Wine Time

How cool is this!?  My friend Scott Lucas of Just Cook Foods (a super duper delicious spice blend company) created 300 bottles of a Rutherford Valley Cabernet and asked me to design the label. How could I say no!?

I created the artwork for the label and worked in partnership with Jenny Doll, a talented designer who specializes in wine labels. Check out some of her work here Jenny Doll Designs. It was a really fun collaboration.

Back in June I posted a photo of me painting outside at my friends' home. Well this is their backyard, where I did my concepting for the label. It's so fun to see it come full circle. It will be a few months before it will be ready to drink and I can't wait to try it!

Katja Ollendorff
Katja Ollendorff
Source: www.katjaollendorff.com/blog

Strike Away Show a Success

The Strike Away show at Paxton Gate Kids is over, and it was a big success with over 100 pieces sold (still waiting to hear if mine was one of those). But in the meantime, some pretty cool articles popped up about it. 

Check them out on SF Art Enthusiast and Jealous Curator. 

My piece for the show

A variety of artists' works.

Chelsea Wong



Katja Designs on Guildery.com

Hello Friends! I'm so excited to announce that two of my collections have launched on Guildery.com. The first one, Santorini, has a laid-back, beachy vibe. If you can't afford a ticket to Greece, I say cuddle up on the couch with an array of pillows that emulate the azure waves of the Mediterranean, like these!

The second collection Ballari, takes you to India with dusty tones and a boho, block-printed vibe. Check out some of the coral, turquoise and brown hues I've dreamed up for my home. I'm just imagining the possibilities!

Ballari Collection

Santorini Collection

Strikeaway Show

Do you like art? How about tiny art? How about art the size of a matchbox? If you said yes to any of those questions, then come out and enjoy some tiny matchbox art at Paxton Gate Curiosities for Kids tonight from 6:00-9:00. I have a piece in the show and so do my talented friends over at Falconette. Hope to see you there! (And if you can't make the opening, the show runs til June 20th).

Photo: Courtney Cerruti - Strikeaway Show 

Photo: Courtney Cerruti - Strikeaway Show 

Print & Pattern Blog Feature

I have a such hard time with self promotion—egad, it really is never easy to toot your own horn. But I have found that it is essential to know how to present and exert yourself in this industry. Self promotion is not a bad thing. It's about getting your name out there, showing what you can do and how you can be of service to others. I have submitted my work to numerous outlets in the hopes of expanding awareness of my brand and voice. It's a lot of work getting people to know who you are and what you can do. I'm making all of this work that I'm completely passionate about and I don't want to hide it away. I want to share it with the world! 

It's a wonderful feeling when you get little breakthroughs and today was a great one for me. I was thrilled to find out that I was featured on the Print & Pattern Blog. I appreciate any exposure and am happy to be amongst other creative people who share a common love for prints and patterns. Click image below to see the full article and all designs featured.

Cheers to all you creative folks out there. Keep doing what you do and please make sure to share it with the rest of us! 



Collaboration with Hatch.co for International Women's Day

Hi Friends. Today I have teamed up with Hatch.co to support fellow female creatives for International Women’s Day. Hatch is a curated site for a multitude of makers and artisans from all over the world, and this week they are raising awareness about powerful female voices in the design industry by collaborating with designers like me. Pretty cool!

I was one of a select few female designers who were asked to create a version of the Hatch logo to promote women in the design field. My logo and profile are featured today! 

You can visit Hatch.co to see it in action and be sure to go back every day this week to see designs by other talented female designers:  Check them out here.

Enjoy, and Happy International Women's Day. You go girls!



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Friendly Encouragement

Challenge - Day 1

Challenge - Day 1

Challenge - Day 3

Challenge - Day 3

Challenge - Day 5

Challenge - Day 5

I'm enjoying the design challenge that I see going around Facebook these days. Friends are challenging each other to post an original design each day for 5 days and to nominate another friend to do the same. It offers a nice excuse for creative types to open up and showcase their work where they might not feel inclined to otherwise. My talented friend Dayse Gagne encouraged me to take on this challenge and I've had a lot of fun with it. Here are the five designs I shared.   Now who can you put to the task?

© Katja Ollendorff. All designs are my own and copyrighted. They are created with love from original hand drawn motifs.

Challenge - Day 2

Challenge - Day 2

Challenge - Day 4

Challenge - Day 4

In the Studio Sunday

Katja | Fluffy Bud

I've decided to post a design at the end of every week. I create many designs over the course of a week, but this will help me to showcase my work regularly, because I'm pretty bad at that!

I often start on motifs and then set them aside to create a pattern later on. It's a trial and error thing until I hit on a layout that makes me feel content. I don't think I'm ever completely satisfied because the possibilities for a design are just endless. I design in a very loose style, so I tend to go back again and again and tweak colors or positioning until I force myself to stop. Does this happen to you too? Below is a design that I went round and round on but feel somewhat satisfied with now. What do you think?

To see a glimpse of the painting of the motif, see post from Sept 3rd. I started with a watercolor design and scanned it so I could manipulate it in Photoshop. I did a lot of playing with color shifts and layout—but we'll get to those details another time. :)

Katja Art Prints for Sale

People have often asked where they can buy my art. Well I'm happy to say that I have opened a Society 6 store online with a selection of my designs as art prints. I do hope you will stop on over and take a look. Check out my Artwork tab on this site for more info, or just head straight to the shop by clicking here. It's time to bring some color into your home!

Katja Art.png

Colorful Concepting and Live Music to Boot!

It's been rather foggy this week and I always seem to gravitate to brights the grayer the sky is. I've been using one of my favorite mediums, Dr. PH Martin radiant concentrated water colors. They are so vibrant and saturated and thoroughly satisfying.

I included a short video of a bit of my work in progress. The music you hear (way off in the background) is actually my upstairs neighbor. She happens to be an accomplished jazz singer and her piano is directly above my studio. I got to enjoy some fabulous vocal rehearsals the other day which were the perfect accompaniment  to my dabbling. 

All in the Family

My brother Max is a fantastic artist who currently does a lot of plein air landscapes. As we are preparing to sell our family home, we have been clearing out closets and in the meantime, coming across some great old pieces that he did in the 80s. One very colorful one caught our eye and we thought how fun it would be to turn it into a pattern. Here is the result of our collaboration—maybe we are on to something?

Ollendorff

Miniature Cuteness

Susanna is a childhood friend from years when I lived in Helsinki, Finland. She is truly an expert in all thing miniature. She makes the coolest little—and I really mean little—things. When she asked if she could use one of my patterns as wallpaper in one of her doll-sized rooms, I jumped at the chance. Her attention to detail is amazing. Who wouldn't want to see their pattern on a wall next to a teeny tiny martini? 

So you can get a sense of the scale of things

So you can get a sense of the scale of things