"Meraki Mandala" monthly membership

 

As I really delve into my new platform ‘Buy me a Coffee’ I am realising it is so much more than what I thought at first was a purely crowd funding platform for creatives - this week I had an idea for a membership there whereby if you sign up for a monthly fee (like Patreon if you know that platform) you will receive an outline mandala design to print out at home and colour in for yourself along with a QR code link to the guided meditation I listened to as I create each new piece intuitively and spontaneously and each new mandala will have a theme such as Acceptance.

Colouring in has proven results for being calming and fun at the same time - it helps you access the now and takes your thoughts away from the past and future.

The word Meraki is quite new to me and is derived from Greek, it literally means the “essence of yourself.” I am interpreting it as leaving a piece of your soul in the work you have created with passion and a sense of happiness - sheer humanity, something machines cannot do. It is about doing something with creativity, passion and love, which is what I do with all my artwork, because it is my vocation, but particularly with my mandalas as I always either listen to guided meditations as I create or float off into a zone of elsewhere - elsewhere is a whole other concept for another day.

Would you be interested in a membership like this? Let me know by message if you are - thank you!

LINK TO JOIN NOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO

🙏😘💛🖤🐝

#merakimandala #blacklinemandala #buymeacoffeemembership #bespokemandala #monthlymembershipmandala #patriciasheadesigns #designconfections #merakiartwork #manchesterdesigner

Buy me a Coffee.....please :)

 

I recently joined the wonderful platform 'Buy me a Coffee' an e-commerce platform where I can not only sell and receive commissions for my work but also crowd fund in the form of asking my supporters by buy me a virtual coffee - I've never considered this before but since I have been pivoting from my print on demand business model which has been very severely impacted by the introduction of A I generated artwork - resulting in a number of my print on demand shops being very suddenly closed without warning to me - I am now heading in a more artist driven direction selling my original mandala designs - created either in colour pencil or watercolours, creating quantum mandala workshops - I have one coming up in Magical Marrakech this October  and designing beautiful, large, double sided printed mandala silk scarves printed in the UK.

I'll be posting about these three things individually going forward. 

Your purchase of a virtual coffee will most certainly help me realize these endeavours as I sally forth on new exciting career paths all centred around mandala designs.

I thank you in advance for your graciousness and kindness in supporting my art - most sincerely, Patricia xxx

The Coffee and Biscuit watercolour illustration above was created for a lovely bakery in Maine long ago....

Click HERE to purchase a coffee and download a free mobile wallpaper located in the shop tab.

My BIG WILD WALK for 2024

 

I have walked more and raised more since I created this graphic yesterday - click the donate link below to see - thank you! xxx

Please help me help UK Wildlife by donating to my Big Wild Walk this year - thank you in advance for you donation - every penny goes directly to The Wildlife Trusts who do an amazing job of supporting our sadly fast diminishing hedgehogs, butterflies, bees, bats and even wildflower meadows.

LINK TO DONATE DIRECTLY - CLICK HERE

Magical Marrakech Creative Wellbeing Retreat - a new direction

Dear Readers - its been a long time - this last year has been about changing my design career direction looking forward to new vistas and horizons - and the most exciting thing I have created is a collaboration with Amanda Kitchen of Pura Vida Holistic Therapies and Yoga and Manira Palm Luxury Eco Villa in Marrakech, Morocco.

I enjoyed my own magical retreat at Manira Palm this July and met Amanda there and instantly made a new lifelong friend - we shortly thereafter decided to collaborate and this is the unique, private retreat we have created for October 10th through October 15th 2025. Manira Palm is a veritable Moroccan Shangri-la - it seems a place beyond time and when you create you can access the quantum realm where time is basically plastic and can vary with your vibration - so what better place to do that than somewhere that already appears to be in the dessert mirage of the quantum realm!

