ABSPD FEATURED DESIGNER: Anneline Sophia Designs

Hello, and welcome to day two of my ABSPD Featured Designer blog posts. Today I have the pleasure of introducing Anneline, and her fantastic work. 

Anneline runs under the name 'Anneline Sophia Designs', and is a fellow designer who will be published along-side myself and several other students of ABSPD, in Patternbase's new Book.

Here I am happy to share some insight into how Anneline got to where she is today:

Can you tell me a little bit about your background in Surface Pattern Design? 

I started sewing from a really young age and I remember when I was about 12, I sewed a dress with this bright turquoise fabric that had bright coloured flowers all over it and suddenly I thought that someone out there had this amazing job to design fabric.  I had no idea that one could study textile or surface pattern design and so I thought that all fabric must be designed and made in China and that it was therefore not an opportunity for me.  (This was before google and the internet, lol).  As a teenager, I got quite into 60's and 70's fabric, but nothing was available in my local fabric shop for me to sew with so, I got into fabric painting where I would paint vintage prints on fabric and then use it to sew clothes with.  So, these early experiences were only the start for me but looking back, always nudging me in this direction.

Following university, I came to England to work and travel and through blogs I discovered that people were designing fabric and surface patterns and that immediately sparked an interest with me.  I bought Photoshop and took a short course at Central Saint Martins called 'Photoshop for Textile Design'.  I entered my first Tigerprint competition for a Christmas pattern and was a runner-up which spurred me on even more.  I have taken my time to learn Photoshop and Illustrator as I found it difficult at first to know how I could produce the designs that I see in my head on the computer.  I had sketch books filled with sketched but didn't know how to progress them.

What made you apply for the ABSPD course and what have you gained from it so far?

ABSPD has been amazing. It has given me the creative freedom to be me, and to find my voice. It was through the doodling in Module 1 that I have found my voice and my style and learned that it was OK to design the way that I wanted to design.


 Can you describe your style and what methods you use to create your designs?
My designs are hand illustrated with fine liner and then digitally coloured and manipulated to maintain my hand drawn style. I love colour and using a bold, bright, eye-catching colour palette has also become part of my style.

Where do you see your work progressing in the next few years, and what industry would you say you are aiming at? 

I would love to see my work on wallpaper, textiles (particularly home furnishings) but also on stationary.

Thank you Anneline for allowing me to feature you:

If you would like to see more work by Anneline, or contact her, please visit her blog: annelinesophiadesigns.wordpress.com