ABOUT ME
Yours is a home like no other and in a world craving variety and originality, Annika Reed designs offer unique creations for people who love a life less ordinary.
The journey to crafting exquisite wallpaper and fabrics....
My love affair with print and colour began in childhood. I was constantly surrounded by pattern books in my dad’s upholstery workshop. After school I would sit and admire his latest creation, transforming objects most would abandon into exquisite pieces of furniture. I used old swatches of fabric to make homes for my toys, cutting them up and using them as carpet and wallpaper in a cardboard box.
I went on to achieve a 1st class Honours degree from the University of Brighton and six years later an MA from University of Arts London in Fine Art Printmaking with a specialism in woodblock printing. I received many awards for my printmaking and worked alongside masters of my craft in China, Portugal and America.
In 2018, while pregnant with my daughter, I wanted to decorate her nursery in wallpaper that came to life, that would fill her head with images and ideas that she would remember forever. There was nothing on the market that was fun, yet sophisticated, quirky but not childish. It was clear I’d have to make her wallpaper myself. That’s when both Annika Reed Studio and my daughter were born.
The Printing Process
All Annika Reed designs begin with a sketchbook and pen. I refine then hand draw the images onto a piece of Asian wood, where I carve them according to the age-old practices I learned whilst doing a residency at the University of Shanghai in China, in 2006.
While in China I worked alongside masters in woodblock printing and developed my unique style.
Traditional woodcuts are printed from separate blocks, one created for each colour. I work differently, carving away each colour, one at a time, and use the same block to print all the layers of my designs.
It takes at least a month to complete a full series of carvings and colour layers. If I make a mistake, I can’t know it until the end of the process. If I make a mistake, I’ve lost a month and have to start from scratch -- so chance plays a big role in the final outcome.
This process of wood carving and painting in layers produces uniquely rich, layered, painterly prints.
I print all designs by hand in my studio in London using non-toxic techniques.
Ink is rolled onto the wood and printed over the previous layer. Some designs only need one colour, others require several.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
TRADE SHOW:
2022, Decorex
2021, Decorex
2020, Decorex, Virtual Designscape
2019 London Design Fair, Truman Brewery, London
SOLO
2015 Insignificant Little Blob, ASC Gallery, London
2013 Fish Tea and the Everlasting Hero, London
2012 Old Timers for Old Times, Exeter
2007, Shanghai University, China
GROUP
2017 Empire II, Venice Biannual, Venice
2016 Woolwich Open, London
2016 Loop, Bankside, London
2015 Creekside Open, Selected by Lisa Milroy, A.T.P Gallery, London
2014 Select Showcase, Camberwell Space
RESIDENCIES:
2014 Bartolomeu dos Santos Residency, Tavira, Portugal
2014 SCADD, Savannah, America
2006 Chinese Residency, University of Shanghai
AWARDS:
2020 Best Wallpaper, Homes and Garden BUILD
2020 Best Children's Wallpaper, LUX awards
2015 Creekside Open 2015, Best in Show selected by Lisa Milroy
2014 London Print Studio Graduate Award
2014 Clifford Chance Purchase Print Prize
2014 The Edward Ardizzone Award
2014 Artichoke Printmaking Award
2014 Shortlisted Bloomberg New Contemporaries
2013 Art Council Funding for Paperwork, Publication
2007 ‘Best in Show’ University of Nagoya, Japan
2007‘Highly Commended’ Burt and Brill and Cardens
Collaborations and Community Projects:
National Portrait Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Paperwork
Clifford Chance
Read Horse