Inspired by Chinese mythology, the design aims to bring traditional ideas into a contemporary setting. Guest rooms are opulent yet welcoming, marrying sumptuous floral patterns with stylish, modern finishes to bestow a feel of creativity throughout the property.

Photo: Full Moon Residence. ©Miramar Hotel and Investment Company Ltd 2015.

We particularly admire the mixture of textures and bold graphic prints, which add an extra dimension to the shapes and surfaces they fill. Many of the patterns have a sculptural edge which help to emphasise the contemporary treatment of the traditional surface pattern design. Treating traditional shapes with modern processes certainly makes the Mira Moon seem like an innovative space as this approach echoes recent and emerging interior design trends (such as the use of 3D prototyping machines).

Posted on September 12, 2014December 5, 2014 by Eliza

Colour Advice, Episode 1: The Dynamic Coral

Here in the studio, we appreciate what a fine art it can be dealing with colours (I mean, we should know this right? As we hand-blend our own especially for our designs). To make your life easier and in unleashing your creative juices, here we have collaborated with a colour specialist Karen Finlayson of Colour Elements in providing you with some specialist colour advice. In this first colour instalment, we have a special colour in the spotlight called Coral.

In a similar way to a parent not recognising a favourite child it would be unthinkable for me to name a favourite colour. Yet I hold coral very dear to my heart simply because it is constantly giving and demands very little in return. It is one of the few colours that can go well with most interiors, instantly adding a dynamic energy to any room. The depth and brightness of coral will make it more, or less, appropriate for interiors depending on their own features and added in small amounts, through pattern or an accessory, coral has an uplifting effect on any interior.

Add a coral accessory or drop a soft coral cushion into a summer room decorated with washed out, dreamy pale colours and feel the energy brighten immediately. Coral is not a bright colour that pushes itself into your consciousness but once you’re aware of its presence you will never want to be without it.

– Karen Finlayson, Colour Specialist at Colour Elements –

There is always that repressed stylist and designer in all of us; you know what you like and not sure quite how you can incorporate that in your interiors or how it would turn out if combined with other colours. I certainly hope that it’s been a worthwhile read for you. Let us know what you think by posting your comments through our facebook or twitter!

Posted on September 2, 2014December 5, 2014 by Eliza

Founder Focus – Topic 4: Eliza’s General Advices

Founder Focus: Meet Eliza

Topic 4: Eliza’s General Advices

What types of training do you need to enter this field?

Training at a reputable university or college for your preferred subject seems a good start, where they try to cover most aspect of the technical side, so you’re equipped with the appropriate knowledge and tools to start you off.

During my training, I had my grounds covered pretty well in the sense of technical knowledge. I was taught about the construction of textiles, from its raw form to the yarn process, then other technical side like dyeing fabrics and screen and digital printing, all to industrial standards. I was taught the basics for all the textile design disciplines like knit, weave and print prior to selecting my speciality and focusing on that until graduating. Then I topped up and polished those skills through work-placements, by getting hands-on experience, learning from people I admire and respect, even if I did start off just observing and doing mundane tasks.

Although professional training with a reputable college or university seems the obvious route to a very skilled subject such as textile design, I don’t think it is the one and only training route there is.

If you can demonstrate a genuine interest and passion in your chosen subject, you can get your training through other means; this applies to any subject, not exclusive to design. You can teach yourself through lots of reading on the subject and then get training through apprenticeships and work experience with your admired skilled crafts-person or design studio and get your hands-on training. Skills are learned and perfected through constant practice and dedication to the chosen subject. This is why you need to have a genuine interest and true passion for the subject, or else you won’t have the energy and drive to push yourself and be better. Also, you need to have an open mind, so you don’t limit yourself too much in the sense of ideas, although you need to be more selective at the more progressive stage.

Working as a creative practitioner is a way of life, not just an occupation. It’s who you are.

What advice would you give to young people who might be thinking of starting such type of business?

