Lizzie for SMUG - The Pattern Collection

Well, firstly, I'm so sorry to have been completely abscent on The Smuggler for such a long time. It's been well over 3 months now since I posted my '5 Summer Staples for a City Girl's Wardrobe' post! (Take a look here if you're interested). But oh how the summer has flown by. 

I've had some lovely trips to Lisbon, Paris and Lodeve, as well as some wonderful times in London. Babies have been born (not mine, but ones that are very important to me) and I'm off to Rhodes next week. For the most part though, I've been beavering away on something very special to me, which I am both nervous and excited to get to share with you at last - my very own pattern collection!   

It's been a long time in the making. I've had SMUG for over 7 years now and it was always the plan to produce some of my own work to complement the products that I curate at SMUG by other designers from all over the world. It's been such a pleasure collaborating with many of those designers on 'exclusively for SMUG' products, that my creative muscles were able to have a proper flex now and then. I've also been able to put lots of energy into the creative outlets I have when it comes to styling the shop and the brand as a whole. And of course, all of the developments, changes and growth at SMUG over the years have kept me very busy. But now, with my perfect team of Vienna, Manolya and Shannon, it seemed like the right time to knuckle under and get designing my own work. 

So, here it is. There are currently 5 patterns in the collection and there are 3 more in the works which will launch very soon. The plan is to have upstairs at SMUG overflowing with Lizzie for SMUG product for your Christmas shopping needs so keep your eyes open for all the bits winging their way into the shop over the next few months.   

For London Design Festival I wanted to focus more on the patterns themselves so although the show does feature some product samples as examples of how the patterns will be used, the stars of the show are the patterns themselves. Do come and pop in if you're in the area. You can even get creative yourself and make name suggestions for some of my patterns and potentially win a Lizzie for SMUG cushion if your suggestion is chosen. 

It's the beginning of something really new and exciting for me as a designer. Having gained several years of experience through buying, styling and curating at SMUG and getting to know our customers, I hope I've managed to come up with an illustrative voice for this collection that is something fresh and different, that shows you more of who I am, but that clearly comes out of what SMUG is and continues to be. I'd love to know what you think. Thanks for reading. Lizzie x