About me
Floras Addictus
I am a print, pattern and flower "O'holic". I love flowers and all things design.
I graduated from the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels with a BA (Hon's) degree in Industrial Textile Design. (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh). This was a highly creative course, with indepth technical training, on dye chemical recipies, colour theory, weaving and knitting calculations, design and construction, knitted fashion design, with extensive technical training. The full design and production cycle.
I was chosen out of 53 student to go on the exchange program with 2 other candidates, I exchanged with the now Design Director for Ralph Lauren, Shira Kaplan; which I hope gives you a flavour of the amazing course and experience gained through my course, and furthered by many years in the industry.
I have designed for clients such as Sanderson, Crowson, Gill NoNo (NoNoDesigns) with studio work in New York.
I hope you enjoy my designs and look forward to working with you soon.
warm regards
Laura
Work history
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DesignerLaura Symes
- London, United KingdomFreelance
March 1999. Designer. Private Commission.
Sanderson http://www.sanderson.com
A mid to high level interior design company specialising in well drawn floral prints.
• Designing floral patterns to be produced on home furnishings products.
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Designer & ColouristCrowson
- Uckfield, United KingdomFull Time
A mid level home interiors retailers, specialising in home furnishings; fabrics; wallpaper, curtains, borders and bedding.
• Designing patterns and colours to be produced on home furnishings products.
• Hand drawing and painting images from real flowers as well as books using gouache, inks and bleaching out techniques.
• Hand drawing all over patterns, stripes, ditsy tossed repeats and co-ordinates; by tracing out designs once initial concept was created on worksheets, elements were taken and then traced in to full repeated designs then re-drawn and coloured by hand.
• Then images were drawn and painted with rouge on to screen separations on acetate film or photocopied in black or tracing paper and then exposed to screen; coating the screens by hand, then exposing them by hand in the vacuum UV light box. Then developing different colours in the colour-kitchen, and producing different colourways for selection.
• The use of AVA CAD CAM, to help organise the designs in to different repeats; to show what these would look like to Mr Crowson, the owner.
• Competitor shopping reviewing other home furnishings market leaders and competitors at the same price point.
• Creating mood boards and key season colours for use in the designs.
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Skills
- Fashion
- Visual Arts
- Print Design
- Design
- Creative
- Textile Design
- Indesign
- Office
- Word
- Hand Drawing Skills
- Illustrator Photoshop Indesign
- Painting Illustration
- CAD and Hand Drawn Spec Drawings
- CAD Scotweave /scotpaint
- AVA CAD CAM
Education
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Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign CS6Sutton College (SCOLA)
- United Kingdom
I took this course as a refresher, as most of my knowledge has been learned at colleges, institutions or in the work place; however I am fully computer literate to an excellent and very high level;
• Proficient in Illustrator, Photoshop, (CAD), Acrobat packages. Corel Draw. SCOTPAINT on the SCOTWEAVE system. (Similar to Ned Graphics, Poincare and AVA programs). All transferable CAD skills for AVA CAD CAM. With knowledge of HTML.
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Design and Making Shoes With, Darla Jane GilroyCSM (University of The Arts, London)
- London, United Kingdom
Designing and making shoes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darla_Jane_Gilroy
http://www.thefutureperfect.co.uk/
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Awards
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Predict The Best Sellers' - Colefax & FowlerColefax and Fowler
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New Designers, London. UKNew Designers London
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