I have never considered myself a trend follower. The only things I follow are my instincts. Years of collecting and creating have taught me to trust the art that moves me and question the fads that don't. I have a need to actively interact with vintage design - not just collect it and display it - it's a way for me to play with it and share it with others. Old steel engravings, lead type, wood block prints and hand written documents.I have a love of the old, but a desire to be current. It's not that I am obsessed with everything old, it's just a reality in the quest for artistic inspiration that one will inevitably often end up back at the old stuff - you don't find inspiration at Walmart!
My art has always been influenced by the exotic curiosities that surrounded me growing up in Scotland with my grandparents in their 300 year old stone house filled to the brim with strange and curious momentos from their lives as textile dealers in old world India.
My grandfather collected artifacts from his travels and brought them all home to display around the house...painting, books, rugs, silver and silk. He was an avid photographer and our family photographs were a strange collection of elephant riding scenes and pith helmet wearing portraits in palm treed bungalow courtyards. As children I think we presumed that everyone hung tiger hunting photographs on their walls.
CARTOLINA CARDS
"At Cartolina we design beautiful greetings cards for all occasions.
Our collections feature colourful patterns and designs that reflect the stylish world you live in. Many of our cards feature centuries old block prints and antique cartouches, combined with twentieth century lead type and contemporary colours. A multicultural trip through the centuries resulting in a fresh, modern twist for you to collect and to share!"
CAFE CARTOLINA
Cafe Cartolina is a curious collection of art and inspiration - a design and lifestyle blog that focuses on vintage and current style from around the world. What started as a way to feature my favourite images has evolved into a very popular daily read for hundreds of stylish surfers out there in the blogosphere. Updated everyday.
http://cafecartolina.blogspot.com
Art became a way of life for me and so did collecting - picking up paper and fabric relics from from street markets and dealers in cities around the world from London to Istanbul to Rio. Combing my own collections with the exotic curiosities collected by my family years ago has become the roots of my designs - ancient patterns, colours, block prints, images and textures combined with contemporary colours and type.
The stationery business was a natural hopping-off point for me after years of working in the graphic design industry. The freedom to design simple everyday-elegance suits my style.