WHERE IS BONBI FOREST AND WHO IS LEE MAY FOSTER?

Bonbi Forest is this here website, a home of sorts to all of the artwork and wares made by artist Lee May Foster (hello! that’s me by the way). I am a graduate in BA Hons Fine Art Painting from the University of Brighton in England, UK. All of my screen printed designs and jewellery have their roots in my drawings and paintings which feature many a critter, creature and scape of trees, sea and sky. I live by the sea in a rural part of deepest darkest Cornwall in the far south-west of England and in my work I like to explore patterns, rhythms and stories, and the connection of people to nature. The wild world shapes us and we shape it. You will see that I like shapes and I like colours.

In the past I have worked with Bat For Lashes, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Urban Outfitters and my jewellery and clothing has been seen in Grazia, Look, Marie Claire and The Independent amongst others.

HOW ARE YOUR DESIGNS PRINTED? IS BONBI FOREST CLOTHING ETHICAL?

All Bonbi Forest clothing designs are printed at my studio here in Cornwall. They are hand screen printed onto the fabric using water based inks which are kinder to the environment than the ‘Plastisol’ inks used by many large manufacturers. Water based inks don’t have that plasticy feel that plastisol inks have either. They are completely washable and after one wash feel really soft and lovely in the fabrics.

The nice thing about hand printed goods is that they have a unique touch and each print is ever so slightly different, a work of art in itself. The hand that made the print can be seen in the outcome and keeping that quality is a nod to the printing days of yesteryear, before machine printed goods and mass manufacture.

All of my clothing designs are printed on American Apparel who have a vertically integrated factory in the USA. While the tees have to travel a long way to get here to be printed, the same can be said for many other garments we buy and wear from lots of other companies. Using American Apparel I know that the tees are very good quality and the people making them get a fair wage, good working conditions and benefits from American Apparel. For more information about American Apparel’s mission statement, please visit their website: http://americanapparel.net

HOW ABOUT YOUR JEWELLERY?

My jewellery designs are an extension of my artwork in other areas and are another way for me to play with colour and shapes. I am a proper magpie and love the jewellery making process as much as I love to paint and draw and print! When I come up with new designs I make as many of them as I can possibly get the supplies for. Sometimes I can only make a few and other times I can make lots and lots and lots, but because I use vintage components and hard to find pieces all of my designs are limited and once they are sold out, they stay sold out!

ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU?

Away from work and such I am very much interested in the equine sport of Dressage in which I have competed for a number of years on my own horse, the wonderful Lauder, and numerous others that I have been lucky enough to loan and ride over time. I am not a pro by any means but have been fairly successful over the years and love it so much, it’s as much a neccessary part of my life as making things is.

I have a wonderful beau called Mark who is quite the talent at making websites. He put this here site together for me and has made many other fantastic places of internet interest. If you are after a website of your own he comes highly recommended (not that I am biased or anything) and you can see his creations and contact him over at pensandpencilsandpens.com

WILL YOU LET ME USE YOUR PICTURES FOR MY PERSONAL PROJECTS AND WEBSITE?

Please don’t use my images without my written permission. If you would like to have Bonbi Forest images for your own projects, whether personal or professional please contact me and we can discuss your requirements further. All images on this site and my personal images on my blog are ©Lee May Foster/ Bonbi Forest

WHERE ELSE CAN I FIND BONBI FOREST AND KEEP UP WITH YOU?

Bonbi Forest wares are stocked in the following stores of delight:

UK:

The Shop Floor Project: www.theshopfloorproject.com
Anorak Magazine Shop: www.anorak-magazine.co.uk
Posh Totty Designs Boutique, Bond Street Cottages, Brighton
Cherry Cherry, Lower Goat Lane, Norwich
Tyto Boutique, Discovery Quay, Falmouth: www.tytoboutique.co.uk
All Thing Original: www.allthingsoriginal.com

USA:
The Makery, Louisville, Kentucky
Renegade Handmade: www.renegadehandmade.com

I am always looking for more stockists so if you have a store and are interested in stocking Bonbi Forest goodies, please get in touch! More info can be found on the Contact page…

You can also follow my musings on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BonbiForest
and befriend Bonbi Forest on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bonbiforest
I also have a shop on Indie Wonder mall Etsy (where my items can be bought in $ USD): www.bonbiforest.etsy.com

If you have any further questions, you can either email me, or ask me stuff over at Formspring: www.formspring.me/bonbiforest

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!