Caroline Creative
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CAROLINE NISBETT - ARTIST DESIGNER ILLUSTRATOR WRITER

Updates on Instagram
https://instagram.com/caro.folk.art

My long career began at Conran Design Group, Covent Garden, London, in the 20th century, working there for 7 years as a Designer after leaving St Martin’s School of Art, Covent Garden.

Now I’ve travelled back in time to the 18th century! You’ll find me in my weavers’ cottage in historic Bradford on Avon Wiltshire, on the tip-toe of The Cotswolds near Bath Spa.

My art studio is high up on the top floor of my small tall cottage in what once was the weaver’s workshop in the mid 1700s Georgian times. Here I quietly create colourful images and textiles and display them in my cottage Art Gallery.

Picture
About Caro
Yarn weaving, tall tales spinning, colourist, humorist, punk stitcher, weaving stories and pictures colourfully together in a dear old tiny teeteringly tall weavers’ cottage on the fringes of The Cotswolds and in ever present peril of the danger of jelly babies!

Lockdown provided a quiet undistracted moment in historic time to knuckle down, buckle up my shoes, get on that bike, stay home and write nonsense - and illustrate it for good measure. And create an art gallery while I’m at it.

Current inspirations
iPad is my current art creation method to discover colour, light and visual story in new ways. My studio is in a Georgian era Weavers’ workshop in a cottage built c1775 and it’s weaving history led me to become interested in historic weaver workers. My family are a part of the Folk community and I’m researching folk songs and ballads about weaving. I grew up close by Cecil Sharp House, London.

My interests
Folk music, song and dance traditions.
Local history Georgian era rural weavers and elegant Regency Bath Spa nearby.
Curious country customs.
Events
folk festivals, music, dance, opera, theatre.
Heritage crafts & rural traditions,
Sustainable living, vintage, retro, brocante.
Farmer’s markets farm shops, local produce.
Community groups, local activities.

Past provenance
My lifetime’s work in art and design spanning four decades began in 1981 at Conran Design Group, London, where I worked 1981-1987 as a graphic and textile designer for Habitat and Mothercare shops for Sir Terence Conran.

My colourful designs have been printed onto all homeware product surfaces for retail: textiles, ceramics, tinware, paper ware, glass, rugs for The Conran Shop / Bibendum restaurant / Habitat / Heal's / Mothercare.

My artwork has been used for: gift ranges, branding, print, advertising, products and packaging design.

I’ve also been asked to create copywriting, photography styling, creative concepts for advertising and social media promotions.

ART + ILLUSTRATION + DESIGN

CV
Art | illustration | design | what I’m up to now.
Artwork to my own brief.
FOLK SONGS English folk music + ballads 2021
CURIOUS CUSTOMS English Folk 2021
WEAVING HISTORY C18th 1775 onwards 2021
SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS ipad art. 2021
PORTRAITS iPad art 2021
ART HISTORY local history, great and small. 2021
ARTWEAR digitally printed art textiles. 2020-21
EXHIBITION Silk Mill, Frome, Somerset. 2020
ART-EAT farm food art image series. 2020
ART PRINTS giclée prints on fine art paper. 2017
PORTRAITS of English folk musicians. 2016

Other work.
2021 - Sign writing for Woolley Grange Hotel, Bradford on Avon.
50 Chalkboard signs in contemporary calligraphy
for Glamping + hotel + grounds.

Logo designs for Cotswold Voices Choir, Innocent Hare folk music dancers and band, Armadillo Jewellery, Bell’s Angels morris. Mandarin Voices and Mandarin Youth Voices - two Chinese mandarin language choirs. Engage With China. UK-China international business.

Product photography for the Silver Street Studio website, a craft shop in Bradford on Avon. Work involved studio website updating, photography + photo editing + product styling + copy writing + window display.

