Clothes Show Live 2016

I've been meaning to write a post about this but towards the end of last year everything was so hectic. I'd had a crazy, stressful but VERY exciting time at the Clothes Show, and after getting back home I had so much catching up to do on orders and re-stocking my Etsy shop. I hope you've all had an amazing start to the year. I can definitely say that I had the best Christmas/New Year/Birthday this year to date. And now a month or two later down the line I've decided that I wanted to share my experience on my blog.

If any of you went to the Clothes Show, you'll know that it was the last EVER! It was actually quite emotional as it brought back lots of memories from when I used to work backstage in the fashion theatre. And it was just an amazing experience that I got to be there at the last one. I met so many amazing people and everyone was so friendly and kind. I'd found out exactly a month before the Clothes Show was starting that I'd got a stand with ASOS Marketplace. So in between having a full time job and all the other daily tasks I managed to make a couple of hundred bags in a few weeks.

I was very nervous but excited, and basically just didn't really know what to expect? We went to set up the day before and you could already feel the buzz around the halls. Quite a few of us who were there with ASOS Marketplace had spent the whole day getting everything organised. I had decided that I wanted shelves on the wall to display my clutch bags, which took a while to put up. I wanted to keep it quite simple and just make the bags stand out and speak for themselves.

So the first day of the Clothes Show quickly came around and I noticed that it was a lot of students on the first day. Every day was pretty hectic and as I was on my own it was difficult to even get a bite to eat or run to the loo, but all the girls around were really lovely and we all kinda helped each other out which was so helpful!

The five days flew by so quickly and even though I was so rushed off my feet I was absolutely buzzing! The event was such an amazing experience and I was ecstatic to meet so many lovely customers who gave wonderful feedback. The one thing I loved was meeting some of my customers face to face and finally putting a face to the name.

There were so many other talented designers and unique brands there and it was lovely to just have a few giggles whilst the quiet spells throughout the day. I've added a few photos below of my stand although as it was SO busy I guess I didn't have time to take that many photos. I wish I'd actually taken a few more and spent a bit more time on that. I've now got most of those bags back in stock in my Etsy store, so if you see any that you like, go pop over to www.sukisaburdesigns.etsy.com. You can currently get 15% off with the code 'LOVEGLITTER' at the checkout!

It's a Colourful Spring!

It's that time of year again where Summer is just around the corner, but with all those April showers the days just seem to be dulled down. The pink skies in the evenings and those bright sunny mornings are taken over by midday showers and grey clouds. You've got so many exciting plans for the summer and cannot wait to get your hands on the latest summer trends for your holiday. But the long days of waiting are sucking that energy out of you. Yes I pretty much feel like that at some point during the Spring months, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

So I wanted to brighten up those dull Spring days with a few colourful accessories. And so I thought about making more of my makeup bags in lots of lush colours. Of course the colours I've used go perfectly with my silk scarves as I wanted all of them to match. I've put these new bags up on Etsy, which you can find here. I also feel like these would be the perfect gift for bridesmaids or as travel accessories for your summer getaway! and They are now available in a rainbow full of colours! You can also find them on Depop if any of you girlies use the app, just search 'sukisaburdesigns'. xo

www.sukisaburdesigns.etsy.com

The 'Enchanted Darkness' Scarf

Happy Friday Everyone! Hope you've all had a great week and have got something exciting planned for the weekend. I'm going to see Breakfast at Tiffany's in theatre tomorrow, which Pixie Lott is starring in. (And if she's anything like she is during her concerts she will be totally amazing!) Well anyway whether you're a creative soul or not, or maybe you sometimes like to see how designers/makers start a piece of art, I've got a lil surprise for you.

Over a year ago I started my first few paintings based on the sealife collection which you can now view on my website sukisabur.co.uk. At the time I was kind of going along with my sketches and very first ideas and didn't really have a complete idea of what the collection would include. I didn't even have a title! But whilst I was designing and painting I was documenting my progress with each new design. As I'm kind of awkward and like to do things the hard way by drawing everything to scale and painting it by hand rather than using technology that would be much more efficient, it takes me a couple of weeks to finish a painting. (Baring in mind that I still have the editing to do on the final design which can take up to another week.)

So I thought it was time I revealed my first ever scarf for the 'Underwater Escapade' collection! Yes I finally thought of a name for my second collection. Even though I've currently decided that this one won't be getting made as a final product as I felt that the colours weren't quite suited to the rest of the collection and I wanted to refine my designs, I still wanted to share my progress and show how it all began.

I wrote a similar post back in January about the third scarf in the collection, 'Storm in the Sea' which you can read here. I hope you enjoy looking through the pictures and let me know if you have any questions. Happy weekend! xo

Sew Much Crafting

So you may have seen my new listings on Etsy/my latest Instagram posts/Updates on Twitter or maybe read my previous blog posts. A while back I started making these cute makeup bags (they can be used as a clutch bag, coin purse, storing your phone etc) as my plan was to make them with my own printed fabric. It turned out that the plain ones actually looked really pretty and so many people told me they loved them. So I decided to make a few more in different colours, and I've since been keeping busy by making a batch of them for a craft fair I have coming up next week.

They are now available in two sizes, the small ones come in three different colours of satin, and the bigger ones are available with three different velvet fabrics. I chose a collection of colours that I felt would go with my new 'Underwater Escapade' collection of silk scarves and pocket squares. If you have read the stories on my website sukisabur.co.uk then you'll hopefully get the mood I've tried to create. And if you haven't paid a visit then by sure to check it out here!