These pictures give a brief over view and below I detail both of our plans for the retreat:

Amanda and I are are truly hoping our fabulous and unique retreat will become a COLLECTIVE EFFERVESCENCE - a sociological concept that describes a state of intense shared emotions and a wonderful sense of unity when people are engaged in sharing a feeling of energy and harmony when they are experiencing a shared purpose. 

Patricia's Practice: Come relax and enjoy yourself by creating your very own mandala with other like minded individuals in the magical atmosphere of Manira Palm, Marrakech!

I believe that all artists and designers access the Quantum Realm in order to create their best work. During this retreat I will help you learn the basics of how I create my own mandalas - which for me are both a meditative practice in their creation as well as a loci for meditation when they are complete, and, as a long time meditator, I will also talk about how I access what I believe is the Quantum Realm.

The Quantum realm or field or universe is an invisible field of energy beyond our experience of 3D reality, it is vibrations and frequencies beyond our mundane senses which connects everything in our known universe. Our 3D world is matter, the quantum realm is energy – the energy that connects everything that is material and physical as in quantum physics. You can access this realm by taking your mind off our world of matter – off yourself, your environment, everything that you know - and relax into the present moment – this tends to cause a dramatic change in the way our brains function enabling us to access a realm where everything is possible. When we randomly think of many things our brains are incoherent – when we focus on the now, the present moment, on exactly what we are doing right now, our brains become more coherent and more accessible to a vibration where everything in the known universe is created.

This is the place you access when you are completely consumed by the moment – it is the place I go to when my art envelopes me in entirety – when I am so completely in the now nothing exists but my creation, even time changes and hours can turn into minutes.

We will each originate a pencil outline design ready to colour in, in colour pencil, so your experience will, in effect, be a combination of Spirograph, kaleidoscope and Paint by Numbers. Creating repetitive designs, which mandalas are by their very essence, and colouring in are both well documented as calming activities. Of course you will take your design(s) home to continue to colour in when you'd like some quiet time to relax and meditate, and you'll have acquired the skills to create new mandalas in the future.

Our wellness and creative practices are symbiotic and complementary and through Amanda will help you enter a realm open to creative possibilities after which we have out first design session on the first day and each subsequent day we will design, create, enjoy, chat, connect and be meditative in our creative endeavours and I will be available most of the time during our exclusive stay at Manira Palm to be able to continue our creative pursuits, you'll even be able if you chose to make appointments with me to have individual sessions.

MATERIALS PROVIDED: I will provide special circular paper, tracing paper, colour pencils, compasses, erasers and protractors - if you have art supplies you'd like to bring please feel free to bring them.

Prior to the workshop think about some motifs you'd like to use in your mandala from perhaps your business logo to a favourite flower or a symbol like an eternal knot. I'll bring print outs of some motifs to use also.

No prior design experience is necessary! No drawing skills are required.

I love to meditate - I usually do guided meditations or listen to sound healing audio whilst I work creating my own mandalas, and my work is a meditation in and of itself. Meditation has helped me improve my life in so very many ways.

PLEASE BRING A NOTEBOOK AND PEN :)

Each attendee will also receive an A4 colour copy of one of my mandalas :)

Here is a picture in process of the mandala I created in my own workshop at Manira Palm - which includes there logo in the four compass directions and allusions to the central swimming pool, the lush bougainvillea and the surrounding Atlas Mountains and sky.

Amanda's practices: At beautiful Manira Palm I will be offering an array of healing practices including  yin yoga, meditation, sound healing, themed cacao ceremonies,  pranayama (breathwork), chanting, fire ceremony, yoga nidra  and more. These experiences are designed to restore balance, clear energy blockages, and enhance your overall well-being—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You’ll leave equipped with the tools to navigate life with greater ease, grace, and patience.

Amanda practices Holistic Therapies which in essence means a completely natural and non-invasive form of treatment, suitable for all ages, which aims to treat the underlying causes of your symptoms naturally.  Holistic Therapy gently but effectively works to restore and maintain the body’s natural balance to encourage the body’s own self healing and can also be used alongside conventional medicine.

