Our Patterned World by Carla Jennings

This is the second edition of Our Patterned World; the first had 8 less designs and lesser quality paper, so do ensure the copy you buy is the one with this exact cover.

Carla Jennings (Tangled Peacock) is a designer, illustrator and jewellery maker living in Cornwall, on England's rugged southwestern tip. This is her first and only colouring book to date (but hopefully not her last) and is inspired by the wildlife and scenery of the beautiful county in which she resides, along with some Zentangle influence.

The book contains 84 pages packed with heavily patterned flora & fauna, but not just any old patterns- each of Carla's illustrations are rendered in an organic decorative style inspired by  nature itself. For instance, the green-fingered colourists among you may notice patterns reminiscent of various flowers including rhododendron, astrantia and primrose.

The book itself is 25x25cm square and has a thick card inner cover, enveloped in a smooth matte dust jacket which features metallic coloured details. The paper is bright white and thick, suitable for pens, pencils, paints- you name it. You can even use alcohol markers as the illustrations are one-sided for the most part, although there are some double sided pages mixed in. It has a really substantial, sturdy feel with quality production. 

The illustrations can be extremely intricate at times (Carla uses a 0.03 tip pen in some areas!) so it's definitely a book for those who like to take their time and colour lots of detail. There are some designs with wider spaces so it's a mixed bag, but I would describe the illustrations as complex overall. If you're a fan of Zentangle drawing I can almost certainly guarantee you will love this book as it is very inclined towards that style.

Here is my finished page of one of the more simplistic designs, coloured with Staedtler Colour fibre tips.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. You can find it on Carla's Etsy here:
Our Patterned World by Carla Jennings