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Leila Fanner’s issiMya – Whimsy African
Marica and I have a fascination with ‘discovering’ new South African talent. They may not be new on the design scene, but new to us. After all, the philosophy of our blog is to uphold and honour our local talented creatives. The reason for that philosophy by the way, came out of the time that I spent working on the Irish hotel interior design projects. We had to export most of the interior furnishings and finishes from SA.
As a decorator, when I spend a great deal of time sourcing products and fabrics, I come to appreciate just how well our South African creatives compare with those abroad. We bring a unique flavour to the world of design. This is what Marica and I desire to showcase. The burning desire is to continue ‘exporting’ the talents and wares of South African designers to the world at large – the blog being one of the mediums we use.
I cannot recall just exactly how it was that I recently ‘discovered’ the work of Lelia Fanner – somewhere and somehow on the internet. But I was so thrilled with my discovery, that I hurriedly contacted her to chat to her and today we are proud to introduce you to the ‘Talented Lelia Fanner.’ Her surface designs are striking, inspired by local fauna and flora, trendy, colourful and so much more. But I will leave Lelia to tell you more about herself in the interview below… ENJOY!
As always… yours in service of design… Rose.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself – where are you from, what makes you tick, how did you get started?
I illustrate, design, paint, print, photograph, create surface patterns, and write as much as is humanly possible.
I dance a lot in my lounge, eat mostly raw food and masses of chocolate and believe love is stronger than hate. I’ve was born an artist and crafter – driving my mother batty as a youngster cutting up my clothes to re-make them in my own way. I sold my first artworks at the age of 10 from my mum’s art studio/gallery. Nowadays, I create designs for business, make my own gorgeous products, paint photograph nature and write about finding your own creative currency.
Q: Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?
I could say self -taught – but that isn’t ever strictly true. My mother, my unknown father, my grandparents and many more wonderful human beings who have influenced my life and were all creative entrepreneurs, have directly and indirectly taught me what I know now.
Q: Tell me more about issiMya (interesting name by the way) and your range of services/products?
Thank you. I’m not sure what it means – it popped into my head while rumbling along a farm road. It’s the name of my Cape Fynbos inspired range of textile designs. As an illustrator and graphic artist – I also design logos and illustrative themes for businesses. Last year I signed up with UK agents Advocate Art, to make a selection of my designs and art available for licensing worldwide.
Q: I notice you use quite a wide variety of mediums in your art pieces – what’s your favourite?
Drawing. Everything starts with a pencil line.
Q: What inspires you and where do you draw your inspiration from?
Nature and my belief in worlds we cannot see with our physical eyes.
Q: Do you have a particular style and if so could you describe it?
Ridiculous amounts of detail right up against simplicity and extremes in colour, line and form.
Q: I see you have a fabric range in the pipe line – tell us more about it…
Well, there is the protea and fynbos inspired issiMya range – I spent a year on our farm on the west coast creating the initial ink and aquarelle illustrations that I then digitized and turned into patterns. I am totally in love with this range.
Then there’s the newer Natural History photographic collection; west coast and Karoo veld treasures with a sprinkling of man-made finds, naturally weathered into fascinating sculptural objects. They started out as box framed collections available at Cecile & Boyd’s Trade Showroom and The Haas Collective in the Bo-Kaap. The photos I took of each treasure collection inspired a range of fabric designs as well.
I am presently looking for the right fabric house or savvy business person to collaborate with in producing the range. If I don’t find that person/business I am going to launch it myself.
Q: When is it launching?
This year. TBC
Q: Are you considering developing any specific product from the fabric? (Ex. scatter cushions)
I’ve already started with some samples: Gorgeous cushions, gift wrap, gift cards, wallpaper, vinyl wall art and fabric by the meter.
Q: You’ve got some product on Etsy – a relatively unfamiliar avenue for most South Africans. How’s Etsy working for you?