Amanda can help you heal self-limiting beliefs, recharge your soul, release trapped emotions, recognize and honour your true needs, and fully embrace your personal power. Are you ready to step into your power, reclaim your sovereignty, and radiate your light out into the world?

There are currently only 9 places available!

Both Amanda and I are very passionate about living our lives as free from manmade toxins as possible - a really hard thing to do in our modern world - between us we have a wealth of accrued knowledge about how we have done this individually and this is what we will share with you in our Detox Workshop. 

Current itinerary for the retreat bearing in mind this will not be a rigid timetable but very much a ago with the flow, fluid outline which can change both according to people's needs or how the group is interacting - each and every day Patricia will be available to sit and create with, ask questions, have a private session with - again this will be very much go with the flow but also it enables you to work on your mandala designs when the time is right for you!

ENERGY EXCHANGE WELLBEING & CREATIVE RETREAT   £875.00

10^th October – Arrival and settling in

Dinner – 18:00 to 19:30

20:00 to 21:00 – Introductions/opening ceremony - Amanda

11^th October

07:15 – Herbal Tea or coffee

07:30 – 09:00 – Energising Vinyasa flow yoga (suitable for all abilities) - Amanda

09:30 – 13:00 – Breakfast

11:00 – 12:30 – Pranayama/Chanting/Meditation/Relaxation

Afternoon – free time

14:00 - 17:00  Mandala workshop establishing the basics of our own mandalas

Dinner 18:00 to 19:30

Kirtan – 20:00 – 21:00 - Amanda

12^th October

07:15 – Herbal Tea or coffee

07.30 – 08.30 – Hatha Yoga - Amanda

09.00 – 10:00 - Breakfast

10:30 – 13:30 – Themed Cacao Ceremony to include candle lighting, smudging, grounding meditation and mudra, oracle three card story, journalling, embodied dance - Amanda

Afternoon – free time

Dinner 18:00 to 19:30

20:00 – 21:00 Pranayama/Trataka - Amanda

13^th October

07:15 – Herbal Tea, or coffee

07:30 -08:30 – Morning meditation - Amanda

09:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast

10:30 – 13:30 – Mandala Making Workshop – Patricia Shea

Afternoon – free time

Dinner – 18:00 to 19:30

20:00 – 21:00 – Fire Ceremony – Amanda

14^th October

07:15 – herbal tea, tea or coffee

07:30 – 08:30 – Morning meditation/chanting/pranayama - Amanda

09:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast

10:30 – 13:30 – Workshop – How to Survive in a Toxic World

Afternoon – free time

Dinner – 18:00 to 19:30

20:00 – 21:00 – Restorative/Yin yoga with essential oils and sound healing - Amanda

15^th October

07:15 herbal tea, tea or coffee

07:30 – 08:30 – Closing Ceremony

09:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast

Leave :)

We would love to meet you in Marrakech - love and light - Amanda and Patricia xx

Please message Patricia at pbashea at gmail dot com or Amanda at amanda at puravidaholistics dot co dot uk with questions or to book your spot at our magical retreat.

You can pay your non refundable deposit now via PayPal to patriciasheadesigner@outlook.com and an invoice will be sent out to you for this - if you prefer a BACS transfer then please message for details - thank you!

 ***Retreat will only run when 5 (five) people have booked on***

The Big Wild Walk 2023

 

I am doing the Big Wild Walk again to support the Wildlife Trusts UK in their endeavour to save UK wildlife from the brink of total disaster - I am very sad to say that the UK is THE most wildlife depleted country on the planet and many of our iconic species like hedgehogs, water voles, bats and house sparrows are either on the verge of EXTINCTION or massive decline - it simply breaks my heart!

I have already walked 180km this first week so please donate and help me reach my goal of 225km walked and 750 pounds raised by Hallowe'en - I am walking for an extra day as I think Hallowe'en is the perfect day to finish on in honour of our beautiful UK bats!

Here is the LINK TO DONATE and thanks in advance for your support - it means the world to me and those sweet creatures! Love Patricia xxx

Festival Ready Fabulous Buckets Hats!!!