First and foremost, ALWAYS treat others with respect, no matter who they are.
Starting a business is very challenging and takes a lot of hard work, so you will need as much support as you can get. Therefore, you want people to be rooting for you, NOT against you. Helping each other is also a habit I highly encourage to get into.
Get advice as soon as you’re thinking about starting a business.
There are a lot of organisations that can help in giving support and advice or at least point you at the right direction. Speak to people and communicate, people can’t offer advice or help you if they don’t know you need it.
Be patient yet persevere, armed with steely determination.
Creative business can be a slow process. You will probably have more bad days then you do good days; but one really good day tends to over-write the 10 bad days you have and makes it all seem worthwhile. This is why if you don’t love what you do with all your heart, you should probably reconsider your options. You’re in it for the long haul.

Posted on August 27, 2014December 5, 2014 by Eliza

Founder Focus – Topic 3: About Eliza’s Work

Founder Focus: Meet Eliza

Topic 3: About Eliza’s Work

Where do you generate your ideas for new designs?

I take inspiration from practically anything that’s around me. As there are so many visual clues around you and you just need to be tuned in to what you see and how you feel about them. If something peaks my interest, I either start doodling or then start to photograph a series of shots to then draw from. Many drawings later, I then start having ideas of the design direction it’s heading. Sometimes I might even discover that there’s no chemistry there and I should just bin it and start over!

I mostly decide on an idea that either challenges me or challenges people’s common perception of them, that’s why a lot of them end up being quite subversive. Because it’s design, it needs to fulfil a purpose; surface pattern design tends to be about beautiful looking patterns, as it is meant to decorate a surface. So I make sure that the designs are beautiful and people can appreciate them even at the most superficial level. I don’t expect people to think too hard to work out their wallpaper or soft furnishings, I appreciate that it is difficult enough deciding on a colour scheme for a room. But, you do have the option of appreciating it beyond the pretty surface, if you want to. Hey, it can even be a conversation starter at a dinner party!

Who has been your greatest inspiration in choosing to orient yourself in contemporary design?

There are many inspiring contemporary designers and artists that I admire and am inspired by. I find that I am always learning and inspired by my fellow peers; from my more senior contemporaries and from the most unlikely people I meet along the way.

Two (or three even!) particular figures that I find resonates with me most throughout my creative journey though have to be Tim Burton and Timorous Beasties. I admire them for embracing the fact that they are different, that is who they are and they’re comfortable with that. They don’t try to be different, they just are.

Like everything else in life, being different or doing things differently will almost immediately attract objections at the beginning. But they persevered and look at them today; they are the leaders of their field.

I read once that Tim Burton’s drawing style was criticized as being ‘incorrect’ by one of his teachers in his much younger days, until another teacher came along at a later stage and advised the young frustrated Burton that he can draw however he likes to and that there isn’t a right or wrong way to draw. Today, he is known for his distinct style of drawing and his surreal animations and film work.

What is the next step in your career?

I aim for world domination – to cover the world with beauty and design!

Just kidding! Although covering the world with beauty isn’t such a bad goal.

Next step is to come up with a new collection of wallpaper and our first fabric collection; attend trade fairs and shows more regularly and to do more collaborative projects.

Posted on August 20, 2014December 5, 2014 by Eliza

Founder Focus – Topic 2: Eliza’s Background

Founder Focus: Meet Eliza

Topic 2: Eliza’s Background

What is your background in terms of education and work experience?

I graduated from Heriot Watt University – School of Textiles, Galashiels after studying ‘Design for Textiles’, specialising in print. I had some training in fashion prior to that, because I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer. I studied fashion business for a year when I first moved to Scotland and then applied to Heriot Watt University for their fashion and textiles course. After the first year, I decided that I loved textile design much more to be swayed into that direction and asked to be moved to their textile design course for the second year onwards.

