ABSPD & Beyond

Recently, I have completed the The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design e-course (ABSPD). It's been really exciting answering all the creative exercises, establishing my personal design style to developing my own personal business packaging and branding.

Ever since I was very young, I have always known that I wanted to be a designer and own my own design studio. It's in my blood to draw and design! So when I came across the ABSPD e-course, I knew this would be an incredible course! On looking back at where I was at the start of Module 1 to having just completed Module 3, this course has proved to be so much more valuable than I ever expected and has really helped strengthen my confidence in my personal style!

The last week of Module 3 was particularly interesting and incredibly valuable getting to learn about the workings of the business side of owning and running our own design studio/business from Rachael Taylor. A working designer who creates beautiful, colourful designs full of fun and energy!

Since officially finishing week 5 of Module 3 I have began to plan out the next few years for Gillian Lees Booteek! I'm so excited to get started on developing my portfolio and see where my business takes me, and my family!

I have designed a beautiful black and white scarf with my Modern Classics design digitally printed onto soft, warm silk jersey in in Scotland. You can buy them through my etsy shop or email info@gillianleesbooteek.co.uk 

The following designs were created while studying ABSPD;

N.B. All images are © copyright Gillian Lees 2013, please do not use without prior permission.

Hope you like this little peek at some of my designs! Now to get started on building my portfolio…

gillian xx

GLBooteek Bouquets Exclusively Available to N. Ireland!

Afternoon everyone! I am really excited to announce that GLBooteek handmade bouquets are available in N. Ireland, exclusively to the brand new White Confetti Bridal Boutique, opening in Harryville November 23rd!

Here is a peek at what's available;

Have a great weekend!!

Gillian xx

Chosen Chelsea

I will be at this boutique wedding fair  :: Chosen :: in Chelsea Old Town Hall this Sunday.

Come and see my range of quirky fabric/alternative bouquets and buttonholes along with a small range of favours and gift ideas.

All of our pieces are fully customisable to your wedding!

Here is a peek at what can be seen this weekend;

Look forward to seeing you there!

gillian xx

Recently...

These past few weeks have been varied and exciting! It was our second anniversary at the end of July and we went down to the south coast of England for the day, it was so nice relaxing on the beautiful pebble beach!

The beginning of August saw my next meeting with my business mentor at the Prince's Trust and from this I will be doing a fun craft fair in September at Tooting Tram and Social Club, London and in October I will have a table at my first wedding fair - Chosen Boutique Wedding Fair. I am designing some quirky and unique buttonholes, bouquets, and gift/favours. Are you looking for something unique and quirky for your wedding?? Visit my NEW website here for some examples and come and say Hi at the Chosen Boutique Wedding Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, Kings Road, London, SW3 5EE.

Sneak preview of a new range, come and see it in full 27th October, 'Like' my facebook page for more details.

What style would you like for your wedding?

I am also looking into offering a beautiful box frame for you and your bridesmaids to keep your bouquets in after the wedding. What do you think, would you like to have this option if you would prefer to have a alternative/fabric bouquet for your wedding? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Have a lovely bank holiday! 

My business website has just gone LIVE!!! :D

I am currently on the Enterprise Programme with the Prince's Trust to launch my accessories and surface pattern design studio. As part of launching my business I have designed and launched my business website today. Visit it here; www.gillianleesbooteek.co.uk

My accessory collections include the Summer Fruits collection - beautiful braided, stitched and quilted headbands and pins for kids.

There is also a special Weddings collection! This developed from my own wedding. Fabric/alternative bouquets can be ordered for the bride and her girls - designed to compliment your wedding dress, your wedding theme or colours. Buttonholes for the groom and his men can also be designed to incorporate your theme or colours - or something different and quirky if you prefer!

A homewares collection in cushions to coasters, placemats and mugs in my own designs is also available for purchase through bespo.co.uk www.bespo.co.uk/gillianleesbooteek/

In January I enrolled onto the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design (ABSPD) the e-course featuring Rachael Taylor and in June I completed Module 1. Ever since I can remember I have always had a love for drawing and bold vibrant colour.  I studied Art and Design up to Foundation level and went on to study my degree in Textile Crafts at the University of Huddersfield. Through studying the ABSPD course I hope to license my designs for stationery, fabric or products.

The Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search Competition

I have submitted my design for the Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search. We had to design a journal as if Paperchase were our client and we were given the theme of 'Playground' and immediately I thought of all the funs things I enjoyed playing in my childhood such as hopscotch, swings and slide! I really like Paperchase and the use of bold and vibrant colours in their products. It was really exciting getting to work on my first professional surface design brief. I have seen so many amazing designs and it is wonderful how everyone interprets the same theme so differently! The judges are really going to have a difficult job ahead of them to choose the top 50.

This is my interpretation of the 'Playground' theme:

Tower of London & my 26th birthday!

It's been a wee while since my last post. Last week was my 26th birthday and my husband took me out to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. We have been in London for almost two years now and we are slowly 'ticking off' the famous sights of our new home town!

Here are a few photos from our visit;

I liked this wire sculpture of an elephant's head. It is above where the elephant used to be kept when 'Royal Beasts' used to be kept at the Tower of London to entertain visitors who otherwise only got to see them in story books. The 'Royal Beasts' were gifts to the Royal Family from other countries.

A view of Tower Bridge from the grounds of the Tower of London.

I liked seeing the mix of old and new architecture - with the top of The Shard visible above the castle!

The texture and shapes of this old stone building really interested me with the shape of the tree beside it.

We arrived at the Tower of London before 11am and didn't leave until around 5pm! It was a really interesting place to visit and I would recommend it to anyone visiting London. What we found really interesting was that it wasn't purposefully built to be a prison, even though it ended up being used as one. You can see engravings in the stone of some of the buildings from the people who were prisoned  there. 

I'd also recommend getting there early if you want to see the Crown Jewels, by the time we came out from seeing them the queue was almost down to the main entry way!

Afterwards we went to Westfield for dinner at Pizza Express. It was a really nice way to spend my birthday. 

DaisyRose :: Alternative Wedding Bouquet

This is a fab bouquet alternative for a wedding that becomes a unique display full of wonderful memories for the bride and groom in their new home together. Alternative bouquets also make great unique‘Thank You’ gifts for the mother’s of the bride and groom too!

The images above show the detail in the bouquet and a simple, but stunning way it can be displayed for either wedding venue or home.

This stunning little bouquet is made from ruffled high quality felt with stitched embellishment along the edges, a beautiful twin layered white daisy with a beaded centre and wire for the 'stem' which has been knotted with raw silk navy ribbon to create a unique texture finishing the bouquet off perfectly.

Hello!

Welcome to the blog of Gillian Lees Booteek!

This blog is just to show you what I’m creating and what inspires the designs for my accessories and surface pattern designs and shows a little peek into life at Gillian Lees Booteek. I will also talk about other things that interest and intrigue, so it won’t just be craft!

gillian xx