I have created many designs that are close to my heart; particularly those inspired by my experiences travelling overseas. The SAFARI design came to life after my trip to Kenya’s Masai Mara National Park, East Africa. This adventure inspired me to recreate, through illustrations, some of the magnificent and beautiful animals I encountered.
Slumbersac’s FARMYARD design was inspired by childhood holidays visiting family at their farm in Austria. I loved collecting the chicken's eggs each morning, milking the cows, feeding the hungry pigs and playing in the haybarn with my sister Gemma! All the time surrounded by the beautiful countryside of Murau, Austria.
Slumbersac’s strong charitable ethos inspires and motivates me to create our wonderful designs. Some of my proudest times have been working with fantastic NGOs (non-government organisations) in the Philippines, and in Brazil, teaching art to disadvantaged children from deprived areas.
At one of the schools, I painted a huge wall mural for the community centre to make it a more inspiring space for learning and playing. I hope to sow the seeds of adventure with my print designs and inspire children to seek out their own adventures.
Lot of team work goes on behind the scenes before the fabrics are produced and made into the beautiful products that arrive at your door. From conceptual ideas and trend research, to colour choices and initial drawings; then the all-over print patterns are finally developed. New patterns and artwork are printed onto carefully selected fabrics for a variety of products; sleeping bags, baby wear, toys, comforters, ponchos, books - and more, as the Slumbersac range expands.
Receiving the first set of samples from the factory and organising the photoshoots is a really rewarding experience for us. We are always excited and happy to see the children enjoying our new products. We have lots of new ideas and designs in the pipeline and they’ll be ready very soon - watch this space!
All the best
Vicky Battersby
