Ella Doran: pattern, pattern everywhere

Where most of us would see a pile of pebbles, or a shelf of dusty old books, a stack of old vinyl records that should have gone to the charity shop a long time ago or a stash of pots of half used paints that we really should either use or throw out, Ella Doran sees pattern.

“Pattern grabs me,” she says, “and colour grabs me too.” Armed with her camera and a sunny day, or a dusty old room, Ella will find pattern. Her recent blog post of photos from a trip to Spain show that her inspiration comes in all guises – beautiful tiles, carved wooden doors, a blind hanging out of a window, rusty metal, a chain link fence. And that pattern, texture and colour is translated into print which decorates the surfaces of a whole range of products from trays, coasters and placemats to made-to-measure roller blinds, wallpaper and wrapping paper.

It all began with a photograph of pebbles, some coasters, tablemats and trays and has blossomed into partnerships with shops such as John Lewis and Heals to manufacturers like Portmeirion and projects in collaboration with organisations such as the Tate, Barts and the London Children’s Hospital and the Glasgow School of Art. Since she started her business in 1997, Ella has won multiple awards including “Most Influential Designer” from her peers at Hidden Art.

It has always been what she captures with a camera which inspires her. She trained as a textile designer and sold designs after graduating until embarking on a six-month trip to Africa. “I’d always had a camera during college; it was a source of inspiration for me,” she says. “In Africa, I photographed everything. I was in awe of the colour and in-your-face nature.”

Nature still obviously inspires Ella: she has created a range of beautiful prints of individual flowers; and flowers and leaves make their way on to umbrellas, cushions and tableware. But Ella finds inspiration in man-made objects too.

She was commissioned to design a range of products for the opening of the Glasgow School of Art shop in 2008. And to her delight, she was given carte blanche to wander around Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s building photographing the intricate details. “Macintosh’s building is so magical,” she says. “Everything down to the door knobs, has been thought about. It was very inspiring.” The photos she took now grace the covers of clothbound books, coasters, posters and prints.

Her most personally satisfying large-scale project has been for Barts and the London Children’s Hospital. She was invited to pitch by the charity Vitalarts who are working with the hospital to transform the children’s wards and bedrooms. She designed surface decoration for bedside cabinets, overbed tables and curtains using playful London themes including hot air balloons and kites over the Thames with a wildflower meadow in the foreground. The curtains which separate the beds from each other give the children an alternative view from their bedside. Double-sided, they have a flat colour on the outside, which gives a striped effect to the ward when all the curtains are closed, and the image is on the inside, for the children to look at.

She did workshops with the children, their parents and staff before designing the surface decoration. “They were brilliant but I had to hold back the tears sometimes,” she says. “There was lots of joy too, though. One three-year-old girl joined us. She had a drip and was clearly in pain. Her eyes looked at one of the images and she stopped crying immediately.” Ella has to wait until February to see the full results of her work, when the wards and bedrooms will be completely transformed.

Ella is currently concentrating on her Home Collection of wallpapers and of further new designs she says: “I like to react in my business, to wait for what comes to me.” In the next decade, she would like to do more commissions like the London Children’s Hospital: “I always like to have a big project going on,” she says. But right now she is busy preparing to exhibit as guest of honour at Maison Decoration 2011: Londres, so British! in Colmar, France, later this month.

elladoran.co.uk

maisondeco-colmar.fr/animations-2011-londres.html