Snow = blog blog blog!

I've (Cheryl-ann) been blogging mad since the arrival of the snow and being home bound for 10 days has given her the time to get stuck in to the blogging world. Check out what I've been up too.

Thank you for taking the time to visit.

Cheryl-ann

Design Farm Studio - snow, work and play!

The snow has fallen, the car hasn't moved...we have been Studio bound for 10 days!

What have we been up to?

Meetings had to be rearranged but we had such a productive few days and got so much work done. We are so lucky to have a log burner in our studio, however, the stash of coal we ordered for the winter is diminishing fast. We couldn't resist a little photo shoot and play in the snow.

Bog Books Ltd has added a Jigsaw puzzle of the Yorkshire map to its range... take a look. Gary and I ventured out into the paddock to take a photo to put on the BB website to advertise and sell the puzzle. Tim, Sarah, Gary and I have been overwhelmed with the success of our new addition!

We thought it would be great to have the caption "A GREAT CHRISTMAS STOCKING FILLER THAT'S PERFECT FOR THOSE COLD, SNOWY WINTER NIGHTS!! - Hence my hike to the famous wall!

Gary and I finished off the day with our second print run of 2500 Bog Books Charity Christmas Cards for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, 2500 evvelopes and 500 cello bags...oh and mulled wine, open fire and the company of Delilah our cat!

Thanks for stopping by Cheryl-ann and Gary

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO LATELY

Well 2010 has been a bit of a crazy old year for Design Farm, hence the lack of blogging this year really. As well as working with existing clients to improve and update websites and promotional artwork we have worked on some great new projects and met some fab people along the way so we thought we'd show you a few examples of what we've been up to lately with a few links and stuff.

Big Bear Bikes & Big Bear Active - www.bigbearbikes.co.uk and www.bigbearactive.co.uk
This was a massive project for us as we had to develop a striking new brand for Big Bear that could be used across all aspects of their business online and on clothing, vehichles in-store and in print media and then also develop a website that would allow them to tell the world about what they do in their own unique way. We worked very closely with the very enthusiastic and knowledgable Mike Hawtin to deliver the new Big Bear project to the highest standard and we enjoyed it very much!

Check these guys out 'cos they really know their stuff about anything to do with mountain biking and bikes themselves.

Eleven Westgate - www.elevenwestgate.co.uk
Eleven Westgate B&B in Pickering is run by Mike Hawtin (of Big Bear fame above) and they offer fantastic mountain biker friendly accommodation a stones throw away from the Big Bear shop and within easy distance of Dalby Forest and the North York Moors where Mike takes people on guided rides as he is a professionally qualified instructor. He knows all the good places to get muddy in the area!

Contract Solutions Northern Ltd - www.contract-solutions.co.uk
After developing the branding for Contract Solutions Northern Ltd in 2009 we undertook the development of a new website to promote their services online. Karl and Tracy Reid were fantastic to work with and we really love the simplicity and style of the site we developed for them...and so do they!

Gales House Farm Cottages - www.galeshousefarmcottages.co.uk
One of our trademark areas at Design Farm is working with high quality holiday acccomodation and Georgina and Steve Hackett have made a wonderful job of bringing Gales House Farm to life this year. We developed a subtle logo and a clean, contemporary website to really show off the wonderful photographs taken by Pickering based Photographer Andy Bulmer.

Gayle Sutherland, A Creative Touch - www.gaylesutherland.co.uk
For this project we developed a brand and a website to allow Gayle to promote her work as a creative consultant across the cultural sector and with organisations who engage, or partner with, cultural institutions to support their work.

Toftly Retreat - www.toftlyretreat.co.uk
Barbara and Neville Hobbs were one of our first clients when we set up Design Farm all those years ago when we branded and built a website for their new Luxury Bed & Breakfast Accommodation called Toftly View in Newton Upon Rawcliffe. Toftly Retreat is their new side project. The Toftly Retreat has been designed for couples and walkers needing a relaxing getaway but with everything to hand. Pickering Town Centre, where you will find all you need for a self catering break, is within walking distance from Joiners Yard.

Barbara and Neville's two children Fiona and Anthony run a successful home-made chocolate business from home called Toftly Treats...check them out, the chocolate is very, very good and they do bespoke orders for parties and special occasions!

Hazelwood Carpentry Contractors Ltd - www.hazelwoodcarpentry.co.uk
A family affair this one as Hazelwood Carpentry Contractors Ltd was set up by Gary's uncle Martin Jenkins, a very experienced Carpenter and Manager. We developed a new brand for the company to be used on business stationery, workwear and the website. Hazelwood Carpentry Contractors Ltd pride themselves on working with sustainable Welsh timber and being eco concious. At present the branding is completed but the website is almost ready. We used the colours of the Welsh flag to subliminally reference the heritage of the company.

