My Design Archive
I am collating my Design Archive so that I can have a dedicated section showing the versatility of a designer and show casing some of the designs that I sold whilst working as a freelance designer, Janet Waudby Designs.
Design background
I specialised in Weave/Knit at Winchester School of Art, I love texture, colour, surface and pattern all of which come together in a design.
Trinidad and back to art!
After leaving Winchester School of Art and struggling to make a living with weave, I took a regular job working at MAFF as Lab Assistant. A very different life to creating designs……… I was then fortunate as we had the opportunity to live in Trinidad. Unable to work, I began drawing and painting, selling through a local gallery and designing cards to raise money for a nature reserve.
Designing for Print
On my return to the UK I realised that I wanted to design for print and had a quick refresher lesson on repeat! I created a small range of designs and cheekily phoned up Habitat, they bought a collection of three and kick started my freelancing career.
It is important to be versatile, flexible and be willing to design for the client and the market, not for yourself.
I have designed florals, geometrics, toiles, novelty, ethnic, abstract, damask. They have been used on furnishing fabrics, (printed and woven), wallpaper, rugs, throws, ceramic tiles, bed linen, vinyl flooring, shower curtains, placemats, tablecloths, napkins, stationary – cards and gift wrap.
Botanical designs
Examples of botanical designs, the bottom design was sold to an American company for wallpaper and the top example was sold uncoloured for tissue paper wrap again to an American company.
Ethnic designs
Examples of two ethnic designs one inspired by North American Indian designs and the other inspired by African textiles, both these designs were sold in the UK, one for rugs and the other for fabric.
Damask Designs
Quite often Damask patterns and decorative florals provided a regular income. Designs were often woven and not printed as they transferred easily into jacquard weaves.
Modern geometric designs
Two modern designs, the top one was sold to a german weave company and was showcased at Decosit in Brussels. it was woven every different colours and looks beautiful. The second design was sold for bedlinen and other companion designs were created to make a collection.
Novelty designs
Novelty prints include many different themes and these are just examples of quite understated themes.
These designs have been sold or have been used as a starting point for commission work and therefore cannot be copied or used in any way.