I started my Etsy shop as an experiment in getting myself used to the whole online selling world. I made some sales, then started my website and got thoroughly side-tracked into making that into a gallery /shop / blog. I think in order to make Etsy shops work as a business one has to be dedicated to spending enormous amounts of time online and marketing it everywhere. I’ve only just started with that, so we’ll see.
Q: Tell us five things on your Bucket List…
Buy a farm with mountains and a river running through it, skydive, be in a flashmob dance, find lasting inner peace, and travel into outer space.
Q: Future plans?
All of the above ; )
…and an up-coming photographic exhibition called ‘A Fragile Nature’ – photo’s taken on a road trip to the Karoo.
Check out Leila’s website: here, or drop by her Etsy shop if you want to purchase any of her beautiful stationary and prints!
Be sure to catch our next post as Leila designed something special just for our The Design Tabloid readers!
Like this:
ONE DAY Art Exhibition
When we interviewed artist and designer Ashley Wood a couple of months ago for our article on her latest brilliant product range, she was working on new artworks for a one day art exhibition, partially curated by her and fellow Ruth Prowse graduates, Kathrina Foster, Bianca de Klerk, Anya Kovacs and Adele van Heerden. Well, after months of work and preparation the exhibition date and location is set! Be sure to set aside the afternoon /evening of Saturday the 26th of November. Looks to be quite the awesome indie event – it’s got a little underground vibe to it.
For more info check out ONE DAY art’s facebook page: here
The image below was taken at a previous ONE DAY art event. Looks seriously cool!
Related articles
- Ashley Wood Inspires… (thedesigntabloid.com)
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The Road To Greatness
Become an Artist, Interior Designer or Decorator in 6 weeks with this easy to understand course – RUBBISH!
You see this type of thing all the time and some people really believe that they can become good at something within a short period. Ask yourself, who you know who is great at what he does and has not been doing it for more than 10 years. No designer, no decorator and no artist. Most successful artists have been painting all their lives.
So you want to be an artist, you go out, you buy yourself some canvas, you print some business cards with your name in a nice artistic script with “Fine Artist” underneath it. You start painting. Clearly, things don’t go as well as you expected. The immediate most common route thereafter – you change your business card, which now reads like this: your name and “Abstract Artist” underneath it. At this point after not selling a single painting, or maybe one or two to your great Aunt, you decide to try your hand at interior decorating. Now your re-decorate your sister’s house free of charge, leading once again to a change of the business card details.
Once again – RUBBISH!!
Here is how it really works.
Something ignites a tiny flame inside you and points you in a direction. You start looking in that direction. You start yearning to understand it. You start reading and you start doing. The desire gets stronger, the drive takes over and you don’t stop doing. Nothing else matters, the lack in sales is a non-issue. You don’t need clients – you just love doing it.
Then one day you begin to realize that if you had an ounce of talent when you started out , 6 or 7 years down the line, you begin realize you that can almost do this thing. Clients find you, finances come and the drive gets even stronger. That is how long it truly takes. Tiger Woods started playing golf when he was 4 years old. It has taken him a lifetime to become great at it. It is no different for anyone you can think of who is great in their profession. Imagine this- undergoing an operation by a person who decided to become a surgeon last week. There is very little difference – he does or he doesn’t know what the hell he is doing.
I remember the day I decided to become an artist. The smell of oil paint was the ignition. I remember painting through the night and then sleeping on my school desk in the day. I remember painting on every bed sheet my mother owned until I had to sleep on a mattress. I remember painting before eating, before drinking. It consumed me and still does to this day. There is no place in the world that I would rather be than standing behind an easel. It has been 26 years now and I finally understand what I am doing. I recently looked back at some of my earlier work done in the first few years as an artist (or my delusion of being an artist at the time) only to realize now, that I clearly knew very little at the time. I also realize that there is not enough time left to learn all I want to learn about art.
The most common question asked when someone stands in front of my work is, how long does it take to paint a piece. It is difficult to answer without getting annoyed because it took a lifetime. What I would call a Master Series Painting now takes me only hours to complete because of years of understanding what paint does. Every brush stroke is now exact and intentional, whereas in the beginning it was hit and miss.