 

Turn that frown upside down with my wonderful, reversible jaunty bucket hats - handmade to order in London, UK

 

 Here is my Jaunty Bucket Hat made in waterproof oilcloth out in the wilds of Derbyshire doing it's job beautifully and here's how it looks in my shop mock up:

 and the interior showing how the patterns are differently placed on the outside and inside basically giving you two looks for the price of one...

 This mock up of my very popular Millefiori design shows the hat with a wider brim - there is also a narrower modern brim - just ask me to do a mock up of such for you and it will be my happy command to do such at a pretty sharpish pace!

 and a couple of other patterns that have sold and also been requested and mocked up for perusal....

 

and Candy Rainbow Geometric with an interior of Autumn Leaves! - Another customer request fulfilled most happily!

 

and finally dear Ones - some strawberries for your summer outings and trip to Wimbledon to keep the sun off at the tennis!

 Please click HERE scroll down left hand menu - accessories > womens accessories > bucket hats - to peruse all my current Bucket Hats or request a mock up in one of my patterns you love with no obligation :)

 As ALWAYS all these patterns and motifs were originally hand painted in watercolours by yours truly!

Merry Merry Darlingks all - Patricia xxx

Couture On demand dopamine textile design

 

Well this is about as close as you're going to get to a selfie from yours truly :) 

I am bedecked in my own designs though with a fabulous bonkers all the way long sleeve T from my London based CONTRADO shop and a backpack from REDBUBBLE ....but the crux of this post is to link to a simple wonderful, crystallizingly elegant interview by THOMAS RIDGE copywriter extraordinaire who did this article about me a few months ago - and what a great article it is - Tom was so relaxed and asked such great questions that teased out thoughts into words that I never even realized before that were ideas I've had about myself and my design - thanks so much Tom! He also coined the phrase 'Couture on Demand' which I have to say is genius!

Please follow THIS LINK to the full clever clogs article and thank you for reading! Warmly, Patricia 

And close ups of that utterly maximalist long sleve T which you can peruse to your hearts contenet HERE

 

 

Fabulous bomber jackets in my London based online shop

           

What a lovely picture of my dear friend Caterina wearing my Folkloric Millefiori Bomber jacket which was handmade to order in my London based partner's factory in London. Carefully and expertly made by Contrado I adore this bomber jacket.

 

....and as you can see below men look equally as good in that self same jacket

  For your reference this is how the jacket looks in my online shop - you can easily see the placement of the design is EXACTLY the same on the mock up as on the in real life jacket so what you see is what you get when you order from my online store.

If you'd like to see the jacket in my shop and explore the different combinations of outer shell and lining materials please CLICK HERE

 

Another simply luscious item from this same shop based in London is this soft as a kitten wrap blazer/kimono in a Gypsy Chic Rainbow delight of multiple patterns - such an easy item to wear - and a simple update to an outfit to slip on over a simple black dress for cocktails after the office of to wear to a fabulous festival

To see this slouch jacket in my shop CLICK HERE

 

and finally a little blurb written by Thomas Ridge about how my work is actualy Couture on Demand  - a next level up from just print on demand

 

Please visit my Patricia Shea Designs Contrado shop HERE for all my handmade to order in London UK item - thank you!!!

Visiting the Contrado UK factory in London and some new items....

How very very lucky am I that I recently got to visit one of my cloud based manufacturers in London.

Contrado very kindly showed me their new paradigm factory for print on demand production - and fabulously made this short video for me of one of my designs being made into a wonderful cross shoulder bag that can also be used as a hand held clutch.

The video shows the amazing attention to detail of the leather worker edging the component pices to make sure that when the bag is complete there are no unsightly edges.

Here is a picture of the finished Midnight Meadows Bouquet Bag held as a clutch and a LINK to peruse in my online handmade to order UK shop

And a LINK TO THIS ONLINE SHOP where everything is handmade to order in ship shape and quick as lightening fashion.

