Behind the Scenes: Designing my 2026 Calendar Tea Towel (part 1)
A few months ago, I asked you to help me choose a theme for my 2026 Calendar Tea Towel and you (almost) unanimously chose: A Year in British Birdlife.
What does the design include?
This theme meant that I could focus my illustrations on something many of us enjoy all year round – the birds we see in our gardens, woodlands, parks and hedgerows. This design will be something to brighten your kitchen and would make a thoughtful gift for nature lovers (whether that’s a loved one, or just yourself!)
The tea towel design features a small collection of birds that can be seen here in Britain at different times of the year, from blue tits on a garden bird feeder, to the eggs in a blackbird’s nest, or some of our more common migratory birds that herald the changing seasons (swallows arriving for summer and geese flying south for winter, for example).
Illustrating the different elements
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been immersed in my sketchbook, carefully hand-drawing each illustration in ink before layering in watercolour washes for detail and colour. It’s been lovely spending time on the little details – the bright splash of a robin’s breast, the patterning on a thrush’s feathers, or the soft texture of moss for a nest.
I start by researching the subject of each illustration - hunting through reference books and royalty-free photo sites like Pexels for images. I then get drawing, with a basic pencil sketch, which I use as the basis for my detailed pen drawing. Watercolour comes last.
Once the artwork is finished, I scan and digitise all the illustrations in order to bring together the final tea towel design, complete with some little snippets of information about each bird or object. This is the fiddly stage, where things move about and get added and taken away until I’m happy with the overall look!
And here’s the finished design!
As with last year’s Calendar Tea Towel, this design will be printed here in the UK onto 100% unbleached organic cotton and finished as a tea towel with a hanging loop, meaning that they’re practical as everyday tea towels, but can also be hung as a decorative calendar – something to enjoy throughout the year.
I need to order some samples to check the colour and design outputs, but I’m hoping to have these 2026 Calendar Tea Towels in stock by mid-October. Pre-orders are already open if you want to guarantee nabbing A Year in British Birdlife 2026 Calendar Tea Towel as I’ll only be having a limited quantity printed, to save on waste.
Or you can sign-up to my monthly newsletter mailing list to be first to hear when the Calendar Tea Towels are in stock.