Profile Description
At Fabia.H.Goff discover a studio of art, textiles, homeware and pattern that bring joy or peace into your home or space.
As an Artist and Designer based in Folkestones Creative Quarter, Fabia finds inspiration in the local country- and sea-side. Drawing from the garden of England, Kents inspiring biodiversity, flora and fauna and her travels throughout Europe, America and Asia Fabia curates original, handmade and limited edition collections: Hand carved and printed, hand sewn or hand drawn and graphically developed, everything Fabia makes is carefully crafted and considered. From composed tranquil prints to vibrant and colourful wall hangings, there’s something for almost anyone, to bring joy into their home.
Fabia also provides design services tailored to clients worldwide (online e.g. graphically) and around Kent including bespoke fabric wall hanging design and creation, hand painted murals and shop displays, bespoke surface pattern design and product design consulting.
Coming soon to The Old Highstreet in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter with business partner, The Mushroom Babes; find us both in our open studio shop space aptly named ‘Bloom & Whimsy’.
Art forms
- Design
- Drawing
- Fashion
- Furniture
- Gifts
- Graphic design
- Homeware
- Illustration
- Interior design
- Multi disciplines
- Multi media
- Painting
- Printmaking
- Textile
Testimonials
I love the 'watch me grow' wall hanging, it's so rich and complex, very Klimt' - Kat Kristof
My Fabric Wall Hanging is the first thing that I put up in my new house - Kelly Taddei, Kent UK
Fabia's work, packaging and customer care is fantastic. We cannot wait to see more products and artworks as they are created and become available - her Instagram is one to watch - Carolyn, Canada
Fabia brought my brand to life with the complete branding package and I’m forever thankful! Her eye for colour, design and art overall is impeccable. I’d highly recommend her for any of your graphic design needs or if you’re looking to create a new piece of artwork in your home - she is the person to go to!! - Della Driscoll (The Violet Network)
Address
67 The Old High St, 67 The Old High Street, Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom, CT20 1RN
Location
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Opening hours - Details
Shop opening hours to be confirmed
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Wednesday-Friday 9am-6pm
Saturday 9am-6pm
Sunday 10am-4pm
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Please call or email to schedule a design consultancy appointment with myself.
Accessibility information
If you would like to visit me in my shop (Opening date Late August 2023!), we are located on The Old Highstreet. It is a steep, cobbled street so take care. We are nearer the bottom and aim to install ramps for access to our shop space for all.
Interview
As an artist my focus is Linoprint first and foremost. A mindful, unique and traditional art form I enjoy creating floral and fauna themed pieces, landscapes and architectural prints. I enjoy watercolour and creating graphical illustrations, offering a variety of giclee prints and digitally printed and then hand sewn and handmade fabric wall hangings. I offer bespoke wall hanging services for larger pieces and to adjust current designs to specific rooms and colour palettes.
Trained as a product designer, I offer design consultancy for lighting design and homeware as well as surface pattern design services for customers worldwide. I am highly skilled at CAD, graphic product illustration, photo editing and montage to visualise products, designs and artwork in situ to pitch ideas, communicate details and illustrate scale, colour, material and finish.
I am also in the process of developing 'Linoprint Kits' to inspire, guide and build upon artists skills and break down the stigma many people face when starting a new, intimidating process.
I am eager to work with interior designers, hotels, restaurants and local businesses to bring homes and spaces into bloom with my artwork, understanding of colour, materials and finishes and intend to work on murals and shop displays going forward.
Born and raised in Canterbury, Kent. With an art therapist mother, stepfather as a garden designer and my dad was a civil servant I was driven to be a 'creative'. I was lucky enough to be taken on holidays to see art and museums rather than beaches and swimming pools: We went to France to Monet's house, Spain to the Dali museum. I spent my childhood looking, observing, drawing: I equate a lot of my strong line-work and drawing skills to this and my parents encouraging me to draw, read and explore.
I was described as the child who was 'away with the fairy's'. I had the luxury of not thinking about what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be. I had full creative freedom and dove head first into anything and everything creative from dance and acting to art and music. It wasn't until I reached GCSE that I had to start to visualise what would happen next and what I wanted to be when I 'grew up'. Music was my hobby, I had and still have no theoretical skill or knowledge, I simply enjoy performing and playing music. Art came to me easily, was something I enjoyed and I wanted to try every new technique, method, art form. But it was design that excited me; I wanted to be the next big designer at IKEA.
