Here at Ruck Rover, Amanda Alessi's tea towel designs are making us all wish it was morning tea time. Well, it's 11am in the world somewhere! To wind down the clock 'til we can grab a cup of tea and a doughnut of our own, we asked Amanda to tell us the story behind her beautifully kitsch designs.
Who is Amanda Alessi?
I'm a graphic designer and typoholic who loves frolicking in fields, daydreaming
about letterpress printing and eating sweets. I'm
currently studying at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, and by the end
of 2012 I will have a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Graphic
Design. I am passionate about publication design, branding, typography and package design.
I also hold an interest in photography and recently became resident photographer
for a fashion blog called Poison in a Beautiful Bottle.
Where do you get your inspiration?
It's hard to pinpoint really. I find inspiration everywhere. It might be an
amazing business card I see or a pretty photo on a blog. I've found that
Pinterest.com is a great place for organising, and browsing for things of
interest.
What's your favourite type of doughnut?
Haha well strangely enough I work as a casual at Brumby's so I'm often
surrounded by doughnuts. They aren't as exciting as I once thought but jam
doughnuts are definitely my favourite.
Tell us about the screen printing process?
Firstly I create a design and print it out in black and white to the exact
size of the tea towel. The image is exposed onto a silk screen than has been
covered in emulsion. After being rinsed, the design should show through the
emulsion. Then you are ready to start printing! I usually have specific colours
in mind so I mix my own inks. I also have to heat press the tea towels to set
the ink. This means they can be machine washed and used vigorously without
fading. The hardest part would be working with the emulsion. It is a very heat
and light sensitive substance and a few months ago I accidentally left the
container in my car on a hot day. Let's just say you learn from your
mistakes.
What do you have in store for the future?
I started creating tea towels because I enjoyed screen printing. I didn't
plan to sell them but I had a positive response from a lot of people so I
thought I would give it a go. I'm focusing mainly on graphic design so the tea
towels are a fun side project.
Amanda Alessi tea towels retail for $22 and are available from Ruck Rover in three designs. Choose from doughnuts (my favourite - yum!), tea cups stacks and the tea time tea bag design. They are lovely and large, measuring approximately 50 x 70 cm. They are 100% cotton and fine to be machine washed. Choose from a few colours!
You can keep up to date with Amanda's comings and goings via her website, her facebook page, her blog or her Pinterest!
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