She has worked for Manchester United but now West Didsbury-based Tina Kypriadis is re-inventing herself as an artist.

Great British Life: Tina Kypriadis with some of her workTina Kypriadis with some of her work (Image: Copyright © Simon W Randall 2019 @ swrdigital.com)

How many of us reach a certain time in our lives when we fancy re-inventing ourselves, but then life just gets in the way?

If that sounds like you, it’s time to take inspiration from budding artist Tina Kypriadis, a mother of three who has just staged her first exhibition in Manchester’s Castlefield.

Her colourful screen prints were snapped up by gallery goers and now she is launching herself as an artist, which was something she never really thought possible a few years ago.

Stepping into her delightful home in West Didsbury, it’s easy to see evidence of Tina’s past as a 3D interior designer. In one room she mixes books, a vintage armchair covered in leopard print and a big wooden table and it manages to look cool and contemporary.

She has also created a similarly stylish interior for her old family home in Cumbria which she rents out to holidaymakers.

But Tina explains that she didn’t start out as a designer, she studied as a surveyor.

‘It’s not that I didn’t love the job. It was very interesting but I found it quite tough,’ she admits.

‘Then I went and worked a few years but I was totally a square peg in a round hole. I tried so hard but it wasn’t me.’

She also worked for a time in London for a small fashion company making lingerie which she really enjoyed but it was the 3D Design course at what is now Manchester Metropolitan University which eventually led to a return to the north.

She had a bit of a wake-up call when she found herself working on various projects in her mother and father’s garage, so she decided to enrol for the 3D printing course and found she absolutely loved it.

‘I was in London for a few years for a great little company, working on all kinds of projects retail, all commercial interiors then I actually came back to Manchester. I was pregnant with my eldest and we found we couldn’t even afford this two bedroom flat we were in London.’

The Manchester of 20 years ago isn’t what it is now and Tina admits she found it a little bit of a shock returning to the north.

‘Compared to the vibe of London it seemed so gritty at the time,’ she confesses.

‘But it’s actually been really, really good to me, and I now find the art scene is so much more successful, collaborative, and supportive than I’m sure I would ever find in London .

Tina continued with her 3D design work and had some amazing clients including Tesco and Manchester United.

‘I designed the corporate hospitality boxes for Manchester United,’ she says. ‘I won a competition to do all sorts of bits and pieces, our unique thing was we adapted the boxes. You couldn’t at the time look at the match from outside with an alcoholic drink but we pulled all the fronts forward because you used to sit in the box and watch it through window. We sourced all the seating. Everything.’

Four years ago Tina decided she’d had enough of corporate design work and after discovering a professional studio run by Hot Bed Press in Salford, she became smitten by the artistic possibilities of screen printing.

‘Hot Bed press are already printers and artists, you can go and print there,’ she explains. ‘They do lots of weekend courses and if you want to learn anything about printing, it’s the place to go. They are really supportive and nothing is ever too much trouble for them.’

Her screenprints are skilful, colourful and enigmatic and add to the modern vibe of Tina’s home.

‘It’s quite abstract, quite experimental. I love the patterns but it’s not random because I have an intuitive feel for the colours,’ she says.

tinakypriadis.co.uk