I haven't written here in ever so long so if you do read this will you let me know if anyone is out there still interested to keep reading my posts.

with many thanks - Patricia

Made in UK Day March 9th

 Today is the first celebration of #madeinUKday created by Kate Hills the founder of Make it British, a platform to help UK manufacturers and British-made brands find more customers. ... Kate also runs the manufacturing trade show Make it British Live! which attracts over 5,000 visitors from 17 different countries, all looking to make their products in the UK.

 

So I thought I would join in as I am now back in my beloved hometown of Manchester UK and promote and support the UK based print on demand manufacturers I am working with Blightyside - and here they are with links to my shops on their platforms:

ARTWOW 

For a range of home and kitchen decor, apparel, mobile cases, pencil cases and more
 

CONTRADO 

For a large range of apparel and home decor items - including my LIMITED EDITION BONKERS HOODIES
 

FASHION FORMULA 

For a wide range of fabrics, wallpaper and some kitchen and home decor
 

REDBUBBLE 

For these gorgeous diahonous scarves and a selection of 92 other items - many of which are made in UK - DM to check with me or follow this link: LINK
 

Thanks for supporting British businesses if you are in the UK - if not my other shops Society6, Curioos, Spoonflower (also Germany) and Redbubble (also a number of other countries) all ship from the USA

 

Appreciatively, Patricia Shea Designs

Your VOTE please and thank you!!

 I have just entered this design, Circus Geometric, into this weeks Spoonflower challenge - the honour of your vote would be greatly appreciated - there is no sign in, you can vote for as many designs as your little heart desires but you have to hit SUBMIT to make sure your vote is counted.

LINK TO VOTE

As always this design was originally hand painted in watercolours on paper before scanning and formatting in Photoshop and upload to my various print on demand shops 

 

As there are over 1100 designs in this challenge I do realize this is a time and eyebal boggling commitment so a hearty double thank you if you do vote for me! CHEERS

 

THANKS AS ALWAYS - PATRICIA XXX

Sustainable Digital Printing on demand. Slow fashion produced FAST!

Sell/Produce/Deliver: digital printing “made to order” products

 My business model explained

 

A new world (or “paradigm”) is opening up for digital designers and independent artists. Best thing? It’s much more agile and environmentally sustainable than it ever was before under the traditional model. Designers only need their time and talents, upload their prints on the online venues to Sell / Produce / Deliver under demand. A big achievement is that no unsold inventory is contributing to landfill while using the digital printing formula. Digital designers will save a massive amount of water, energy and toxic dyestuffs. A much brighter future in slow fashion comparing digital printing vs analogue printing. Learn all about the useful and achievable methods, processes and techniques of ourgoodBlogger & digital designer Patricia Shea first hand! What are you waiting to build your ethical empire?

A new paradigm paradigm.

So why double paradigm? “Paradigm – a typical example or pattern of something”. As a professional surface designer, I create patterns. And there’s a big and most wondrous shift in the way patterns are now being printed digitally. It's become much more agile, environmentally sustainable and, for me, fun and a dream come true. I am thrilled to see my carbon footprint diminish via the amazing auspices of digital printing and print on demand, as I have endeavoured most of my adult life to be as eco-conscious as possible. Now I am glad to say I can be proud of the way my work is being printed.

Sustainable digital printing: opportunities for all designers

By the very nature of digital printing, it is much more sustainable than its prior analogue counterpart which uses massive amounts of water, energy, and toxic dyestuffs to create massive inventories of products. On top of that, a large percentage of this inventory sometimes remains unsold and is difficult (if not impossible!) to dispose of.

In the relatively new Sell/Produce/Deliver model (a term I believe was coined by Debbie McKeegan), the item is purchased first from an online venue like Redbubble,Spoonflower or Society6.e The customer prepays and the item is literally made to order – there is no making up of anything that hasn’t been presold. There is an inventory of the "white goods" but not the giant number or pre-printed apparel and home décor items of the traditional model. This model is also fast and efficient, fantastically the turnaround from sale-to-delivery of items is usually between 4 to 10 days. Although it could be called "fast fashion", it does considerably cut down on a number of the problems we have seen with the fast fashion model we have right now.

