What a pleasure to run a creative workshop at the Turner House Gallery to coincide with the Matisse ‘Drawing with Scissors’ exhibition on tour from the Hayward Gallery London. We encouraged workshop participants to use a combination of observation and imagination to create vertical patterns inspired by the vibrancy and immediacy of Matisse’s work. The motifs were cut from beautiful coloured papers supplied by Fedrigioni and were applied to a range of tape supplied by MT masking tape. The work was formed into hanging mobiles which were used to decorate the gallery for the duration of the exhibition.

As part of London Craft Week the event team at Apple Regent Street asked us to tell the story of our creative journey and run a creative workshop that explored pattern making using the iPad and Procreate.

Creative play is an important part of our design process and we wanted to encourage participants to experiment using a combination of both analogue and digital techniques. We approached Fedrigoni with our ideas and they agreed to supply a selection of fine papers in a multitude of colours. The workshop took place in the centre of the store at 2pm on a Saturday which is Apples’ busiest period. As it was a public area the health and safety measures were understandably strict so that no scissors or glue could be allowed. We prepared some examples to demstrate how paper could be torn into a variety of organic or geometric shapes, photographed with the ipad and then further developed digitally to create repeat patterns. Apple supplied 70 Apple iPads and all were in use during the session which was very well attended.

It was the first time Apple had had an event in their stores that wasn’t wholly digital and the creative results the audience achieved were impressive. We had such positive feedback from people who took part and Apple heralded it a great success!

As part of Cardiff Design 2019 we organised The Creative Cycle; an inclusive event that combined our passion for active travel and encouraging creative play for health and wellbeing. Our aim was to encourage both regular cyclists and those less confident to join in and so we organised to meet at a Next Bike station so that those without a bike could hire one. We chose a route that utilised cycle paths took in Cardiff Bay and the Barrage. We ended on the steps of The Senedd where we had special permission to use the area under the canopy as a sheltered space to create our community artwork.

We recycled a large piece of white tarpaulin that was donated to us and using coloured MT masking tape we applied some large bike wheel patterns. Participants were then encouraged to fill in the areas between the spokes with patterns and leafy designs using the range of tapes supplied. This was a fun, enabling activity for children and adults alike and the results were lively and colourful.
Thanks to Stone Marketing for supplying the materials.

When Thinking Works contacted us to discuss running creative workshops for the A&D community in Clerkenwell we were impressed to hear that they were going to be giving away one of their Okidoki stools to each participant.

We were originally asked to apply pattern to the stools using paint but wanting to ensure the workshop experience would be stress free, creative and good clean fun for all, we chose to use wonderfully colourful, amazingly versatile Washi tape from MT Masking. Easy to apply and easy to remove, the options for applying and reapplying pattern are endless.

We prepared some sample stools to help whet people’s pattern appetite and spur them on in their experimentation. Some bold, some subtle, some simple, some detailed.

For three evenings the Thinking Works showroom on Clerkenwell Road in London was packed with enthusiastic architects, interior designers and furniture dealers who revelled in the opportunity to engage in some creative play and enjoy one another’s company whilst sampling great catering from Simon of Le Cellar.

The results were fantastic! A crowd of happy participants and a stack of amazing patterned stools.

Special thanks to Rosie Saunders the Thinking Works showroom manager and Tom Lowe Thinking Works designer who are a pair of stars.

As part of the UHS programme of events during Clerkenwell Design Week we ran a creative workshop for architects and interior designers at The Lever Gallery, Clerkenwell. UHS supplied an array of Kite chairs and participants were encouraged to engage in the pattern making process and decorate them using coloured Washi tape.

We also launching our new collection of performance upholstery fabrics called TRACE. The design is now available from UHS on a range of performance base cloths suitable for upholstery across their range of furniture.

The benefits of creative play are well documented and we have had great feedback for our pattern workshops which are informative, fun and open to all.

Using a simple set of mark making tools that put people at ease, we get exciting results from people of all abilities and levels of confidence.

Patternmaking for industry professionals
We love to share our passion for pattern and to engage with manufacturers, architects, specifiers and designers from other disciplines.

We can run workshops in manufacturers’ showrooms, at special events or at your place of work. Unleashing creativity has been shown to improve analytical thinking, increase wellbeing and enhance problem solving skills. Our workshops encourage experimentation, interaction with other industry professionals - exploring how pattern can energize spaces.

Most recently we have run:

1. Three workshops at the BCFA Open, Truman Brewery, London. With over 50 A&D attending
2. Workshop at the Ocee Design showroom for CDW
3. Workshop at the Edge Design showroom in Clerkenwell as part of the Icon Design Trail
4. Two workshops at the BCFA Open, Manchester. With 20 A&D attending
5. Workshop for A&D at the new Boss showroom in Manchester
6. Workshop as part of ‘Design Assembly’ with Edge, Lincrusta, Ecophon, Milliken, Bute fabrics - hosted by PBS Group in Jersey
7. Workshop as part of Design Assembly Wales ‘The Connected Workplace’ with Edge, Tektura, Dyson, Echophon, Miliken - hosted by Paramount in Cardiff
8. Staff workshop for Staedtler product launch event at Hensol Castle
We are happy to design sessions around specific outcomes so please discuss your requirements with us.

We have recently started a hashtag on Instagram - so have a look at the results from some of our workshops by clicking here #patternistas_workshop

We recently had the pleasure of running two pattern workshops at the fine new Boss Design showroom in central Manchester. The event, organised by Boss Design's Naomi Sweeney, focused on trends in furniture, fabric and fashion. We were there alongside Panaz our fabric collaborators and Esme of Elijah Menswear. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming and we had a lovely, lively crowd of participants from the world of architecture, interior design, graphic design and project management. We're delighted that they all responded so enthusiastically and embraced the opportunity to indulge in some creative play and design their own patterns.

Pattern making workshops - for brands and projects
1. Staff engagement
2. Bespoke pattern outcomes that can be project or brand specific
3. Application of pattern and delivery on multiple products and surfaces

Working with companies to engage their staff in the early design stages of a workplace project can help enormously with change management. Inviting participants to talk about their needs, share their company knowledge and explore ideas can add richness to the design narrative and help them feel ownership of their new environment.

The process of creative play can aid communication and help develop relevant themes for the final design brief. We encourage participants to bring inspiration and ideas personal to them and the project to include them in the workshop. We then guide them with their mark-making and help to curate the final results; with some of the ideas ending up in the final patterns which are then applied to different surfaces in the interior.

We are constantly amazed by the enthusiasm, skill and variation shown by the participants and seeing some of their inspiration ending up in the final scheme gives them a real sense of pride and ownership in their environment.

We have recently started a hashtag on Instagram - so have a look at the results from some of our workshops by clicking here #patternistas_workshop

The Staedtler ‘Design Journey’ Product Launch 2018 took place on Halloween at Hensol Court. As part of the event we were asked to run a ‘Day of the Dead’ themed creative workshop to enable and encourage staff to familiarise themselves with the new ranges.

Working with Staedtler marketing team we supplied an array of vibrant skull imagery to adorn the room along with an outline version of each design that could be coloured using the new pen and pencil ranges. We’re pleased to say that managers, sales people and administrators from the company all took part with enthusiasm, focus and good humour.