This time we're hearing from Sian Elin, an interior and textile designer who works from her studio in Cardiff. Sian is hugely popular with our customers, who love her use of colour, simple lines and shapes to create textiles & homeware pieces that will give any home a flare of fun and style. We wanted to know what gives Sian her inspiration to create such interesting designs and how she executes them so beautifully...

Location: Cardiff

Can you summarise your journey to becoming a designer in five steps?

• Studied Art A Level

• Undertook Art Foundation course

• Studied Graphic Design at University

• Worked as a children's book designer for publishing companies

• Set up Sian Elin in 2012, designing patterns for interior products.

What inspires your work?

The story behind my designs is a fusion of “East Meets West” – Eastern patterns rendered in hand-drawn graphic Scandinavian shapes, styling and colours. I discovered Islamic and Moorish architecture on my travels to India, the Middle East, and Southern Spain and was so mesmerized, I wanted to do something with them.

East meets west in Sian's beautiful collection of homeware

What is a typical workday for you?

I work from a studio in Cardiff which I share with a photographer. A typical day would include dealing with orders, answering many emails, working with sales reps, and currently finalising my new collection.

Who is your favourite designer/maker?

Ooooh. So many! I think my all time favourite is the Marimekko brand.

What is your most treasured item of homeware?

I love my stripy teapot my boyfriend got me a few years ago. It's super functional but also very pretty to look at. It's a cylinder style teapot with a built in strainer.

Which of your own designs are you most proud of and why?

Erm, I think first collection, which includes my Horseshoe Arch, and Tress patterns. I think I'll always be most proud of them because they launched my brand and helped me garner lots of positive press and attention.

We love the east meets west inspiration here, it really comes through in Sian's work and the way it is beautifully photographed. You can pick from a wide selection of Sian's pieces both in store and online!

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