Each drawing, screen print and finished cushion and bag surprises me and I love that. I am Rebecca Alexander, the designer maker behind Thistle & Wild.

My botanical designs stem from the irregular, beautiful form and intricacy of flowers. I am drawn to natural textures and colour and contemporary and historic architecture are huge influences on me.

All Thistle & Wild designs are my own. I love the process of hand drawing each design in my Collections, I don’t use any computer programmes. Starting with a blank sheet of paper and pencil or pen in front of me is both daunting and exciting. Letting my pen travel across the paper often leads to more and more ideas and I am still surprised by the result, in a positive way, luckily! I L O V E screen printing, it’s challenging, time consuming and costly but so rewarding to screen print my designs onto fabric. I print at Hot Bed Press, in Salford, near Manchester, an incredible studio dedicated to all printmaking disciplines. I creatively design the patterns for each bag and piece within my Collections and lastly I pattern cut, machine sew, and hand finish with a maple Thistle & Wild label. It's important to me to take the time to design and create your Thistle & Wild piece.

I believe the things we touch, see, use and surround ourselves with can have an uplifting and positive affect on how we feel. This is why I work with, and am drawn to, fabrics that I can’t resist; the sumptuous texture, quality and colour and why I often screen print with lustrous gold pigment.

At the heart of Thistle & Wild is making pieces which bring happiness and beauty to our everyday lives by making beautiful, stylish and practical pieces that I hope you, your friends and your loved ones will love and use every single day.

I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a BA Honours degree in Fine Art. I smile to myself when I think about the first day. We all gathered in the Holden Gallery and a register was called for each Fine Art course. I had been accepted onto Painting but my name was read out on the Printmaking register. A clerical error that was easily changed, but 16 years later I am now a Printmaker.

Following University I worked in the arts in the UK and Italy. In 2013 I attended my first screen printing session in Brighton, UK, where my family and I were living for a year, and I was hooked. With the help of two great courses run by Sally (one69a) in Manchester, I have continued to practice and hone my screen printing techniques. Putting on my Grandpops' shirt and feeling at home with pigment and paint again is wonderful, I love it. I am utterly absorbed.

If you would like to hear about new collections, know when new items are being added to my shop and see behind the scenes photos, you can follow me on facebook and instagram. The links to my pages are above and to the right.

All lovingly made in Manchester, UK. Thank you for supporting Thistle & Wild.

Rebecca x