Hello Monday !
Please meet my new designer Veena Solanki, a Surface pattern designer based in London... Apart from designing she loves to be a fit and healthy person. Well, I know you all are not at all surprised by this statement because everyone loves and wants to be fit and fine --- but to keep yourself fit can you think of climbing a mountain !!! I don't think I'll be able to do, but I know many of you can do this... isn't it ? Hmm... !
Veena tells me this very proudly, ''Keeping fit is very important to me, I enjoy running, visiting the gym and boot camp/circuit training. One thing I would like to do more of is hiking. I have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2005 and more recently I completed the 3 Peaks Challenge in the UK...''
I think by reading this you all are quite surprised and highly motivated to do something you can feel proud of !!!
Go ahead, inspire yourself by Veena's lovely pattern designing and the great challenges she has to share with you all...
Happy Reading !
How would you describe yourself ?
I think others would describe me as being a practical person – that sounds quite boring! However I think I have 2 sides to my personality. I am practical I don’t deny that, I enjoy working hard and taking on challenges. I believe if you put in the hard work you will reap the benefits in the future. And on the flip side I love hanging out with my family and friends. I enjoy socializing, having dinner at nice restaurants’, having a boogie to some music, gossiping with my friends, going on adventurous holidays, taking my children out and generally having fun when I can.
What do you like to do when you are not designing?
When I am not designing, I spend most of my time with my family. I have two sons, aged 4 and 7. My husband and I like to take them out to parks or swimming or visiting galleries and their favourite activity is ‘arts and crafts’.
Describe your style?
I would describe my style as illustrative, bold colours, repeats, quirky.
My subject matter tends to lean towards animal kingdom.
What's your favourite colour ?
Green, green and more green! Specifically emerald green
Tell us about your first collection ...
First collection was ‘Spider Garden’. My inspiration was literally spiders webs I saw in October, first thing in the morning when dew made them look like they were made out of silver thread.
When did you get the idea that 'designing' was the thing you love ?
I have always enjoyed art and design. I have been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember, however, I never took it further than a hobby. Looking back at some of my old work I could see a recurring pattern – which was a lot of my work seem to be ‘repeats’. That’s when it hit me that I could possibly use these ideas for patterns. I had no idea how to until I stumbled across The Art and
Business of Surface Pattern Design e-course !
Anything you want to share to your readers about setting up his/her own business ?
I think you should have a game plan of what you would like to achieve and work backwards. Don’t bog yourself down with having to keep up with everything i.e all the social media, all the design/trade shows etc. Set yourself a (realistic) timetable of what you would like to complete every week or every fortnight. And finally always take some time out to reflect on what you have achieved so far and to relax!
Who is your dream client ?
Don’t know yet !!!
Tell us a bit about your biggest challenge in your career, and the way you handled it ?
For me it was actually making the decision to label myself as a ‘designer’ – not just having it as a hobby.
It is still challenging to allocate time to design, to research, to get inspiration, to promote myself as I am also working at a job totally unrelated to design at the moment. But I keep at it!
I would like to have my own website up and running by the end of this year. My current one just a portfolio site. I would also like to use more painting in my designs, plus, I would eventually like to have a set of rug designs – inspired by the one I designed that won the Elle Decoration and Rug Designer rug competition. I have a very long list of ‘things to do’!
Your greatest inspiration is ?
Everyone and anyone that has taken that big step and made the decision to make a career out of what they enjoy and are passionate about.
How would you describe your work place ..?
My work place is my whole house at the moment. Some nights it’s my dining table, sometimes it’s my office/ironing room or some evenings I’m on my lap top sitting on the sofa in the lounge (this has not been good for my back!). I don’t have a specific area at the moment.
Where can people contact you ?
I can be contacted on info@veenartstyle.co.uk
My website is www.veenartstyle.co.uk
I will be updating this within the next few months.
I am on https://www.moyodirectory.com/veenartstyle
And you can follow me on http://www.pinterest.com/veenartstyle/
As well as https://www.facebook.com/Veenartstyle
You can find me on http://www.findnewdesigners.com
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Thanks Veena for sharing your beautiful pattern designs with us ! Have a great time !!!
See you all soon !!!