I cannot pinpoint my very first but I remember drawing a 'self portrait' in Montessori, struggling to control the materials; playing with pencils and crayons enjoying messing around with different marks and controlling the speed at which I moved them across paper.
Creativity is my escapism and growing up is always hard: Linoprint, sketching, painting are all wonderful ways I used to escape my own mind, negativity and problems as a teenager and ever since.
I started my small business in lockdown, diversifying away from lighting designI started 'getting serious' with my art at the age of 17 when I went into shops, restaurants and galleries all over Canterbury to ask them to sell my work. I ended up selling my linoprinted, handmade cards in one on Canterbury high street and never looked back. I returned to Linocutting and linoprinting at University and after my degree when things got 'too much' as a way to relax my mind. This resurfaced ever more as I continued in my career as a product designer and eventually inspired me to launch my own small business in lockdown, diversifying away from lighting design.
What turns on my creativity: Often I am inspired by something day-to-day: From the clothes I put on, art and events around me in the creative quarter to nature, flora and fauna. Travel and weather definitely trigger my creativity as well; the lifting of fog off of a landscape, the waves and movement of water, clouds, the way wind ripples through plants and foliage. Inspiration is everywhere and it is hard to get through a day without finding something beautiful to be inspired to keep creating.
My use of colour and linework.
One of my proudest and pivotal career moments was my design, creation, pitching and product roll out of the hand-carved the 'Woodcroft' Linoprint lamp and shades. They went on sale in John Lewis's across the UK: I was given one working day to design, carve, print and visualise a linoprinted product to propose to the John Lewis buyer. I managed to carve a complex 'Kentish floral hedgerow-esque' design which repeated perfectly around the circumference of a table lamp. The head buyer came over and said to me; "you know what this reminds me of?" ...(long pause)... "William Morris". She continued, "It's very Graham & Green". These two compliments stuck with me. From then on that I became known as 'Pattern Queen' and it took until lockdown for me to fully realise and launch my own business based around that; bring product design, art and pattern design together.
One of my A2 Giclee prints of three nude women standing with pride, joy, grounded and comfortable in their bodies was bought because it was "so beautiful, I am going to design my entire room around this print". It is wonderful how many women connect with this and similar pieces I have based around body neutrality and autonomy.
Thinking about my work from a retail perspective: It is exciting to create a larger range of products, from accessible art, small gifts and homeware to extra large bespoke fabric wall hangings.
Finishing my redesign of the linocut tool to improve control, comfort and safety for artists and students. I have found that using the traditional linocut tool, students struggle with movement and control, often slipping and so making it more dangerous and likely for them to cut themselves or the design incorrectly. My design is like a wood plane, meets a rocking chair, like adding stabilisers to a bike. This allows the user to glide over the lino, rather than hover over it making it less easy to slip. The manufacturing process intends to be circular, requesting schools to send in their old (plastic) tools (and waste, as well as initially local business waste) to be recycled and up-cycled into the new, safe design. It would be my dream to develop versions of this product in collaboration with Makers Cabinet, Pfiel and the UK government (for schools and colleges).
Patrick Caulfield, Henri Matisse, Orla Kiely, Marimekko, Aga Kubish and many more are all huge influences on my work and who inspire my pieces. I hope to become an amalgamation of these, drawing on my own experiences including my time as a product and surface pattern designer to create a strong and original style.
Playing to the gallery by Grayson Perry
Happiness can only be held by those who have felt sadness, anger, other emotions. My idea of happiness is learning to create and make space for peace and balance. To be outside in nature, paint, draw, carve a new linocut, the sound of the ink when you roll it on glass and the moment of suspense before you pull your first test print of a new design. The feeling when you open a parcel with a pattern, design or motif you spent FAR too long working on, and how it is changed by the fabric and ink. The depth and joy of seeing an illustration come to life, off of the screen and into your hands is glorious. Talking about and sharing passions, ideas, projects with like-minded people. There are so many types of happiness and joy, I could go on and on.
That time is the only constant, everything changes, evolves and grows. The older I get the more I realise we as a society are racing through life and actually taking things more slowly, doing less and just 'being' is more.