I got asked to do the odd commission work during my studies at Galashiels, I also applied to a number of design studios for various design-related work placements and ended up working at a few of them, in London and Yorkshire. I then proceeded to do my placement with Timorous Beasties in Glasgow shortly after graduation, whilst working as a freelance designer for a design studio based in Northern Ireland. I had a stint of freelance work with Timorous Beasties shortly after doing my placement as well, where I helped out with some of the digital drawings and artwork editing during a busy time for them.

I then got accepted for a job with a major interior company as a part of their interior design and visual merchandising team, whilst still doing the very occasional designing of my own work in my spare time.

How well did your college experience prepare you for this job?

As great as the universities are in training you in the world of design or anything else, I would say that no matter how good of an academic education you get, nothing will ever quite prepare you for the harsh reality of the real world experience! Where you have to work with and around quite challenging situations and limitations. This is especially the case when it comes to running your own business.

So, the most helpful aspect of my background in preparing me for my career in this field, has to be the work experiences I have had with all these design studios and commission work I got while I was still studying; and after. I am forever grateful to these places, the people and the bosses I have had in my journey, because they are the ones who have informed the decisions I made along the way, to where I am at today.

What initiated the spark in you to start your own business?

There were limited opportunities for a textile design job out there during the time I finished my studies. For those instances I got interviewed for, feedback was often that my style and ideas were too niche for their typical customers.

Disheartened but not beaten, I dusted myself off and saw that there were many designers with distinctive styles out there in which I highly admire and respect that made it on their own. This is in spite of everyone else thinking that they were too ’niche’ when they first started.

This just shows that there is a gap in the market for distinctive designs it just takes a lot of time, hard work, dedication and perseverance. People like to be different, but yet there is also a lot of fear of being different – because people like to be unique, but they also want to fit in (such a contradiction, I know). So it takes time to convince people you’ve got something great for them and that being different is something to be embraced and celebrated rather than feared. I think having a genuine passion for what you do is also really important in keeping the focus on what you want and need to do, and in communicating that to others.

Posted on August 14, 2014December 5, 2014 by Eliza

Founder Focus – Topic 1: About Eliza’s Career Field

Founder Focus: Meet Eliza

Topic 1: About Eliza’s Career Field

How did you get started in this business?

I got started in this business shortly after I got made redundant from my full time job with one of a major interior company; that was at the height of redundancy happening everywhere.

I had always planned on starting my own design studio, but at the time that it happened, I did not think I was ready for it. After some soul searching, where I started designing on my own accord, along with some cold hard calculations looking at how long I would last with monies I’d saved up so far (my start-up pot) and redundancy pay, I thought I should take the plunge – “it was a now or never moment!” It was time for change, as they say “The Times They Are A-Changin”.

When did your interest in interior design first aroused?

My interest in interior design first aroused when I got my first house; I worked for a few years prior to starting university and then enrolled as a mature student. This is the first opportunity to do whatever I wanted to; a place of which I could call my own.

My interest in interior design then bloomed as I started doing my work placements at the many different design studios, ranging from fashion to interiors. This is when I discovered that although I still really love designing textiles for fashion and I am suitably able to do them both (fashion and interiors), my temperament and pace is much better suited to designing textiles for interiors. This went hand in hand with my increased interest in interior design as a whole.

What do you feel unique about your career field?

I feel that you can have a childlike curiosity and inquisitiveness and still be serious and taken seriously in what you do; and that they both actually work hand in hand, despite it seeming contradictory. Also, the people are much more fun and nicer to be around working with whilst still being professionals.

You don’t get that kind of luxury in many other career fields.

Posted on July 29, 2014July 2, 2015 by Eliza

The Bespoke Colour Process

As some of you might be aware of, we hand-blend all our colours in house in order to create all of our bespoke wallpaper colours. How do we do it I hear you ask?

Well, think of it like a human version of the Dulux colour matching service, in a way.

We see the colour sample of what you want to achieve and we blend it with our industry expertise, plenty of heartfelt sensitivity and, a good eye for colour to give you the perfect colour that you deserve!

