Homegirl London pays homage to Victoria Eggs. She’s created a range of playful, contemporary designed products aimed at bringing a smile to your face. Her work celebrates a love for all things British which is evident in her ‘English Dinner,’ ‘London Bus’ and ‘London Tube’ designs. Victoria makes bold, colourful home accessories including aprons, tea towels, oven mitts and mugs. Her collections also include screenprints, bags and T-shirts. The British theme is followed through to manufacturing where she strives to support the local industry. I caught up with Victoria to ask her a few questions …
Q: Tell me about your design background.
A: I graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in 2005 after which designed, made and sold photographic greeting cards into local shops and galleries and soon became an in-house designer for Real and Exciting Designs, a design-led greeting card company. I left there to move to Sydney, where I worked as freelance T-Shirt designer for Ben Sherman and for a branding company, BrandCulture; an amazing company with inspiring people, this experience gave me the added determination and confidence to go it alone. After a year in Australia, I returned to London in September 2010 and shortly after began working towards setting up my own company, which I launched in March 2011.
Q: What’s the concept behind the Victoria Eggs brand?
A: To create fun and eye-catching artwork that celebrates a love for all things British and puts it on useful, high-quality products made in the UK. It is very inspiring to create something people want and love.
Q: Tell me more about your hand-pulled screen printing techniques.
A: The designs are exposed to large screens which have been coated with a developing solution. These are then washed in water and the part which was covered by the image is washed away which allows the ink to pass through the screen onto the paper. Once dry, the screen is attached to the print bed and aligned using acetate. The print bed is switched on which creates a suction so the paper will stick to the bed once the screen is lifted away and you can start printing. A line of ink is placed on top of the screen and using a squeegee and pressure the ink is pulled over the screen from the top to the bottom, pushing the ink through the tiny holes onto the paper below to create the print.
Q: Why is it important for you to support British?
A: For me this is hugely important, buying British supports the national economy and ensures our local economy is given the best possible chance to grow. It also offsets carbon emissions incurred from goods transported from overseas and encourages fair-trade practices as you can trace all products back to the source of manufacture.
Q: You grew up in Hertfordshire, what’s your inspiration for the London ranges?
A: I visited London frequently from a young age and find it one of the most exciting and inspiring places in the world and it continues to inspire me. I now live and work in Islington, London and my designs are hugely influenced by my surroundings.
Q: Where’s your favourite place in London / why?
A: Oooh, that’s a tough one … there are just too many! Camden Passage has to be up there though, it’s close to where I live and I love walking through the antique markets and browsing in the shops on a weekend, and never fail to walk past the Breakfast Club without going in! Yum.
Q: What’s your favourite British meal?
A: I don’t think you can beat a good Sunday Roast, preferably with lamb.
Q: What’s coming up for the remainder of 2012?
A: The run-up to Christmas will be busy with orders and I am currently working on new designs and products which will be launched at Top Drawer London in January, I’m really excited about them.
Below is a selection of Victoria’s products which you can buy from Victoria Eggs. To give you an idea on price points; tea towels £9, oven mitts £12, aprons £22, mugs £10, bags £12 and screen prints £45. Credits: text by Homegirl London, images courtesy of Victoria Eggs, special thanks to Victoria Eggs.
