'New Designers' new designer alert: introducing... Rachel Powell

New Designers, the graduate show which kicked off yesterday in London, is probably the year's hottest hotbed for fresh creative talent. 

Habitat furniture designing stalwart, Bethan Gray made her mark in 1998 there, and Margate's most famous upcycler, Zoe Murphy, who recently launched a range for Liberty, are just two of many big success stories... But more to come on that, meanwhile – by way of more illustration – here is one star from 2011's show, Rachel Powell, who launches her online shop (today!) and first wallpaper range at the the One Year On section of this year's event...

Above, this design is called Woodstock (scroll down for the close-up and see why) and, like the other designs, costs £68 per 55cm x 10 m roll. This collection of colours is one of my favourite palettes: powder blue, grey, mustard and a nice bit of wood for softness, and black to anchor it all – very 2012 1950s.

Rachel's wallpapers come in three standard colours, 'Cloud' (grey), 'Mustard' (yes, yellow) and 'Pepper' (a nice nearly-black), but you can also get a bespoke roll(s) colour-matched to suit your own home if none of of the standard shades quite fit.

This design is called Prudence. The geometry and retro graphics – inspired, says Rachel, by "midcentury design and the great British countryside" are a little bit Orla Kiely, aren't they? Only without the ubiquity.

Rachel also sells tea-towels, £10, adorned with sections of her geometric prints, too, as well as unusual etched veneer lampshades, starting at £100, with a heavy 70s style (see one of them in the top image, above the table; and for more designs click here).

Who lives in a shed like this...?

It's Chelsea Flower Show season: the 99-year-old event opens officially today, but I got a sneak preview* of one of the exhibits from yesterday's press day. And it's not hard to tell who is behind this retro palette and patterns... 

The instantly recognisable designer responsible is, of course, Orla Kiely. The pleasingly sludgy colours, punctuated by sharp bursts of brightness, and her trademark geometric-floral designs have become rather ubiquitous, but they look fresh in this new, outdoor setting... and more like a 70s timewarp than ever.

I don't know if I could live with it, despite the 1970s being an era I'm particularly drawn to aesthetically, but that wallpaper is fantastic. And it is Orla's bold, colourful mixing and matching that makes it – and stops it coming over all Terry and June.

What I like about her style is that she does pretty without going too girly-girly, thanks to the lack of whimsical pastels and the strength of  the geometry. I love, too, how she clashes pattern and colour, as above; a couple of years ago I interviewed Kiely, who shared some inspiring tips for putting different textiles together effectively and explained how the Ireland of her childhood in the 60s and 70s first inspired her designs.

The theme of this design is around relaxation and reading. I can certainly imagine drifting off in it, and dreaming I'd turned into Felicity Kendall in The Good Life.

Orla was one of five designers contributing to the Artisan Retreats area this year.

* Thanks to my spy, Paul, who was manning the garden sponsored by his firm, APCO, whose design theme is pastoral communication throughout history (in other words, people talking and making decisions in gardens down the years).