LA Gift Show Trends

     Trending at The Reef 2017 

This week I attended the Los Angeles Gift Show at The Reef, located at the Los Angeles Gift Mart.

The Trends I saw happening for 2017 are: Black & White, Natural Artisan, Modern Nostalgia, Palm Beach, Cuba, Blue and White Chinois, World Vibes.

Thank you to my favorite Showrooms at the Gift Mart: Two's Company, Fine Lines, Stephan Young and Karen Alweil Studio, 

We are so inspired!

 Black and White Trends

Sophisticated, Natural, Vintage Graphics, Geometric Ceramics, Feathers, Stone and Reclaimed Wood 

Blue Coast

Beach, Palms, Handmade, Shells, Global, Vintage, Blue and Aqua, Distressed Wood, Seahorses, Boats, Chinese Ceramics, Glass, Marbling

 Pink Palm Beach 

1960's, Pink, Yellow, Green, Aqua, Beach Glam, Floral, Geo, Cactus, Pineapple, Marbling, Pop Culture

 See you next time with more trends!

XO,

Nina

Round Beach Towels

Round Beach Towels

New in my Pixels shop are Round Beach Towels.  The Hottest Trend on the Beach here in Santa Monica, Sunset and Malibu Beaches in California. 
I have Tie-Dye and Mandala Boho Styles available now.  

Have fun on your Beach Day and don't forget your Sunscreen.

Enjoy!
XOX,
Nina

New Notebbooks

New Notebooks for Kess InHouse

Lepparo Notebook

Drip Dye Warm

  Mohave Sun

                                                               Artika Blue                             

Navano Blue

Peachy Nava

Kess Inhouse has many new porducts launched lately. The company has grown so much over the past 2 years I have licensed my patterns with them.

Just in time for Back To School, Notebooks are here! I have 69 different patterns and colors to choose from. Shown are some of my freshest prints. You can write in them as a Journal or Draw in them as a Sketchbook. All Notebooks are $15.00 each. Collect them all!

Enjoy.

XOX,Nina

Hand-Painted Doc Martens

  Hand-Painted Doc Martens for My Daughter

 My fun weekend project brought me back to the good old days of designing hand-painted clothing for boutiques on trendy Melrose Avenue and in posh Beverly Hills. Ari my daughter, has been bugging me to paint some Hippie Fun Flowers on her Docs this Summer.

So I had her choose her colors and went with it. I first made some stencil patterns to figure out the placement. I then traced with a paint marker. Then, I painted with fabric paint a couple white undercoats since the leather is dark and black. My daughter chose Neon shades for the flowers. I think the boots look really fun and cute. Very feminine for Doc Martens!  I will post another photo

later of my happy daughter. :-)

XO,

Nina

      

The process:
Stencils

White undercoats

Neon Paint 

Custom Hand-Painted Docs for Ari

Freelance Design Project

 Nina May Designs

Collaboration With Buff USA

I have been working with a wonderful Sports Apparel Company for a couple years who originally found me from my Behance portfolio.

I found out Buff USA, designed and supplied the headbands/neckwear for the CBS show"Survivor".  I work closely with the Creative Director who sends me the season's trend brief, templates and color story. We go back and forth editing and refining a Unisex and Jr. line of pattern designs for the next catalog and Sports Apparel trade shows. This process usually has a tight deadline of 2 weeks. So, I try to come up with a good variety of designs to choose from and offer 2 or 3 color-ways for each pattern. The fun for me is making lots of color choices because I never know which one will be chosen for the line. I am always surprised and pleased when my patterns make it to the catalog and to the online store. It's satisfying to know my client can count on me to help the line sell to buyers for the upcoming seasons. 

I really love working on freelance projects and enjoy the process of Concept through Production.

Thanks for reading about an inside look at my Freelance Designer life.

XOX,

Nina

Here are some of my designs from the Buff USA Catalogs:

 My Tiger Stripe Group for the Buff USA Spring Catalog

Cosmic Galaxy Print by Nina May Designs

Example of Color-ways and pattern design by Nina May Designs

 Sunset Tiger, Tiger Sky Stripes by Nina May Designs

Peony Floral Print by Nina May Designs bottom right

Nina May Designs Tropical Fusion Blog Hop

Welcome to the Nina May Designs

Tropical Fusion Blog Hop

Inspired by Pantone Color of The Year

Radiant Orchid

Thanks Claire Lordon Design: Claire Lordon  for your Adorable prints and patterns for children's wear!

     I am so excited to be included in this exciting group of

Surface Pattern Designers from around the globe participating in the Blog Hop fun! We all have a chance to show off our diverse

skills and styles in Surface Pattern Design. We are promoting each other and having fun at the same time discovering new ideas and inspirations. We would love for you to join us and follow our

blogs. You can inquire also about our Design Services.

Nina May Designs uses Bright Color On-Trend Themes such as Abstracts, Ethnics and Florals for Home Decor, Apparel and Fashion Doll Apparel.

Here is my Sola Collection designed especially for the 

Tropical Fusion Theme. I was Inspired by my love of Brazilian

Bossa Nova and the Martial Art, Capoeira!

My second group of designs are my Cerreada Group, inspired by Orchids, Animal Prints and my Tropical trips to Fiji and Hawaii over the years.

Thanks for joining me here on my new blog.

Please now follow my Surface Pattern Design friend, Tina Devins at Dreaming on a Star Designs :Dreaming on a Star Tropical Fusion Blog Post . Enjoy her cool Funky Patterns on Home Decor.

Thanks to our Blog Hop Organizer Mary Tanana of Groovity Designs,  made this happen today!

Visit her blog and go around the world with us here:Groovity Designs Tropical Fusion Blog Hop  

Thanks!

XOX,

Nina