SNOW HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well it was snow stopped play this week for us here at Design Farm so we thought we'd put our shovels to good use and make something useful out of all this lovely white stuff we got over the weekend. So, a coffee table and twelve stools was born out of the snow in the garden opposite the studio and it was great fun to do but took a few hours and two cups of tea! We are going to have some sandwiches on it on Christmas Eve if the weather is nice!

We also went walkabout in Levisham this week and took some nice snaps of the lovely snow-laden village and surroundings which was rather cold but enjoyable, have a look at the pics below, especially the huge icicles, amazing!

NEW ADVENTURE FOR DESIGN FARM!

During the last six months Cheryl-ann and I have been working extremely hard alongside an author called Ian Bowie, artist Tim Bulmer and his wife Sarah to set up an independent publishing company where we can write, illustrate, design and publish our own range of high quality humorously illustrated books with the tongue-in-cheek tag line of "Entertaining reading for an inspirational lavatorial experience". Ian first approached Tim in April and the concept moved on very quickly from there and when they invited us at Design Farm to come on board we jumped at the chance to work on something so exciting. So, after a lot of planning and hard work, Bog Books Ltd was set up to bring the idea to life. Bog Books are basically for anyone with a good and broad sense of humour. They make excellent ‘stocking filler’ gifts or a souvenir gift as well as a great present to oneself!

The very first Bog Book is called “Yorkshire Pudding ‘n’ All That Tripe” and it is an affectionate tribute to all the friendly folk of Yorkshire and their illustrious county. The book contains a special edition fold-out Bog Books ‘Map of Yorkshire’ which can also be bought as a beautiful ‘giclée’ watercolour print, in fact all the full page illustrations are available as prints via our website.

We are launching Bog Books in a number of places in Yorkshire over the next few months including Pickering, Whitby and York. The weekend of 16th, 17th & 18th October sees the Bog Books hometown of Pickering turned into 1943 Wartime Britain. The annual Wartime Weekend has coincided with the launch of "Yorkshire Pudding 'n' All That Tripe" and our good friends at The Ginger Pig have kindly allowed Bog Books to use their currently empty shop space in the middle of Pickering's Market Place to call our own for the weekend. There will be 'Ration Book' flyers being handed out all around town giving you £1.00 off the RRP of £8.95 of the book and FREE entry into a prize draw for a specially signed copy of the Bog Books Map of Yorkshire. So come along to Bog Books at The Ginger Pig to see all we have to offer and pick up a nifty present to remind yourself of Yorkshire!

Bog Books Ltd are also proud to be affiliated with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Charity and are doing their bit to keep this amazing group of people going. YAA save lives all over Yorkshire, and sometimes beyond, and their tireless effort should not go unnoticed. Bog Books Ltd donate money from the profits of every single copy of the "Yorkshire Pudding 'n' All That Tripe" book to the charity and also donate profits from every "Bog Books Map of Yorkshire" and every giclée print from the book!

You can purchase the book and any of the prints via our website so have a look to find out a bit more about us www.bogbooksltd.co.uk

You can also keep up to date with what’s going on at Bog Books HQ by visiting our blog at www.bogbooksbogblog.blogspot.com

So go and check us out when you have a minute or two!

THE FIRST DESIGN FARM BABY - LENNON HAS HATCHED!

Baby Lennon has hatched!

On Tuesday 22nd September 2009 at 10.48am Cheryl-ann did a bloody marvelous job giving birth to our first child, a little boy called Lennon Taylor Davies who weighed in at 7lb 12oz. Mother and baby are both doing really well and we are all settling into Levisham life comfortably! He’s as cute as can be and will hopefully take the best bits from both of us! Lennon will have Cheryl-ann’s surname as his middle name and my surname as his surname.

Lennon was due on Friday 25th September but decided he was cooked enough and so with a dash to Malton Hospital at 4am he made an early appearance by water birth which was absolutely fantastic. We are extremely proud parents and are enjoying every second of these precious moments.

Gary, Cheryl-ann and Lennon

YOUR HOME MAGAZINE ARTICLE

The September 2009 issue of Your Home magazine features an article on Cheryl-ann and myself and our home.

Back in November we did a photo shoot and interview at our home for Your Home magazine which. We had a fantastic couple of days full of laughs, cake and plenty of coffee! It also got us out of the studio for a change which was nice too.

