Since graduating and beginning my journey as an Interior Textiles designer, it recently dawned on my that all of my ramblings about my endeavours so far have been purely 'what,' with no mention of 'how' and 'why.'
Recently somebody shared with me their thoughts on blogging, and how it is a great way to document not only what you are doing, but also why you do it and how it happens... and I couldn't have agreed more. I'm guilty anyway of not blogging enough about what I do, so I'm making a pact with myself, to not only blog more often but to also talk more about the processes I use, what inspires me and my thoughts and feelings about it.
So... Since I haven't designed anything new since my collection for Tent I thought it best to begin my new regime with some old products... My first range of cushions, designed for my graduate show in 2011.
It all starts with a drawing. And a drawing always starts as an observation, observations I make from the things I love and surround myself with. Here is a small selection of such things...
Seems an odd collection for the top of a bookcase, but this slightly macabre group of objects is a great example of exactly where I turn to for inspiration. Why exactly I choose to collect and observe such objects is because of a connection they all share with the ornate. Not always in the typical and most obvious meaning of the word, which brings to mind gilt metal and baroque sculpture (other things which also inspire me) but ornate in nature as well. No where else in the word will you find a pattern as naturally and intricately ornate as on the wing of a tropical cicada, or in the patterns of the wing on a butterfly. Even the skulls of animals are historically ornamental, as trophies for example.
It is this combination of entomology, taxidermy, lots of patience and a handful of black fine liner pens which gives rise to my intricate drawings.
This is one of my first and one of my most favourite drawings, 'lockbug,' a drawing that features in a few designs from my first collection. Images are done by hand and then scanned in to digital format to be tweaked, tinkered with and tidied up. The result is a crisp and clean black and grey image, a stage which each one of my drawings must reach before any actual designing commences. This process shouldn't be rushed either, I am a firm believer that digital processes can and are sometimes supposed to take just as long as any hand processes.
After rigorous image cleaning has taken place, my next step is a rough 'mapping out' of what I have in mind for each design. Designing a printed cushion involves literally sketching out a square and scribbling out pencil representatives of my drawings, just to get an idea of placement and scale (examples of which are in my roughest of sketchbooks and will remain there for my eyes only due to them being far too shabby to be published online!)
Once the sketch is satisfactory - the digital designing begins. The black and grey colour pallet for my first collection really has a very simply justification... My university tutor pointed out to me during a conversation about my lack of confidence in using colour, that my drawings are black and grey. So why not design with that? A black and grey collection... I owe that tutor a lot... my display was striking and bold, completely devoid of colour and all the more impacting for it.
Hours infront of the computer and eventually I have designs I am happy with. Luxurious silk satin is my fabric of choice for these cushions, a fabric which is lustrous yet durable and fully compliments the grey in the prints, turning them almost silver. Making up is the last step. A feather insert, some piping cord, a zip... you get the idea.
Above - the result.