Print on demand is a fantastic way for me, as an old school surface designer, to create items virtually to sell online via this relatively new Sell/Produce/Deliver model. I am over the moon as I get to do my business this way, especially since I see more and more selling platforms and items coming online regularly. As a designer, I consider myself to be a very lucky part of this sustainable Fashion Revolution. All I need is the investment of my time and talents to open an online shop at an established print-on-demand website.

The process: from design to sustainable digital printing

It is such a contrast to the clunky slow process that was the fashion in the 80s and 90s when I worked as both, a silhouette and textile designer in NY, for a large bodywear company. And as someone who has experienced the giant fashion industry machine first hand, my heart is gladdened by the brighter future digital printing and POD affords to everyone - whether you are a small or large company.

This new paradigm of digital printing on demand has created lots of small companies that sell through venues like Etsy where you can print your own fabric by the yard through Spoonflower, then make garments, toys, pillows (as you wish) at home and open your Etsy online shop.

The possibilities are limitless once you realize how easy this is to do! And also how affordable it is compared to the analogue model: you no longer have to purchase 10,000 yards of fabric in one design. In fact, you can just buy a fat quarter that is 18” x 21” to do a test run of your chosen pattern and create one small item to start your empire. You can also create an apparel or home décor brand via Society6 and Redbubble and you won’t even have to pay for the use of your shop!

Sustainable Digital printing vs Analogue printing

For me personally, digital printing has been a dream come true. The previous manner of analogue printing, designers had to separate the colours into a disappointingly small number of screens. Not a good way for my work to be translated onto fabrics or wallpaper because my designs are originated by hand in watercolours on paper.

Instead, the advent of digital printing means that my work, in all it’s subtleties, nuances and colour saturation, is perfectly rendered via the auspices of digital printing. The prior way to really achieve the look of my work was also prohibitively expensive, because of the large investment required to create Galvano screens and large inventories to make a run worth undertaking.

All I need for my work is paintbrushes, watercolours, a scanner and Photoshop, to create my pattern repeats, and have the work ready for online upload. Creating the pattern for repeat and placement prints and is ready for sale in my multiple online prints on demand shops. Basically, it's just a matter of hours or days as the shops provide all you need to render your items virtually and ready for sale.

 

Then the POD companies take care of everything else when a sale is made, and I make the equivalent of royalty as profit – for me, it’s the perfect model – and I can do it from anywhere that has a good internet connection!

What more could you want as a surface designer? The only hard part, as with any business, is the marketing and getting customers to my shops.

I jumped aboard the POD bandwagon the very second I realized what a perfect vehicle it was for my artwork and textile patterning and wow these companies started to spring up all over the world – in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK. Today, I can sell my items to anyone anywhere!

Nowadays, I am combining analogue and digital to my heart’s content and I only see the future looking brighter and brighter for my chosen career model, especially so as companies like Doc Cotton (Peckham, London) are improving on the current model by offering all their clothes in 100% sustainable and or organic cotton. It is a great move away from so much polyester, which admittedly prints really well but isn’t good for the environment in a number of ways.

My own brand is in the ether, and solely in the ether, until a customer purchases from one of my online shops. From that moment, as if by magic, the POD machinery cranks into work, creates the item ordered and ships it to the customer. Best thing is that my part in the process was already done with the upload of the pattern or placement print.

It truly is my dream come true!

Are you also a designer and just realised about this brighter future with digital printing? Ask any questions and share your insights with me, we are here to support each other ;)

Here's a list of my online shops:

           Contrado

       Curioos

       Art of Where

       Redbubble

       Society 6

       Spoonflower

       ArtWow

 

Thank you for reading! Please be in touch via the message box in the right hand column or by comment here - I look forward to hearing from you.

Most appreciatively, Patricia SheaDesigns