How I Got Started

Surface Pattern Design is the act of creating art for the surfaces of products.  It is any design, illustration, drawing, or motif that is printed or applied to a surface, no matter what type of surface that might be. You can find countless examples around you, the prints on your clothes, the covers of your books, decor pieces, accessories, wallpapers, birthday cards etc.

We are thrilled to bring you another exciting edition of ‘How I got started with a powerful pair of creatives who give life, energy, character, and movement to surfaces. In this edition, our co-hosts will be sharing all you need to know about surface pattern designing.

Eva Sonaike and Lulu Kitolo will host this edition and they’ll be in conversation about their creative journeys, major milestones, pain points and opportunities as surface pattern designers.

The Event

The purpose of the event is to inspire and empower African creatives with insights into the process of exceptional creatives and brand owners in starting up and running successful creative practices or brands. 

Meet the Co-Hosts

EVA SONAIKE, CREATIVE DIRECTOR EVA SONAIKE

Eva Sonaike is a London-based Interiors company specialising in luxury home textiles, soft furnishings and interior design solutions with a vibrant, elegant West-African aesthetic. The company’s ethos ‘Bringing Colour to Life’ is reflected in its signature collections of cushions, rugs, furnishings, lamps, wallpapers and interior textiles designed by its Creative Director and Founder Eva Sonaike. Emphasis is placed on hand finishing, distinct designs and high-quality manufacturing. Eva Sonaike graduated with an MA in Fashion Journalism from the London College of Fashion, where she specialised in contemporary African fashion and textiles.

Driven by her enormous passion for African fabrics and interior design, she set up the company in 2009 with the mission of bringing the vibrancy of African colours and aesthetics to the premium home-décor and interior design market.

Eva, who was born and raised in Germany and is of Nigerian origin, has taken the best elements of both cultures to inspire her work – her designs draw from the two distinct influences of colourful African textile traditions and European antique and mid-century furniture. With textiles expertly printed and products manufactured in the UK, Eva Sonaike stays true to her concept of ‘Bringing Colour to Life’, celebrating a luxury African way of life, that perfectly complements modern contemporary living.

Eva Sonaike’s interior products have been stocked worldwide in prestigious stores such as Liberty, Amara and Selfridges in London, Globus in Switzerland, Temple Muse and Alara in Lagos, ABC Carpet & Home in New York and Indigo Living in Hong Kong and Dubai; and Eva and her products are regularly featured in the UK and international press. Over the years the company has worked with some of the worlds leading interior design firms on residential and commercial design projects, such as the Kanuhura Resort in the Maldives (HBA), Hubert Zandberg Interiors, the Bill Gates Foundation and has secured some exclusive collaborations with luxury bathroom retailer C.P. Hart in 2021 and Soho Home, the interiors collection of the renowned members club Soho House in 2022.

LULU KITOLO, FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR, LULU KITOLO STUDIO

Lulu Kitololo, is an artist, illustrator and designer with almost 20 years experience. An alumna of Pratt Institute in the US (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications Design, with Highest Honors) and SOAS, University of London (Master of Arts in African Studies, with Distinction), she previously worked as an advertising Art Director in New York and as Senior Design Consultant for London-based sustainability communications agency, Futerra. She’s been running her own studio since 2010.

Aside from championing creativity and the continent of her birth – Africa – these are the things that make her world go round: her son-shine; nature (and especially the ocean); travel; movement; and writing.

Who is this event for?

• Emerging designers looking to translate their unique perspectives into creatively designed surface pattern designs. 
• Aspiring and existing surface pattern designers
• Existing designers interested in surface pattern designing.
• Creatives seeking other mediums to express or develop their design skills

What to Expect
Gist and ideas that can transform you, your business and how you design.

Register here to attend

Platform: ZOOM 

Date: Wednesday 29th June, 2022

Time: 5:30pm WAT | 4:30pm GMT | 12:30pm EDT