It feels like a roller coaster

This morning I wake up to this amazing weather! So I felt full of energy and positivity. The weather really can make the difference, right?

Usually in this period of the year I slow down a lot, but this time is very different. I have so many new exciting projects coming in that need my full attention and so many ideas I want to try out that I feel a bit on a roller coaster. It's very nice to be full of projects and new ideas, but also a bit draining. I concentrate so much on work that yesterday I forgot to have lunch! And this to me is exceptional, I love food and I love cooking.

So at the moment I'm working on a new limited series of clutches. I found a lovely cotton a while back and when I saw it I knew I had to make small bags out of it. This is what they look like now.

I'll add a detachable strap so they can be used as cross-body bags too and I'm going to block print two of them and paint the other two. One of them is going to have a pineapple on it thanks to a special request from one of my clients who saw this pic on my Instagram (are you on Instagram?) and went for it. 

On a different note I'm not sure if you remember my little experiment with the avocado pit. Well he's doing great, look at this! It's so incredible to grow something from seeds, isn't it? It amaze me all the times. As a city dweller with only a balcony and terrace as outside space i do my best to grow as much as I can. We have many herbs and a potted lemon tree. Last year we had tomatoes and salad. Not much really, but the satisfaction is always huge! Do you grow any food? What's the best thing you ever grew yourself? 

Blog hop and a bit about what I do

I want to start off with a big thank you to Ruth from Blue Eggs and Tea who nominated me for a little blog hop. Ruth is an incredibly talented artist and an amazing human being. I met her on Twitter and I can say I found a new friend. I love her blog and her birds. You can find always something interesting over on her blog.

1. What am I working on?
At the moment I'm working on a few different things at the same time (I do this most of the time). Mainly I'm brainstorming ideas and sketching for a winter collection of patterns and prints and I'm block printing different fabrics to make new accessories for the shop.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

This is quite a difficult question. I think it has to do with my own sense of style and my inspiration. I like working with natural materials and combining unusual ones together with a minimal style. I draw inspiration from what surrounds me, especially small things, little details. Italy is a constant inspiration with its architecture, food and way of living.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

First because it makes me happy.
I like to experiment with different materials and tools and to offer simple, durable and original designs. I want to show that something can be eco-friendly and have a minimal modern style at the same time. I love using old techniques like block printing to create modern prints.

4. How does your writing/ creating process work?

Usually, everything starts from a little sketch. Some doodles may become patterns that  I will then use to print on different materials or sell as original illustrations. 

Patterns come first, products after. Each pattern/print speaks to me about a different product or a small line. I hand carve the patterns on printing blocks and print each item by hand.

For this blog hop I'm nominating Mary, a fellow creative with a beautiful blog. Check her shop here.

Our terrace is a jungle

I've always loved plants and even more so since moving to Milan.

The most important thing when we were looking for our first apartment to buy it was to have an outside space. Unfortunately gardens in the city are very rare and expensive so the next best thing was to have a terrace.

When we first moved to the house, we didn't have any money left to buy plants and all necessary stuff to make it nice. We saved and eventually started working on it.

I soon realised that there was not point in getting plants that needed shade or much water, so I turned to succulents, palm trees and Mediterranean shrubs. I wanted to make the best out of the conditions imposed by the climate. 

I sit on the terrace every morning (summer or winter) with a mug of Italian coffee. It's one of the things that make me really happy to do.

This morning I was sitting there as usual and I started sketching some of the leaves and plants I could see. Some of these sketches will become patterns for a new jungle themed collection of eco-friendly hand printed items: journals, totes, tea towels and more.

some work in progress and a limited series of block printed canvases

In the last few days I experimented a lot combining materials that I usually use in different ways.
Watercolours on cardboard, white pens on wood panels and block printing on cotton canvases.
I felt in love with the latest combination and I made a tiny series of small block printed canvases. What I really like of these is the texture: where the ink meets the surface. Every time gives a different result. Each one is unique.

waves

feathers/leaves

gems

I was also busy picking colours to use on my new line of block printed scarves and at the end I'm going with these: blush, copper and black. The patterns will be geometric, but organic and I picked the most beautiful organic linen to use.

I created 4 new printing blocks, this one below is one in progress

sketches for a new series of kitchen prints and recipe cards

Hello!
I just want to share with you a couple of photos I took this morning as soon as I arrived to the studio from the food market.
I'm going to make a salad with these baby beetroots, I love them raw, and I think I'm going to cook the kale with some chickpeas in a lemon sauce.

Right now I'm working on a series of kitchen prints, recipe cards and recipe books, as you can see from my sketches!

sketching new patterns for new home goodies!

Hello!
Last month or so was pretty busy. I had a few retail orders to work on and I had my first wholesale order through Etsy Wholesale. I couldn't really find the time to work on something completely new.

Now it's that time. I started sketching new patterns using different mediums like gel pens and paint, watercolour and pencils, to give myself a bit more freedom. I love this part of my job, it feels like new all the time, it feels like I can put a bit of myself into it.
Once I'm happy with some of these sketches I will put them in digital so then I can use them to carve new printing blocks. This is how I do it most of times, the new thing is that this time I'll use the blocks to hand print organic cotton and linen, using new tools and new inks.

So I'm happy to announce a new line of home goodies, all hand printed using high quality and eco-friendly materials: I'll start with some tea towels and tote bags, expected to be in my shop at some point in June.

I would love to know what you think about these kinds of products, would you like to see anything in particular in my shop?

My process: sketching, carving and printing

Hello!
A little while ago a lovely girl who bought a journal from me told me that at first she didn't understand that the cover was hand printed and she couldn't really understand how I do it.
So I want to share with you a few photos I took of my process.

In this case the final stamp will be used on textiles, in fact I'm working on a limited series of accessories for women and for the home, all hand printed using eco-friendly high quality materials.

As you can see everything starts from a sketching or two. I love doing this with a black pen with a very small tip.
Then I draw the pattern/image directly on the carving block and very slowly (and with lots of patience) I carve it out.
The carving part is my favourite of all the process, it feels like something tangible is coming out of an idea.
The next step is the test run on white smooth paper using super fine black ink, sometimes it needs some adjustments other times I feel lucky!

new projects on the way

This week I worked constantly on a new side of my label.
It has been a while since I've decided to introduce different products in the line.
I've studied the way of doing it for a few weeks.

I started working on tote bags and I tried different techniques, finally setting on the process of hand painting them, one by one, to make them really unique.

You can see some of the work in progress in these pics

creating the design

painting the anchor

creating a new pattern

drawing the pattern on the tote

I'm pretty happy about creating new different things, I'm still in love with paper, but I think I'm discovering that what I truly enjoy is creating patterns and illustrations and use them to create different kind of products. So I'll keep doing this for sure!

If you are curious about the two totes you can see them here and here