So I wanted to keep a brief photo diary of these bags whilst I've been busy making them and I decided to add this as a post for anyone who wants a sneak peek of the materials I use/how they're made/what I've been doing since I've been pretty quiet on social media recently. And if you're looking to make these yourself I'm sure you can find some great tutorials on Pinterest or YouTube. xo

New In - Zipped Pouches

As a creative soul who sometimes gets bored so easily, I always have new ideas that I get excited about. And I'll be the first to admit that I don't always finish a project if I feel as if it's not right for me. But this week I decided to make these zipped pouches as I've been itching to get back on my sewing machine after spending so long designing and painting. I've not worked on a project like this in such a long time, and I really don't remember the last time I even sewed a zip.

So as you can imagine the first one was a bit tricky as I had to double check that I was following all the steps correctly, and I felt like I'd been sewing for aaaaages. But when I made the second one I realised that it didn't take half as long, and I quickly got the hang of sewing and putting in the zipper. To be honest I just wanted to try them out and get used to sewing again as I'm planning to make a few of these with my own prints, but I actually really love these two colours. I think they'd go really well with a lot of things, and can be used for both daytime, evening and even just for storing makeup and jewellery in.

These are available to buy in my Etsy shop here. I am planning to make some bigger clutches soon, so let me know if you have any requests. I'd love to make these in a variety of colours but I am taking it one step at a time. If you like this product then make sure to purchase before I nab one for myself (highly likely). xo

Announcement!

Hey guys. Hope you've all had a great weekend. I've had a very busy and productive past couple of days. I have finally opened up an Etsy shop. This was something I had wanted to do for such a long time, but something I just never got round to. A few of my limited edition art prints are available here. Although if there is another illustration you fancy on my website sukisabur.co.uk you can email me sukisabur@hotmail.com or drop me a message and I can get it made in the required size.

I have also added some plain greeting cards which come in a pack of 3 and feature a selection of my illustrations. You can view my shop here. These would be perfect for your little girl's bedroom or in your corridor. As art that adds a girly touch to your home, no matter what age, I'm sure you will know atleast one lovely lady in your life who will love this!

The 'Storm in the Sea' Scarf

Happy Friday! As much as I enjoy working for myself it does get very tiring at times as I find it hard to switch off and I'm constantly thinking of new ideas or my mental to-do list, (whenever I'm not writing in my notebook). But it's so important to have breaks and enjoy the time off, so I hope you've all got some exciting plans for the weekend.

So as you may or may not know that I've been working on a new collection of silk scarves which I am now sampling. It's taken such a long time to finish designing the collection and at times I felt like I was going crazy and that I'd never get finished. But I've been documenting all the little things and each step that I've taken. And I thought it would be a good idea to now reveal my designs in the process.

So I know that a lot of print designers do their sketches without colour and then have them digitally manipulated , so placing them at the right scale and size and then adding the colour, which is probably so much more convenient rather than making the exact shade that you've imagined and making sure you've got enough of that colour, as it's impossible to get that exact colour again! And there's so many designers who specialise in printed scarves with each one having their own unique style. But I guess I'm kind of awkward like that and just prefer to do all the designing and painting by hand. I just feel as if I can't really imagine a finished design when I'm working on a screen, whereas drawing everything to scale helps me visualise the finished scarf and how it will be worn.

So anyway I thought about showing everyone my work in progress; when I'm in the middle of painting or mixing a colour; or adding the detail once it's all painted. I decided to start with the third scarf in the 'Underwater Escapade' Collection. This one is called 'Storm in the Sea' and it's a mixture of lots of designs I drew from my research. The idea is all in the name, and I basically wanted to throw in all my small doodles to create a square that was covered with different colours and artwork. I wanted to use a variation of bright colours and have a subtle background in contrast. And even though this was quite a risk to take as I wasn't sure how it would turn out, I'm loving the final outcome.

Below I've added a few photos of the design whilst I was still working on it, so you can see how I do my designing. I hope you all enjoy reading this post, xo

All designs Copyright ©Suki Sabur 2016. All rights reserved.

My Website Launches Today!

I'm hoping this year will be an exciting one! I've got so many amazing things planned and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens. Some of you may or may not know that it's my birthday today, and I'm not normally one to celebrate or do anything special as I've never really believed that it matters. But this year I wanted it to be memorable in terms of my designs and my business.

Over the holidays I've been working extra hard on my website and trying to get the majority of it done. I can't believe that I've actually finally designed my very own website showcasing my collections of scarves and illustrations all by myself! Of course I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of a few lovely (and VERY clever) people. It's safe to say that I've still got so much work to do, and I'll be launching my shop in the coming months which I'm very excited about.

But for now I am pleased to share my website with you lovely lot. If you've read any of my previous posts you might have seen a few snaps of my designs and my style of work. You can now view a full collection of my designs on sukisabur.co.uk. And if you're reading my blog for the first time, thank you so much for taking the time out to read this post. I hope you love my new website and I would definitely appreciate any feedback on anything I could improve and add.

If you know anyone who would like any of the products in my Society6 shop or who would love to purchase a unique hand-drawn silk scarf in the near future then be sure to share this with them. xo

sukisabur.co.uk