It takes desire, it takes drive, and it takes hours and hours and hours of practice.
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason, mastery demands all of a person” - Albert Einstein
So, to consistently create great sellable artworks and note I said consistently, give yourself 6 years at least before you print your business cards. This goes for pretty much any profession that takes skill of the hand or eye.
There is no protection left in the world for the unknowing consumer. Gone are the days when an artisan had to do a long apprenticeship under a Master or a designer had to belong to a Designer’s Guild. Your decorator may be able to wing a conversation on the latest colour trends but can he/she measure your curtains?
In conclusion, let me leave you with this thought – the next time you hire a surgeon, decorator, interior designer or artist, consider whether they have all it takes to do the job consistently well.
P.S. This is my very first blog, so if is not done well wait 6 or 7 years…
Related articles
- 8 Paintings In 8 Days (www.thedesigntabloid.com)
- Gavin Collins – Contemporary Artist (www.thedesigntabloid.com)
Like this:
Décor Dictionary: Graphic Art
Since graphic prints in all forms, shapes and colours are currently so hot, hot, HOT we asked talented local graphic designer Bianca from The Tailored Life to hammer down a definition for us:
Graphic Art: is a broad term encompassing mainly two dimensional artwork created on a computer. Graphic artists or designers typically use design software to create this graphic art. Graphic artworks regularly feature abstract shapes, typography and illustrations manipulated by the artist. The artwork is generally reproduced through litho, digital or screen printing onto textiles like paper, fabric and vinyl. Because graphic art is easily reproduced it is more affordable and therefore accessible to new art collectors.
The “Keep Calm and Carry On” print is an example of a popular graphic artwork. While the original posters were created by the British government in 1939, the famous quote and poster has recently been reproduced by graphic artists in a plethora of variations and spin-offs.
Be sure to check out Bianca’s inspiring blog (it’s one of our favourites): The Tailored Life.
Image via
Abigail K Captures Precious Moments
By now you would surely have noticed that we like photography as an art form what with all the photographers we have recently featured.
Well here we are again, with yet another talented lady to profile – allow me to introduce to you, the lovely Abigail Klopper.
Abigail is such a charming person and I guess that makes it easier for her to skilfully capture the true essence of a person, recording the precious moments for all time. She is able to artfully present something so personal and unique in her photography.
Even images of inanimate objects such as a candelabra you could effortless use as an art piece in your space.
Enjoy the pieces of her life she shares with us now…
Q: How did you get into photography?
A: My dad is an avid hobbyist and growing up, he always had his camera on holiday trips and special events. When my husband and I got together, we did lots of travelling ourselves and we started snapping away on holiday to remember our memories. The hobby soon turned into a passion and naturally progressed into something that I wanted to do for other people.
Q: Do you have a particular style and if so could you describe it?
A: The styles of my shoots are dictated by the client and the purpose of the shoot. If I had to restrict myself to a particular style, I suppose I’d say it borders on the contemporary.
Q: What sort of services do you offer?
A: I specialise in weddings, corporate and private events and corporate and private portraits.
Q: What is your favoured subject matter?
A: Weddings, children and babies.
Q: What inspires you?
A: Cape Town inspires me! I love being a photographer in Cape Town because it’s such a beautiful city with so many beautiful backdrops filled with beautiful people.
Q: How would you describe your life’s philosophy?
A: I’m a ‘glass-half-full’ kinda girl. I always try to be positive and believe that in any situation, as in life, what we put in is what we get out.
Q: What is next to your bedside pedestal at the moment?
A: A Photo of my husband and I and my i-pod
Q: Could you share your Secret Indulgence with us?
A: Late morning lie-ins, E! Channel and loud 80’s music!
Q: In five years time …
A: I’ll be 5 years wiser, 5 years more successful and with 5 more years to be grateful for.
Pay a visit to Abigail’s website for more: www.abigailk.co.za
And if you have that special occasion you would like her to capture and interpret for you, then drop her line: info@abigailk.co.za
