About

My name is Gérard a designer behind Surface for air, a metaphorical reference to the human need to breathe in a world where we are quite literally overwhelmed. When do we surface for air? In this modern world few of us can.

I was able to when, back in 2005, I retired. Doesn't matter from what but suffice to say while it owes me nothing it wasn't my first choice career. Once out of the swamp I put my creative mind to work. Became a street photographer, started making digital art and in 2014 started to design women's scarves under the banner of Silk Scarves by Gérard.

I had my first break and showed at the Henley music festival in 2015. Though a success I failed to capitalise and through a combination of uncertainty and a poor grasp of online marketing my enthusiasm for converting my designs in to a brand faltered. In the background I continued to develop my practice. My design portfolio burgeoned. I researched to minefield of online marketing showed my work at craft fairs and open art days and gradually became familiar with what was needed to relaunch my enterprise.

Along the way my go to supplier went bankrupt but maintaining my key focus to source in the UK discovered Contrado and Shopify which delivered a hassle free interface that accommodated my business model. Uncertainty prevailed but as in the words of Turgenev; " If we wait for the moment when everything absolutely everything is ready we shall never begin." I also think that what I have achieved is testament to the fact if we put our mind to things and accept that all we do in life involve a degree of risk impossible becomes possible. At 72 I feel privileged to be able to still function to still create and to still embrace new  and exciting challenges even if I have been a little tentative. 

The basic concept here is to make in the UK. Contrado make bespoke and offer a variety of fabrics and scarf sizes to suit everyone. From order placement to despatch is 48hrs which I have tested and it works. Quality is paramount and thus far they have delivered.

Obviously lead-times outside of the UK will vary. Apart from the scarf there are no frills simple packaging limiting excessive materials. Bespoke means sustainable manufacture limited wastage and no unnecessary stockholding. The link from Shopify to Contrado is seamless but if anything happens there is more chance of a swift resolution. 

I have as far as is possible selected fabric choice to suit the design applied. There is also an added feature of double sided printing but limited to synthetic fabrics. Silk is a natural product and fabric weights (GSM) will impact the "see through" of the design. The more lightweight like Habotai and Georgette the better the "see though". It is also worth remarking that all fabrics will display minor imperfections which add to their charm. Needless to say the rigid quality control routines weed out abnormal imperfections. 

I am happy to discuss adopting any of the designs here on your fabric of choice where feasible. Many of my designs are vector based so are scalable but where the artwork employed is pixel based beyond certain sizes the artwork degrades.    

Since my retirement I have taught myself the Adobe digital app's like Photoshop and more recently Illustrator that form the foundation of all my designs. I employ aspects of my artwork (sold internationally) surface patterns created on my iPad and perfected in Illustrator and also photographic images (often textures) that add depth and form that enhance my designs. The journey has evolved my skills my confidence in what I create and helped hone essential knowledge around textile and surface pattern applications colour spaces and preparing my artwork to suit printed textile application. 

My inspiration is manifold, too vast to describe here. My art doesn't convey any messages or rather only conveys one message and that is joy, as after all were that not the purpose none of this work would see the light of day. 

This is clearly a work in progress and I imagine as many things it will be necessary to refine and enhance these pages as time and experience warrant. I apologise in advance for any unfound glitches and undertake to remedy any faults or flaws as swiftly as the problem allows.

Surface for air then is a conduit for my art, better it employed in some way than remain hidden away on my hard drives. The caveat, of course is, that my purpose is not entirely altruistic. Indeed it would be great to see this flourish and to be translated in to revenue, but thats in your hands not mine!

My doing is done, countless hours of joy now reside on these products I hope you get the same amount of joy from owning even the smallest of them.....

Gérard.  

Frome Somerset UK.