”The satisfaction of
seeing my own drawings
come together in a
packaged product form
which is sold all over
Australia is great.”Below: ”I worked for
Sheridan bed linen when
freelancing and used
to try and smuggle
my initials into every
design I did for them!”I can remember clearly the thrill
of seeing one of my first textile designs
all over the Monsoon store in
Knightsbridge as I cycled past.M
ost of my double
degree in Textile
Design and Art
History from
Loughborough Art College was
spent as a frustrated painter,
not really wanting to conform,
certainly not wanting to design
flowers or do much other than
gatecrash the life drawing
classes of the fine artists.
But I got my lucky break at my
degree show when I was offered
my first job as a junior designerin a Battersea studio called Jake
Designs. I was taught how to
turn my drawing and colour skills
into commercial designs. We
would produce ranges of textile
designs to sell internationally.
I remember clearly the thrill of
seeing one of my first designs all
over Monsoon in Knightsbridge
as I cycled by! I still have a scarf
of that design somewhere.
I spent the next few years
learning how to recognise a
commercial trend, interpretwhat colours were in or out and
enjoying selling a lot of designs
to customers all over the world.
Ironically I started getting
known for well-drawn florals or
conversational designs and my
name, Helen Laura Ashley, just
added to the reputation.
After a few years of living in
London and travelling, I ended
up emigrating to Sydney and
now have three Australian kids
and call Australia home.
I managed a design
studio where
the work was
virtually all
commissioned:
a specific design
for a specific
brief or customer.I think this bit of being a designer
is like being an actor. You have
to envisage the customer, their
market, budget, taste and see
things through their eyes; this
meant learning a new set of
design skills. Communication
and interpretation of a brief
were paramount. This was all
about speed, fashion, stress
and deadlines. In this period I
designed the Olympic swimsuit,
Best & Less undies and was
doing work from Australian
fashion designer Collette
Dinnigan one minute and the
supermarket chains the next.
Australia is small and there was
no room to be a job snob!
I freelanced when I had
children; my friendships with
other designers and fashion
houses brought me enough
design work and
I enjoyed the
freedom of
working from
home. I worked
for Sheridan
bed linen during this
time. I used to try andHelen Laura Ashley