LET THE SUN SHINE!!

Decor 9

With a bright, vibrant name it’s no surprise that Sunny Todd would become a creative inspiration. After

graduating from the Royal College of Art, Sunny was commissioned by Topman to design wallpaper and fabrics for their stores. Realising that his bold and unique style of prints was best suited to interiors he went on to create Sunny Todd Prints along with his wife Emma in 2013. Working from their studio in Ledbury, Hertfordshire this creative pair produce striking pieces for the home, beautiful interiors and have become best known for their show stopping colour combinations and unique, hand cut shapes arranged into dynamic patterns.

Computers are not used during the design process. After being named as Elle Decoration’s ‘Name

to watch’, they are already enjoying success with international stockists for their fabric and products.

Décor Magazine chats with Sunny to what it’s like to work with your wife and what’s next for this bold brand…

Who were your earliest influences?

I grew up in a very artistic household my parents were chefs and ran restaurants around the country in places including London, Bristol, Cornwall and Herefordshire. My parents always took a keen interest in art and design; the house was full of music, good food, art, fashion and interior books and magazines, beautiful furniture and a lot of bright prints from artists such as Hockney, Matisse, Hodgkin, Frost and Heron.

My mum was particularly passionate; she would often tear articles from magazines that she thought I might like and would often take us to Heal’s and the Conran shop. She always encouraged my brother Leo and I to be creative, and although we were initially more interested in Football.

How did you come to work with your wife Emma?

Emma and I have always worked really well together, we love discussing ideas, drawing and printing together but having a young family and demanding teaching jobs meant that we had little time to pursue freelance work. We knew that the work we were making was unique and was getting stronger and stronger so we decided to take the plunge and set up Sunny Todd Prints in 2013.

Initially we wanted to concentrate on furnishing fabric but very quickly started to develop a small range of products. The birth of our second child in 2014 gave us a real push as Emma was able to use some of her maternity leave to concentrate on setting up our studio, building relationships with local suppliers and makers, and establishing links with some companies on our dream collaboration list which has led to some very exciting projects such as our recent collaboration with Flock.

If you could describe your brand how would you?

Sunny Todd Prints produces beautiful, irresistible patterns for interiors, fashion and products. My training was in textile design and I specialized in silk screen printing but we create patterns in many traditional ways but always by hand, never with computers! Most of our designs start as stencils, once we have an idea we will cut out the shapes from black paper and lay them out over white paper on the dining room table at home. Over the following days we will move them around and even chop into them to explore composition and scale until we are completely happy with the pattern, the relationship between and the movement of the shapes. The selection of colours is as important, we mix pigment inks by eye and create a range of colour swatches to explore how the tones work together. We’ll then experiment with the colour combinations for each pattern before deciding how these fit together as a collection. In a nutshell our patterns are characterised by bold, clean, graphic shapes that are fun and dynamic. Our signature ‘offset’ gives our patterns extra energy and makes the shapes take on a 3D appearance.

Who & what inspires you?

Everything! We love the Paul Smith quote-„You can find inspiration in everything, and if you can‘t, look again“ We love design in all its forms and read about, see shows and explore new ideas as much as we can. We re endlessly inspired by our children- they are so in the moment and they create things with sheer joy, freely and without reserve- they are great fun!

What doesn’t inspire you ?

Muted colours such as beige and very rigid design, we think that design should be fun and without rules!

What projects have you been recently working on?

Putting together our first fabric book was a real labour of love and hugely significant for us, we hand cut and arranged all of the designs then painstakingly mixed the colours by eye then experimented endlessly until we were happy with the collection. Seeing the finished fabrics and then putting the book together was such a proud moment, the fact that our book is now held in some of the most prestigious places in the UK and Internationally has been such a thrill!

" Unashamedly bold and playful, radiating optimism and carefree energy"

The World of Interiors

What do you think the future holds for design & art?

We are continually excited and inspired by all forms of Art and Design, we hope the current movement towards supporting independent designers and sustainable practices will continue! The quality and sustainability of our fabric and products is paramount, we always use the highest quality materials that are sourced as locally as possible, we print using environmentally friendly, water based inks, and our products are handmade by local seamstresses.

Who do you think are the most influential artists & designers in recent years?

Phillipe Stark, Issey Miyake, Thomas Hetherwick, Hussain Chalayan, Nathalie Du Pasquier

What artists and designers have inspired you in your lifetime?

Eley Kishimoto, Henri Matisse, Howard Hodgkin, Keith Haring, Marimekko,

What is your favourite colour & why?

We love all bright and bold colours but I always come back to red, especially when combined with other clashing shades our hot pink and red fabrics are a real favourite, as The World of Interiors said- our work radiates optimism, we think everyone should add more colour into their lives!

What’s next for Sunny Todd Prints and where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

We’re really keen to see our patterns on wallpaper and to make the cross over from interiors to fashion. In five years’ time we hope to have established ourselves as a highly respected design company, working in both the interior and fashion industries and to have stockists all over the world, perhaps even a store of our own.

The full range of Sunny Todd Prints is accessories now available at ZigZag Zurich or direct from Sunny Todd themselves. www.sunnytoddprints.co.uk | www.zigzagzurich.com