Seasons Greetings

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We here at Sabah Designs would like to wish all our customers (old and new) a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. Thank you for all your support (and patience!) We hope to see many of you in the new year at Top Drawer Spring between 18th -20th January, where we will unvail some very exciting new spring ranges! See you soon.

New Range...New Designs

As I mentioned in my previous post, we've been busy developing some new card ranges for next year. Here are some images from a new range (which still has not been named ..... so please post in any suggestions!) created on a jamawar silk fabric base, with scanned images of my work and hand finished embellishments for that special touch. This range consists of 12 occasion cards for new baby , weddings, anniversary and engagement. All cards in this range are 150 x 150 mm square.

Polka Tots

Its been complete mayhem in the office these past few weeks with orders going out and newly designed samples coming in for approval virtually on a daily basis! This is the time of year we try and get most of our new ranges developed and catalogued in time for next years trade shows. These images fresh from the workshop are from our new range specifically designed for the younger market hence named 'polka tots'. There are 12 designs in total rangeing from robots to tiaras and cupcakes! Sized at 150 x 150 mm, these cards are individually cello wrapped and complimented with a pearlescent ivory envelope.

Belvoir Castle

Driving up to Belvoir Castle

From left to right: Sarah from Nostalchick, Rachel from Belly Button Designs and me.

One of many rooms with a magnificent decor

Had a fabulous day yesterday at the GCA's annual general meeting which was held in the historic settings of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. The morning started off with a line up of guest speakers and then various industry related proposals were put forward by Sharon Little and Jackie Brown.

After a brief tour of the castle we settled down for lunch in the state dining hall and got to mingle with our industry friends. It was a fantastic day out enjoyed by all!

Christmas Craft Fair

Sabah Designs latest exhibition

Venue: Active Arts - The Christmas Craft Market,

Countesthorpe College, Leicester

I will be exhibiting at Countesthorpe College next weekend. The Christmas Craft Market at Countesthorpe College is open to the public on Saturday 1st November from 10.00am to 4.00pm. There are 72 stalls selling unique handmade crafts, artwork and refreshments. The biggest, best and longest running craft fair in the county.

For further information on this exhibition, contact Ian Paterson on: 0116 277 6259

For further information about Sabah Designs contact Sabah on:07734 156200

Happy Birthday Princess

Today is my darling daughter Zainabs 8th birthday. I've been rushed off my feet all day trying to get the party organised. As usual I left everything to the last minute! She wanted a Ballerina theme for the party so I ordered a pretty pink cake with a ballerina on. The card I chose for her birthday is actually one of her favourites too as she helped me design it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!

Love Patch

I have just recieved the first set of samples of our latest Valentines range through the post this morning and I'm really pleased with the overall results in terms of finish. There are a total of 8 designs in this new range called 'Love Patch'. With wordings such as Sexy, Gorgeous, Kisses and Je t'aime. This sassy range looks set to be a hit with the retailers as we've already started taking orders simply by showing mocks to some of our customers.

Initial Sketches using water colour

So if you are a retailer and would like to stock this range simply call the office on 07734 156200 or contact one of our agents in your area. All cards are 150 mm square and are complimented with a deep red envelope.

London Fashion Week

I am a huge follower of London Fashion Week which kicked off with a positively sizzling start this weekend. New trends, dazzling ideas and weirdly wonderful clothes are always an inspiration to me.

'Walk on the Wild' is one of many greeting card ranges I have designed inspired by such trends. A total number of 12 designs are available in this range. For the latest brochure please contact the office on: 07734 156200

Valentines 2009 - Sketches

Today I thought I'd give you all a glimpse of our Valentine 09 range, which I sketched earlier on this summer. These initial sketches are at the embroiderers as we speak so a very nervous waiting time ..........

I'll keep you posted once we recieve the final proofs which should arrive in our office some time soon. There is a total of 8 designs with sentimental wording highlighted in emboss effect embroiderey.

Latimer Designs

Today I was in the beautiful village of Rothley hand delivering an order of some personalised photo albums to Latimer Designs, a gorgeous gifts and interiors shop in the heart of Rothley filled to the roof with an eclectic mix of unusual gifts and accessories for the home.

Definitely worth a visit if your in the area. Latimer Designs is at 19-21 Woodgate, Rothley, Leicestershire. Tel: 0116 230 1166

Gift Boxes

My lovely assistant Maria is off on her maternity leave, so here I am stuck in the studio alone trying to complete an order of 200 gift boxes and some photo albums. I've probably completed a third of the order by now and my little studio looks as if its been hijacked by boxes!

I think its time for a much earned tea break (with biscuits of course) !

Bloom

Ever since the begining of August, we seem to be taking more orders of the 'Bloom' greeting card range than any other range which some what has surprised me.This of course has led me to consider adding more designs to this range as well as updating some of the older designs. This vibrant range of greeting cards comprises of 12 embroidered flowers embellished with metallic sequins and a single large crystal. I'm thinking of adding some pastels shades to this collection and perhaps some captions to go with it.

Kitchen Goddess

I finally decided to plug in the smoothie maker and try some mouth watering smoothies this weekend. In the process I stumbled across a very interesting website with lots of recipes and tips on cooking and entertaining. I tried out their 'Juicy Duece' smoothie made from raspberries and soya vanilla which tasted absolutely devine. Check out their website for more delicious recipes at www.kitchengoddess.co.uk

Magic Wings

July has been a very busy month in the Sabah Designs office, since we have started taking our Christmas orders. However our bestselling range this season has been Magic Wings. This range of shimmering butterflies in sparkly metallic threads has been a real hit with the retailers. The range comprises of 8 different coloured butterflies on a textured cream card with the option of a ‘Happy Birthday’ caption. For more information on this range or to request a catalogue please ring the office on 07734 156200

Artists in the making.

Last week my 5 year old daughter Aneesa bought home from school her proudly sculptured clay model, "Spotty the Silver Snowman" which sadly broke an arm on our journey back home. Here he is sitting happily on my kitchen worktop!

One not to be beaten in the talent stakes my 7 year daughter Zainab yesterday bought home from school her imaculately finished model of "The Popping Eye Penguin". The structural detail and finish really did amaze me.

All Things Japaneese

I've started work on a new range of greeting cards which I shall be launching in spring 2009. Here is a sneaky peak of some of the fabrics that will be involved in the making of this range. On my recent travels to Asia, I fell in love with the adorable colours of these richly textured silk fabrics known as 'Jamawaar Silk'.
The initial idea is circling around a Japaneese theme......thats all I'm saying for now! I shall update you with sketches and prototypes as work progresses on this range. Watch this space!

Photo Shoot

For the past two weeks I've been busy designing and creating a beautiful range of Photo Albums to compliment the greeting card ranges that we already produce. I've introduced three different sizes small, medium and large made with 42 acid-free pages, interleaved with fine tissue and finally presented in a clear plastic case. I've been experimenting with a variety of different organza and chiffon ribbons and embellishments to give the photo albums that final touch and I'm really pleased with the results.

Lucky for me the weather has been on our side so I grabbed the oppurtunity and managed to fit in a (very rushed) photo shoot. Here are the results.....let me know your thoughts!

Welcome to my blog....

Hi, welcome to the first ever blog entry at SABAH DESIGNS . My name is Sabah and I am a textile designer specialising in the gift and greeting card industry. Over the coming weeks and months I shall be regularly updating and displaying new design ideas and projects that we at the Sabah Designs studios are busy completing. Please do feel free to leave any comments or feedback.