Colour and inks hand-blending in the studio

So, if a client comes to us saying, “I would love to have your ‘Black Keys’ design wallpaper in hot pink or duck egg blue on plain ground” (colours that we do not have as part of our main collection). We would ask you for a sample of this said hot pink or duck egg blue colour you have in mind and then go on our merry way to blend this for you, by hand.

We will use the example of us blending for our ‘Dance!’ wallpaper in reflex blue on black ground. This is what it would look like in the mixing pot:

We then do some tests until we get the closest (almost accurate) match to it.

Once we are happy with the results, this is the time for us to do what we call a ‘strike-off’ to ascertain that it’s all good for the final printing with the actual pattern of the design and its repeat. We do this to confirm the colour accuracy, ink consistency and that the artwork on the screens we are printing from is all ready to go as well.

See ‘strike off’ as the equivalent to a dry rehearsal for a play or show.

As you could see, because the inks are hand-blended using our expertise and savviness, we can cater to any colour request you have in mind. We can even do a glow in the dark one for you, should you fancy a highly atmospheric room with a contemporary glow to it! (Tip: ideal for a trendy den idea or if you’re refurbishing a bar or club – our wallpaper are fire tested with a European fire certificate and suitable for commercial use)

With it being hand-blended, this means that it is done with so much more care and detail. And due to its hand-crafted nature, each one is unique – this is even though you decide to order from the same design and collection as the next person. Then again, if you want to be even more unique, you can ask for your own colour to be specially blended for you.

Or if you want to go all out with uniqueness, we can do a complete bespoke design service specific to your brief! How is that for all out bespoke?

We are happy to hear from you, so feel free to contact us to discuss about your unique project.

Posted on December 1, 2013December 5, 2014 by Eliza

Start Up Hub Finalist Exhibition, Manchester

We’re proud to say that we have made it as one of the 12 finalist in the Start Up Hub competition for top start-up businesses in the UK, sponsored by Fujitsu and BVCA. As the other start up businesses that made it to the finals are not only so varied in terms of what their business offers, but they seem like businesses with a solid proposition. Which is of course reassuring for us to know that we’re up against quality candidates and that we’re one of them! The finalists gets a chance to exhibit and present their business in front of thousands of delegates, the nation’s media and business leaders from across the country.

Start Up Hub finalist award handed by the sponsors

It’s been a very busy few months for us with a couple of main exhibits to attend and participate in, among many other things we’ve been busy doing. One main exhibition being 100% Design at Earls Court, London, the other being Start Up Hub, Manchester at the Conservative Conference with the two exhibitions being only a week apart.

Start Up Hub group picture with fellow finalists, sponsors and organiser

To read our interview with Fujitsu, click on the link below:
http://blog.uk.fujitsu.com/smes/start-up-stars-moody-monday/

More images from this event:

Moody Monday stand with Start Up Hub @ Manchester

Vote for your favourite start up @ Start Up Hub stand

Our stand right across from the Beebs' — Our stand right across from the Beebs’

We’d like to thank our kind and generous sponsors and organisers who had invested their time and money into helping the start up finalists in this event.

=eliza=

Posted on November 30, 2013December 5, 2014 by Eliza

100% Design 2013 – Earls Court, London

What an exciting week for us, London and the world of design in general! As there are so much going on in London Design Festival, with various shows scattered all around the capital, one of them being 100% Design at Earls Court where we exhibited in our first trade show.

We’re now glad to be back too. Just in case you missed the show, here are some pictures for you:

The building and setting up of Moody Monday stand @ 100% Design - Emerging Brands — The building and setting up of Moody Monday stand @ 100% Design – Emerging Brands

Moody Monday stand @ 100% Design - Emerging Brands — Moody Monday stand @ 100% Design – Emerging Brands

Find the featured wallpapers and home accessories in our shop.

We would like to thank the many intriguing individuals, professionals and businesses that we’ve met and have given us such great interests in our designs and most importantly, their invaluable feedback and support during our time on our first show at 100% Design.

Much design love,
Eliza