London Grilling: Natalie Gibson, Artist, Print Designer and Teacher
Hi Natalie, we are so excited to hear all about your incredible career! First things first, when did you realise you wanted to become an artist?
When I was about sixteen. I always seemed to be in the art room at school. My Mum took my drawings to Chelsea School of Art and they accepted me without having met me first.
Growing up, what artists/artwork were your drawn to?
Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Kathleen Hale and Louis Wain.
Can you tell us a brief history of your career so far?
I studied at the Chelsea School of Art and then at The Royal College. I worked for Terence Conran at Habitat, made designs for Twiggy, taught at Hornsey & Saint Martins (now Central Saint Martins). I teach an annual Dabu (mud printing) course in Jaipur.
I design and print my own stuff on clothes, rugs, homeware, furniture, photographic prints and more. I also travel overseas to teach courses in China, Brazil and South Africa, to name a few.
What was your first “big moment” where you really felt everything was falling into place?
It never really felt like it was “falling into place”, as it initially never really occurred to me that I could make a living by being a print designer. A break was designing a collection for Sir Terence Conran when he owned Habitat and when I worked with Twiggy for clothes she designed.
Designing for Twiggy, that’s so exciting! Huge designers like Alexander McQueen and Matthew Williamson have also experienced your work, tell us about this!
They and many other talented students who have passed through the doors of Saint Martins & then CSM, were and still are so talented, creative, and industrious. They were never afraid to show work that they loved and that was unique to them, they didn’t want to “fit into a certain box”. There are the names we all know but there are also many others who are/were as talented whose names are less well known but equally deserving of recognition; Wakako Kishimoto (Eley Kishimoto) and Simon Ungless, who did all the prints for Alexander McQueen when he was a student and started working. Antoni & Alison, who still have a fabulous shop in Clerkenwell and many others, the list is too long!
You certainly have a wonderful insight into the fashion world. What are you most proud of so far?
The number of students who have come out of Saint Martins & CSM who have gone on to do so well within the print and design world.
What have been some highlights of your career?
My collection for Terence Conran at Habitat, my range with Twiggy, teaching the Dabu mud printing course in India, the project we have run with Grayson Perry for eighteen years with the second-year fashion print students at college. Meeting and knowing some fantastically creative people throughout life.
Tell us how you came to be a tutor at UAL?
It wasn’t UAL at the time, it was Saint Martins on Charing Cross Road. I was interviewed to set up the print department on the graphics course before it became fashion print. I went to the interview with my two sons, Hoot & Brodie, who were two and three at the time, so I think they gave me the job just to get them out of the way.
You recently had a pop-up store at Earls Court, what did you have available for purchase?
We had hoodies, sweatshirts, t-shirts, photographic prints, cushion covers, tea towels, rugs, tote bags and bone China plates, all with my designs.
Where is your favourite spot to eat in London?
Café Amisha, an Italian restaurant at 161, Grange Road
Where do you go to get inspired?
Museums, galleries, markets. I get inspired by reading books, travelling, meeting with friends. I’m constantly inspired by cats, flowers, birds, colours and other animals.
Tell us, what’s next for you?
A two-day evening pop-up on November 29th and 30th at Zandra Rhodes flat with some other wonderful creative people; Andrew Logan, Nabil Nayal, Kitty Joseph, Piers Atkinson & Kat Maconie. I have the Dabu mud printing course in February, China in the summer and back to India at the end of summer.
Well you are certainly kept busy! Where can our readers find you online?
You can visit my website: www.natthecat.co.uk
I am also in Instagram: @natthecatlondon
