Designer making her mark

Her patterns are fresh and exciting but they hint at nostalgia and have their roots in the sixties and seventies.

They have propelled her from art school to internationally renowned designer with her own brand and 16 shops, including 12 in Japan where she is a cult figure.

Her coveted prints are on everything from clothes to bags and cushions to mugs and now they've been brought together in a real "belter" of a book.

Pattern by Orla Kiely (pronounced Kylie) features everything from personal accounts of her childhood and what informs her work to how she uses colour, texture and form.

There's also a section on how to use pattern successfully and it all makes for an inspirational read and a wonderful visual treat.

Orla, who lives in London with husband and business partner Dermott Rowan and their two children, reveals that her obsession with pattern was evident at an early age.

"As a little girl, I was mesmerised by pattern. I would find myself tracing undulating swirls of organic forms, scrutinising them to discover where the motif eventually repeated itself.

"I sometimes think that my brain works in repeat. I love the order and regiment of repetition and how anything and everything can be patterned in this way, as if you're looking at the world through a prism or kaleidoscope."

She grew up in Ireland, graduated from Dublin's National College of Art and after a spell in New York, she did a Master's at the Royal College of Art in London. She has worked with everyone from the Tate and Harrods to Heal's and M&S.

Her influences range from the afore-mentioned mid- century modern to artists including Fernand Leger and Lyubov Popova and Scandinavian design, through to her childhood home, a fifties-style house in a Dublin seaside suburb.

"One of my most vivid memories is of our family kitchen with its olive green Formica cupboards and worktops, co-ordinating green and white patterned tiles and to top it off an orange gloss ceiling. I loved it," she says.

Her taste in colour from moss and seaweed greens to the greys and browns of the Eire landscape, was influenced by the beach and fields near her home.

Her love of fashion was encouraged and she got her first sewing machine aged 12 when she became completely absorbed in making things.

For those who would like to follow in her footsteps she offers advice: "I have experimented with many styles and influences and have come to realise I am happiest doing my own work.

"I firmly believe that being true to yourself is a guarantee that quality and integrity will shine through."

For those of us who can't hope to emulate and are simply happy to admire, her book offers another great bonus. It is full of fantastic pictures including full-page images of her patterns.

For those willing to commit sacrilege and cut them out – and I'm afraid I am and I have – these are a very frame-able and an inexpensive way of enjoying Orla's work.

I've got a couple in Ikea frames above the dining table and the book hasn't suffered unduly.

It's still got a prime slot on my shelves.

n Pattern by Orla Kiely is published by Conran Octopus, 25. To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post Bookshop, call free on 0800 0153232 or go online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop.co.uk. P&P is 2.75.

For Orla Kiely shops and stockists, visit www.orlakiely.com