Social Media Consultancy - one year of promotional work for Bramley Products natural ingredients toiletries range supplier to 350 hotels. I produced concepts, original ideas, copy writing, seasonal studio and location photography + photo editing + product styling, hashtags, posting at dawn to Twitter / Instagram / Facebook.

Social Media Consultancy - one year of promotional work for Clementine's Shop + Compton Marbling Fairs Events + Wedding and events location hire in Fonthill Gifford near Tisbury, Wiltshire. Producing copy writing, photography + photo editing + product styling, hashtags, posting at dawn to Twitter / Instagram / Facebook.

2011-2017 Designing and selling own brand gift range
‘Light Hearted Gifts’ : brand identity / logo design / packaging design / products development / copy writing.

1987 onwards - Freelance art, illustration, graphic design, brand identity, brand development, product design, calligraphy.

1980s - Teaching - guest Lecturer at Saint Martin's School of Art to Graphic Design and Illustration BA Degree students.
Teaching - Drawing tutor of Life Drawing and Figure Drawing class at Courtyard Arts, Hertford, Hertfordshire.

1981 - 1987 seven years - Graphic Designer for Conran Design Group at Neal Street, Covent Garden and later at the Heal's building, Tottenham Court Road, London. Designing products and surface decoration for products the home, textiles, rugs, ceramics, product packaging, drawings and paintings, informational diagrams, promotional print, and many popular best selling, long running product ranges for Habitat, The Conran Shop, Bibendum Restaurant at The Conran Shop, Michelin building in Fulham, London, also Mothercare, Heal's and other retail outlets owned by Sir Terence Conran.

1977 - 1981 B.A. Honours Degree Graphic Design and Illustration + Foundation Saint Martin's School of Art, Covent Garden, London.
Camden School for Girls, London. Grammar school.
Clients
Design | illustration | I’ve been busy over the years.

The Conran Shop / Bibendum restaurant / Habitat / Heal's / Mothercare and other shops, designing for Sir Terence Conran - whilst Senior Designer at Conran Design Group for seven years 1981-1987.
The Contemporary Textile Gallery
The Prince's Trust
The Royal Albert Hall
Royal National Theatre
The National Gallery
Pol Roger Champagne
Christie's
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Trinity College London / Musiclink
Roald Dahl Foundation
Light Hearted Gifts Caroline's own brand
Lloyds Register
Barclays Bank
Absolute Press
Contemporary Textile Gallery
L'Oriel / Laboratoire Garnier
Hardy's Gift Toiletries / Illumens Home Fragrances
Compass Group - Letheby & Christopher
Norton Networks
British Gas 'Think Energy' schools campaign / Educational Communications
Tesco / BhS / Savacentre / Boots / Currys
Sky Television / London Weekend Television
Radio Times
Connected Pictures - promotional video company
Armadillo Jewellery
Clementine's Shop, Tisbury, Wiltshire - social media feeds
Bramley Products, hotel toiletries range - social media feeds
Cotswold Voices Choir
Innocent Hare folk music dancers and musicians group
Mandarin Voices choir, Mandarin Youth Voices choir, Engage With China
Bell’s Angels

Own Brand Gift Range - Light Hearted Gifts
Having designed many product ranges for other retail clients including Habitat and Heal's, I then designed my own ”Light Hearted Gifts” range of multi-wick and single wick natural wax fragranced candles and other fragranced gifts.

The range design valued sustainable low impact qualities: local provenance, packs printed in Britain for low carbon footprint, natural ingredients of plant waxes and cotton wicks and recycled glasses - this direction was slightly ahead of it’s time but now sustainability is becomIng a popular direction.

This gift range sold independently for many years via CFA events in stately homes, private schools and colleges in Bath Spa and ten surrounding counties.

Copywriting + Creative Writing
I have written to suit a variety of briefs from factual or promotional text, tag lines and articles for websites and promotional pages to light-hearted magazine style articles.
Also, own creative humorous writing.

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