Rachel Castle - Koskela Show (+ giveaway)

'Spirals' by Rachel Castle - a new painting for her exhibition at Koskela in Sydney this month

'Burst' by Rachel Castle - a new painting for her exhibition at Koskela in Sydney this month

It's no secret I'm a massive fan of Sydney based artist and designer Rachel Castle.  I sleep on her fluoro orange polkadot pillowcases most nights (and I swear those sunny spots make for the sweetest dreams), and have long admired her graphic screenprints and sweet embroidered typographic artworks. From time to time, inbetween working on her fab bedlinen range and other creative projects, Rachel also creates incredible original paintings.  And as it happens, she has a brand new exhibition of 20 new paintings opening tonight at Koskela in Sydney! Rachel has worked for months on this epic show - it's the first time so many original Rachel Castle works have been created for one exhibition.  I've been very lucky to see a sneak peek of many of the paintings and I have to say it is looking super incredible. Rachel's illustrative, graphic style and killer colour combos are sure to win a few new hearts this month. Sydneysiders, make haste if you're keen to nab a beautiful original work by this lovely local artist!

RACHEL CASTLE - 20 PAINTINGS KOSKELA from July 20th 2012 Koskela Gallery 1/85 Dunning Ave Rosebery NSW 2018

ASIDE from working her paint-smudged fingers to the bone in preparation for this new exhibition, Rachel Castle has also been hard at work developing some seriously gorgeous new products for her super popular bedlinen range.   I'm particularly loving her brand new VELVET QUILT COVERS (yes, the doona goes inside), available in 3 fab colourways.  Can you imagine a more deliciously cosy solution to beat the wintertime blues!??  Me neither.  Seriously cute, machine washable,  and toasty warm.

New two-tone watermelon / yellow velvet quilt by Castle - and one of Rachel's new paintings for the Koskela show hanging above!

New yellow velvet quilt by Castle

Lucky for YOU GUYS, to celebrate the launch of her new Velvet range, Rachel would love to treat one lucky TDF reader with a rather excellent giveaway!

Rachel Castle bedlinen giveaway -

1 x queen yellow velvet quilt - RRP $300 (pictured lower image above) 2 x velvet pillowcases to match - RRP $49 each (winner can choose whichever colour they'd like) . To be in the running, simply leave a comment on this post before 10.00pm this evening, Melbourne time. (July 19th 2012).  A winner will be drawn at random and contacted via email tomorrow!  *if you have trouble commenting this morning, please be patient and consider popping back in the afternoon!  Wordpress often struggles when many comments are placed at one time - thankyou for your perseverence! Massive thanks to Rachel for this super generous giveaway! If you're in Sydney this week do pop by the Koskela showroom for a peek at Rachel's beautiful new paintings - you won't be disappointed! * UPDATE: Thank you everyone for your amazing comments about Rachel's new show and velvet bedlinen range! The winner of the Castle giveaway has been drawn at random and contacted by email – congratulations Donna (comment 505!). And thanks again to Rachel for offering such a generous prize pack!

Another brand new painting from Rachel's new exhibition at Koskela in Sydney this month