about me...
Hi! I'm Ellie Trifonos,
Surface Pattern Designer based in Birmingham, England.
I am a huge lover of all things nature, especially jungle and tropical nature. Bright colours and quirky shapes are the main drivers behind my motivation. I am especially drawn to the weirder sides of nature, I enjoy displaying the beauty of the most unusual organisms, those that most people would not presume to be beautiful, like creepy crawlies and alien-like sea creatures. A simple summer walk, surrounded by flowers in full bloom and vibrant green leaves reflecting the sunlight, provides me with enough inspiration to form an entire collection of designs.
I have been passionate about Art and Textiles for as long as I can remember. The earliest memories I have were of being around 8 years old, sleepovers at my grandparents house would transform into an arts and crafts club, with my Grandad teaching me about the versatility of watercolour paints. One of my favourite Christmas presents of all time was my first ever sewing machine, that I got at around 10 years old - this meant I started mass producing miniature lavender pillows for my whole family, to help them freshen up their delicate drawers. My Nan is to thank for teaching me how to actually function my sewing machine. I loved day trips out to the Birmingham Rag Markets to pick up
sewing supplies, buttons and fabrics, and also popping into John Lewis to see what fabric off cuts they had available. As I got a little older my hobbies started to expand out, to embroidery - cross stitch in particular and wire jewellery making.
My hobbies started to materialise in Secondary School, when I chose to take Art and Textiles as my two main GCSE options, this was when I first saw my passions developing into possible career pathways.
Sixth Form is where my passions really thrived. I studied an Art and Design Extended BTEC Diploma, here I was able to experiment in multiple different aspects of Art and Design, meaning I found my key interests. It was during this course where I learnt that Textiles is not just sewing and constructing garments - print making came to my attention and I fell in love with forming repeat patterns. I picked up multiple PhotoShop skills and I was able to develop my illustrations and artwork into designs suitable for surfaces. During my time at Solihull Sixth Form, I was awarded a Certificate of Achievement by the Mayoress of Solihull and also Third Prize by the judges of The Arts Society Arden for my Textile Designs.
Zoe Maksymiw, Curriculum Leader for Creative Arts, commented:
"It has been 12 years that the Arden Decrotive & Fine Arts Society have worked with the College and we are very grateful for the support they show our students. It is always difficult to narrow down all the work our students produce to just a handful of winners and this year we had the biggest exhibition we've ever had for them to choose from."
- 29th June 2018.
At University I studied Textile Design and specialised in Print. Here I learnt how to make my designs more complex, and picked up a multitude of new techniques, processes and experiences. One of those experiences was having the chance to work on a live project with Dulux and Epson, here I was briefed to use the Dulux Act Palette which included Dulux's Colour of the Year - Spiced Honey. This project resulted in both Dulux and Epson handpicking one of my designs to be used amongst the Epson stand in FESPA - the biggest global Print Expo, and in 2019 it was based in Munich, Germany. This is hands down my biggest achievement to date, and I am so grateful for BCU giving me the opportunity!
BTEC Art & Design teacher Pam Basra commented:
"I'm delighted for Ellie that she is doing so well, but not surprised. Her talent was evident when she was with us last year and it's good to see she is going from strength to strength now that she is at University. I wish her more success in the future."
- 20th May 2019.
I am currently looking forward to a career in Surface Pattern Design and I cannot wait to continue my journey!