We had such fun dressing the cottage for the shoot. We are both eternally grateful for the amazing jobs the photographer and journalist did in capturing the true essence of our home in the article. Our dog Freckle was a hit and quite rightly so a she is such a lovely little dog. She turned out to be such a poser! She loved having her photo taken and was trying to muscle her way into every shot...this one below is so cute...think 'His Master's Voice'.

The opportunity for the article came about through Cheryl-ann's Knitwear exhibtion 'Dress' which she undertook at The Ryedale Folk Museum From August to October in 2008. We met the journalist when he came to The Studio to write and article about Cheryl-ann for Yorkshire Life Magazine.

You can buy the magazine in most good newsagents and it costs £1.99

Click on the page images to view in a readable size.

VOCATION, VOCATION, VOCATION

It's all go here today! Just in case you didn't see it first time around back In November 2007, a repeat of the documentary we took part in was shown on Channel 4 this morning. You can watch Vocation, Vocation, Vocation online at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/vocation-vocation-vocation/catch-up#2920683
for the next 29 days (Tues 14th July)

It was good fun to do and great helping out a young lad called Liam who needed a bit of direction.

EWE PUT THE 'FARM' IN DESIGN FARM!

"QUICK EWE LOT, I'VE FOUND A WAY IN!"

"WILL EWE PUSH ME ON THE SWINGS?"

"WHAT ARE EWE LOT UP TO?"

What a way to start the week! A local farmer has been putting his sheep into one of the fields belonging to Cheryl-ann parents recently. They are cute little things and seemingly full of mischief! I was beavering away in the studio this morning and heard a really loud sheep say 'Baaaaaa!' and I thought 'wow, that sounds close'. I looked out of the studio door and there were about 15 sheep playing in the garden! I grabbed my camera and thought i'd quietly take a few snaps of them before i rounded them up and put them back into the field. They had planned The Great Escape Steve McQueen style and scaled the fence then proceeded to eat trees and plants in the garden...hilarious! They must have been tastier than the grass they usually eat so I felt a bit mean spoiling thier fun!

So they did a massive 'Ewe' turn as I chased them back into the field where they belonged, maybe they bit off more than they could chew! Just goes to show, if Ewe want something that bad, Ewe can get it! (Sorry!)

OUR 4TH BIRTHDAY! SPRING CHICKENS CAN BE 4 YEARS OLD TOO!

Here at Design Farm we are celebrating our 4^th Birthday today! Wow! Where has the time gone?

We feel so privileged to be able to still be doing what we love and enjoy 4 years down the line. We really couldn’t have done it without the support and trust of our loyal client base. We have learnt so much during the past 4 years and we are so pleased to be growing bigger and stronger every year and always looking for ways to improve our knowledge, skills and services.

We have had a fantastic time working on so many projects of all shapes and sizes and with people from all walks of life and this is what makes what we do so exciting.

A few personal highlights for us are:

July 2005 - Formica Design a Laminate 2005 Shortlist

We had two of our graphic designs short listed and published in the Formica Design a Laminate Book 2005. One of the designs 'Roses' was put into the final 25 in the 'Organic Category'.

January 2006 - Sky One's Project Catwalk

Cheryl-ann spent time in January working on 3 knitted garments for our good friend and Fashion Designer Debi Walker - www.dewk.co.uk who appeared on Sky One’s ‘Project Catwalk’. Debi’s designs were displayed and scrutinised by the judges Ben De Lisi, Julian MacDonald, Lorraine Candy and Liz Hurley at London Fashion week on 13^th February 2006.

May 2007 - The Gallery at Ryedale Folk Museum Furniture Installation – ‘Old at Heart

Design Farm wanted to create a functional yet aesthetically pleasing group of furniture pieces that would compliment the interior of the Ryedale Folk Museum Gallery and the Museum itself. The concept of ‘Old at Heart’ came about through in the initial brainstorming session. We wanted to combine the immense sense of history the Museum has with the contemporary feel the new Gallery achieves by using the ‘Old’ materials running through the ‘Heart’ of the new materials. We knew that the pieces would need to be used collectively and individually so were very careful with the design to allow this multi-functional usage.

We believe that ‘Old at Heart’ conveys the past, present and future of the Ryedale Folk Museum through the use of old and new materials. The concept is a reference to the contents and the history of the Museum (the ‘Old’) and the present Staff and Volunteers (the Heart) that support its continuity into the future.

