Sample of some designs from the Flamingo Love collection.  Art available for licensing or purchase. 

Flamingos at Christmas; why not?! Two years ago we gave these flamingo swim shorts to my late father in law, Tom. The smile on his face says it all.  In honer of his charming and fun spirit, I've created this bright and cheerful flamingo pattern.  I love you and miss you handsome Tom!  - Chris

CP Coastal is proud to be part of the dynamic group of artists and designers representing Art Licensing LA (Los Angeles) at the May 2020 Licensing Expo trade show (the world's largest licensing show). 

Collaborative Agency “Art Licensing LA” Debuts New Talent At Licensing Expo Las Vegas 2020
Featuring a Diverse Group of Artists Based in Southern California

Los Angeles, CA – November 18, 2019
We are pleased to announce that Art Licensing Los Angeles will debut six artists at Licensing Expo 2020 in Las Vegas. ALLA is a collaborative agency of independent artists led by licensing expert Debra Valencia. The artists consist of a diverse blend of painters, printmakers, illustrators, surface designers, graphic designers, and interior designers, each with an original sense of style and fresh approach. They will be exhibiting their dynamic collections in booth J79 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, May 19-21, 2020.
The members include:
 
·       Christine Barker of CP Coastal
·       Karyn Cherie of Hill St. Studio
·       Simone DeSantis
·       Ester Hodikian of Heart Print House
·       Annelie McKenzie
·       Leonie Somes
 
“As a licensing coach and teacher, I established ALLA in 2013 to launch the careers of emerging artists. This new group of talented artists, with a stunning range of collections and product designs, will appeal to manufacturers across every category,” said ALLA’s founder Debra Velencia.
 
ALLA specializes in artists based in the cultural melting pot of Southern California. Inspired by the Californian lifestyle—progressive, modern, colorful, confident, bold—their designs translate across all markets and regions. They are especially passionate about creating a wide variety of fine art, illustrations, graphic and surface designs suitable for licensing to manufacturers in the stationery, gift, textile, home décor, and craft industries.
More than an art resource, individual ALLA artists are partners with each manufacturer for success: building brands, designing innovative product lines, and growing sales. Their vast combined experience includes art direction, package design, branding, marketing, merchandising, production, research and development. Furthermore, the members are all design professionals and knowledgeable in manufacturing techniques and digital artwork file preparation.
​
With a combined library of over 2000 images, ALLA effectively applies talents to give each client an edge within the different markets. They currently offer popular licensing themes including florals, coastal, nature/wildlife, food/beverage, home/garden, baby/child, holiday, travel, pet, novelty, inspiration, humor, shibori, and more. They can develop custom themed collections upon request to meet the demands of current trends. Additionally, they understand consumer trends and provide strategic direction for product line development to manufacturers.

Very excited to get the booth banners for SURF Expo!  Booth #2754  Looking forward to an amazing show.  To make an appointment you can request through the CONTACT page. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CP Coastal™ To Exhibit at SURF Expo January 2020
VENTURA, CA - November 4, 2019 - CP Coastal, the coastal design studio specializing in coastal themed designs for coastal lifestyle products, is excited to be exhibiting at SURF Expo January 8-10, 2020. CP Coastal combines a unique mix of modern, impressionist, and vintage styles, with elements of bold colors, while featuring a wide array of classic coastal living and nautical themes.
“My designs strive to capture the essence of coastal life, which to me, is living life with an adventurous spirit and laid-back attitude,” said owner/designer Christine Barker. “Life is better lived in a beach state of mind, and we want to bring the coastal vibe to any place, no matter where you live.”
Contact CP Coastal if you are interested in scheduling an appointment during SURF Expo.

About CP Coastal:
CP Coastal, founded by Christine Barker, is a creative design studio based in Los Angeles, CA.  The brand specializes in coastal themed designs for apparel, home décor, stationery, gift, and coastal lifestyle products. Designs reflect a mix of modern, impressionist, and vintage styles, with elements of bold colors, while featuring a wide array of classic coastal and nautical themes capturing the essence of coastal living; be it by an ocean, island, or lake. It’s all about living life with an adventurous spirit and laid-back attitude. CP Coastal’s passion is to bring the coastal vibe to any place, no matter where you live. Designs are available for licensing or purchase.

About Surf Expo: 
Surf Expo is the largest and longest running watersports, beach and resort lifestyle tradeshow in the world. Produced twice annually, the show draws buyers from specialty stores, major chains, resorts, cruise lines, marinas and beach rental companies from across the U.S., the Caribbean, Central and South America and around the world. Surf Expo features approximately 2,000 booths showcasing apparel, hard goods, accessories and gifts, as well as a full line-up of special events, fashion shows, and annual award ceremonies. Surf Expo is a trade-only event. The next show will be held January 8-10, 2020 and September 10-12, 2020 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida. www.surfexpo.com connect on or Instagram @surfexpo, Twitter @surfexpo and Facebook @SurfExpoOrlando.
Surf Expo is owned by Emerald Expositions, a leading operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States. The company currently operates 60 trade shows, as well as numerous other face-to-face events. In 2018, Emerald’s events connected over 500,000 global attendees and exhibitors and occupied nearly 7 million net square feet of exhibition space.

Remember the stones in the prior post (the ones I saw in the Grenada resort shower of all places)? Well, they inspired a new collection called, you guessed it, Shower Stones.  Here is a sneak peak. 

The stones then...

The stones now.

This beach stone pattern (in the shower at the Sandals' Grenada, Caribbean resort) caught my eye. Random, smooth, interesting. Fantastic inspiration for a new collection!

CP Coastal just wrapped up a fun design project for a new client based on the East Coast. Several of my designs will be coming out on a line of their apparel and giftware.  

Until now, I've never posted pictures of where the creativity happens - it actually happens everywhere, but mostly the mechanics of the work happens in my studio in Ventura, CA.  Here is a sneak peek at where all the fun happens!

I've intentionally surrounded myself with some inspirational and meaningful things.  On the walls you'll see an underwater photo I snapped of my husband, Brian, snorkeling on our honeymoon on St. Lucia, and a print of this cute little dog painting by uber designer and HGTV personality, David Bromstad.  He even signed it for me. I met David in Los Angeles a few years back when this picture was taken.  He's just as engaging and fun in person as he is on TV.  

I picked up the three carved wooden fish in Barbados.  The big wooden candle sticks next to the fish were carved by my amazing Uncle Bob, who is always a hoot to be around. I painted them teal blue and added damask designs. And of course, the thing I love to see when I sit down to get those creative juices flowing are my screen savers.  They make me want to dive right into that mesmerizing, blue Caribbean water. 

I hope you enjoyed the tour!
Chris