The Plinth

This piece can be used as a plain, simple plinth to accommodate works of art in an exhibition scenario and also as a display area for a touch screen computer and monitor. The oak ‘Spine’ literally runs through the heart of the plinth giving it a connection to the other pieces. The angled shape of the plinth at the bottom is to allow easy and neat storage of the other pieces.

The resemblance to a standard plinth is deliberate as we feel this piece, even though it has a distinct oak feature, would not look out of place when being used in an exhibition to display work. The plinth has a shelf area on the front, showing the oak spine, which can be used for placing leaflets and flyers. The plinth has a lockable door on the back which allows the computer and touch screen monitor to be stored when not in use.

The Stools

The sides of the oak topped stools have waney edges giving the oak a natural feel to it. The fronts and backs are cut into straight segments across the width of the oak spine. The stools all have identical steel frame legs which are angled at the bottom to gives the user a guide to alignment when tidying the stools away.

The stools were designed so that they can be used individually or bolted together as benches. Gallery visitors can sit and view/interact with the touch screen monitor on top of the plinth or just simply take in their surroundings. The stools can also be used independently of the plinth and placed around the gallery or the Museum foyer.

November 2007 - Channel 4 Documentary 'Vocation, Vocation, Vocation'
The 10 part series was based around the decisions that young people have to make when they leave school and how they will affect them for the rest of their lives. Vocation, Vocation, Vocation tackled the problem head-on and followed ten individual teenagers as they seek to find their true vocation in life.

Liam Meeson, a budding young entrepreneur from Leeds who has ambitions of becoming his own boss, was sent to Design Farm to experience a day in the life of a creative design company, as well as seeing first hand the pressures and day to day obstacles faced with when running a business. Design Farm set a project called ‘Useless to Useful’ which challenged Liam to make a useful piece of furniture out of a load of old, useless materials to test his design skills and ability to think on his feet.

We were asked to produce a mini project for Liam allowing him to experience the creative design process. Our role was to act as mentors throughout the day, allowing him to take control of the project and make his own decisions. As we offer a range of design services at Design Farm, from bespoke contemporary furniture commissions and fashion design to web site and graphic design, we feel that our diverse skills were put to great use guiding Liam through a ‘day in the life’ of our design studio. It was a very exciting and enjoyable day for us all.

August 2008 - Cheryl-ann's 'Dress' Exhibition at The Gallery at Ryedale Folk Museum
During the residency Cheryl-ann, under her Fashion Label Knitwit Design, relocated her her industrial knitting and sewing machines to the Gallery where she created a collection of silk knitted dresses. She created seven garments using elegant dress silhouettes and concentrating on developing a section of each; neckline, cuff, waist, fastening, corsage, bodice and sleeve. The dresses were of vintage proportion and each had a different silhouette, and although they were complete dresses only the front of the garments were adorned, reflecting the conventions of the sample industry. In highlighting the individual components of the dress she explored the conventions of dressmaking and emphasised the importance of structure in her own garments.

"Movement in is so important to me, therefore creating garments which flow and hang exquisitely is key to expressing my vision of what the garment should be. Creating innovative silhouettes using knitwear to enhance the female form is where my passion lies. By weaving together beautiful yarn, strong use of colour and the flair to mix charming prints, delightful embroidery and exquisite knit stitches enables me to thrive as a knitwear designer.

My current work explores the concept of ‘vintage proportion’, and my main focus is to create garments which are beautiful but only fit the forms of old, where possessing an hour glass figure was so important. The scale of the dresses will be of vintage proportion, the dresses will be whole but only the front of the garment will be dressed or adorned – This reflects what I do with my samples as I only make the fronts."

May 2009 - Our Period House Cover Story
Our home features on the front cover of the May 2009 edition of Period House Magazine features our country cottage home. Pages 62-69 feature the article about us, view a PDF version here.

Back in November we did a photo shoot and interview at our home for Period House Magazine which was a fantastic couple of days full of laughs, cake and plenty of coffee! It also got us out of the studio for a change which was nice too.

The opportunity for the article came about through Cheryl-ann's Knitwear exhibtion 'Dress' which she undertook at The Ryedale Folk Museum From August to October 2008. We met the journalist when he came to The Studio to write and article about Cheryl-ann for Yorkshire Life Magazine.

It was good in a way that the magazine came out on the 2nd of April because we think if someone had said we were on the front cover of Period House Magazine the day before (April Fools Day) we may not have believed them!

Click on the images below to view in a larger format.

Who knows what the next year of Design Farm will bring but we assure you, recession or no recession, we will be challenging ourselves to achieve your goals to the highest standard and pushing for perfection every time.