Author Archives: Maggie Rose Cashman

Lauren Powell – The Designer Project

It’s been an absolute pleasure featuring the work of surface pattern designer Lauren Powell, and we hope you’ve adored her designs as much as we have! Lauren is a self-taught artist and designer who creates designs inspired by the everyday and rural living. We’ve felt very fortunate to have Lauren make her “Home Sweet Home” collection available in our Fabric Shop online, with each of the designs available to print onto any of our gorgeous stock fabrics. To coincide with Lauren sharing her delightful range, the designer has also written a guest blog which we’ve showcased below! The blog invites you into Lauren’s background, inspirations and creative methods. The blog also includes some fantastic snaps showing Lauren’s home life, process and printed designs. Keep reading to find out more about Lauren Powell and her charming designs!

Lauren Powell

Hi Everyone! I’m Lauren Powell from LozzieElizaDesigns based in the beautiful Southern Highlands, NSW, surrounded by stunning rural bushland and heritage towns. I am overjoyed to be a part of The Designer Project by Digital Fabrics.

Lauren’s orange tree

My collection “Home Sweet Home” is inspired by life on a semi-rural property, where I have lived since I was little. At a young age, I was often covered with paint, outside in the garden planting flowers with my family or around all of my animals including my chooks, horses and dogs.

Wild grass in the Southern Highlands, NSW

Some of my patterns start as a simple drawing in an art book, painted artworks or can even be parts taken from my photography. I love to scan parts that I bring into Illustrator to vectorize and I love to draw parts on my iPad Pro in either Procreate, Affinity Designer or Adobe Draw.

Watercolour sketch used for Lauren’s “Painted Tartan” design

In my studio I love to display all of my interests in my workspace. A range of bright colours in the objects around me from the lights in my gaming computer, inspiration by other artists who I look up to and even past artworks that I have created over the years.

Lauren working on her “Wild Grasses” design at her home studio

My pattern “Folksy Floral” is created in honour of my grandmother who was a big part of my life growing up, shaping my love of a range of crafts. She created beautiful folk art when I was young and I wanted to give her most loved style of art a modern feel via a pattern. She also loved to sew clothes, so it was fitting to feature her art as a part of my collection.

“Folksy Floral”

My style of design is influenced by all the stunning wilderness around me. From our grown native flowers around our 5 acre property to all the changes of the seasons. I have a love of trying new ways to create my art. One of my favourite mediums on my iPad Pro is gouache brushes by a fellow Australian artist and I can’t wait to explore more of this medium traditionally for future designs.

“Folksy Floral” printed onto our London fabric

I can’t wait to see what beautiful projects you create with my collection! If you want to show me what you are making you can find me on Instagram @lozzieelizadesigns!

“Folksy Floral” baby onesie mock-up

If you want to collaborate with us on The Designer Project and become part of this creative club, please apply! Send us an email with your portfolio and why you would like to be part of this initiative, and we will be in touch!

“Home Sweet Home” – New Fabric Collection by Lauren Powell

Next up as our feature artist in The Designer Project is self-taught artist, photographer, and surface pattern designer Lauren Powell! Lauren is based in the gorgeous Southern Highlands, NSW and creates her designs under the studio name Lozzie Eliza Designs. Lauren has been creative for as long as she remembers, with her design journey truly beginning towards the end of high school as she began utilizing online art classes which helped her develop key digital skills for creating digital artwork and surface pattern designs.

Lauren creates designs which feature crisp graphic artwork and are often influenced by nature and the everyday. We’re so excited to have Lauren take part in The Designer Project which includes a range of her designs being made available in our Fabric Shop online. The designer’s “Home Sweet Home” collection is inspired by her life living on a semi-rural property, with each design available to be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Below we’ve shared a little bit about each of Lauren’s designs, including their background and the types of DIY projects we think they’d be perfect for. Keep reading to find out more about Lauren’s “Home Sweet Home” collection!

“Painted Tartan” is inspired by Spring days spent by a dam painting pop art style geometric shapes and is also a nod to Lauren’s Scottish heritage. The design was originally a watercolour painting which has been digitally refined to create this print-ready design.

We think “Painted Tartan” is a really versatile geometric print that could work across fashion and homewares. We’re already imagining it used for tailored garments, small accessories and cushion covers.

“Wild Grasses” is inspired by the beautiful, swaying grasses which surrounds Lauren’s property; where horses roam and kangaroos warm under the sun. The design is available in two gorgeous colourways, “Emerald” and “Rainbow”.

“Wild Grasses” would be a great design to use for hair ties and hair scarves, cosmetic pouches and camisoles.

“Folksy Floral” is a homage to Lauren’s grandmother who use to paint beautiful folk art pieces. “Folksy Floral” is a contemporary rendering of classic folk art and features a playful colour palette of greens, pinks and lavenders.

We would love to see “Folksy Floral” used for pocket squares, kids wear and cushion covers.

“Oranges and Lemons” is inspired by Lauren picking fresh citrus grown on her farm, sharing the fruit with their chooks and baking sweet lemon meringue pies when the weather gets cooler. This design perfectly balances the bright colours of the fruit with a soft, sage background.

“Oranges and Lemons” is a perfect print for fun applications, such as swimwear, kids wear and dog bandanas!

All of our ideas above are suggestions only as we hope to inspire you and your next DIY project! Each of the design’s in Lauren’s “Home Sweet Home” collection can be found in our Fabric Shop online and can be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Simply choose the design + the base cloth + the metres required. It’s that easy!

Susanna Jarman – The Designer Project

We’ve had so much fun sharing the incredible work of Sydney-based designer Susanna Jarman of surface pattern label Elm Road and hope you’ve adored her current showcase! Susanna has a lifelong passion for beautiful fabrics and it really shows through her mid-century inspired, crisp graphic designs. Not only has Susanna made a range of her wonderfully statement designs available in our Fabric Shop as part of The Designer Project, but she has also put together a guest blog which we’ve featured below! The blog offers insight into Susanna’s background, inspiration and the process through which her stunning creations typically take shape. There’s also plenty of product visualisations to help you imagine all the different ways you could use Susanna’s designs. Keep reading to find out more about Susanna Jarman and her iconic designs!

Susanna Jarman

Introduction

Hi there! I’m Susanna Jarman from Elm Road. Being totally elated to hear from the lovely Ella at Digital Fabrics, I’m so excited that they have chosen several of my surface patterns for “The Designer Project”.  So… the journey has begun!  Digital Fabrics’ model of promoting and supporting surface pattern designers like myself is an absolutely amazing opportunity.  Just the thought of having my patterns printed on beautiful natural textiles for you to use, is an inspiration in itself!

Thank you to the Team at Digital Fabrics!

“Rocks Skandi” cushion cover mock-up

My Background

Since I can remember textiles, print and surface patterns have played a huge role in my life. I’d say my biggest influences were definitely my parents, both keen homemakers in the 70s.  My mum’s passion for homemaking, involved hanging wallpaper and sewing curtains, cushions, and fabric wall-hangings from gorgeous fabrics designed by Marimekko, Marion Hall-Best and Florence Broadhurst.

I recall Mum taking my sister and I to many beautiful fabric shops like Finlandia in Woollahra. I’ve no doubt this is where I developed my passion for fabrics and patterns!

Susanna’s home studio

I work under the name of “Elm Road” which is the name of the road where my grandparents’ beautiful home was in a small village in UK.  I have fond memories of playing in their huge garden – a typically lush English style garden with gorgeous lawns, flower beds, lots of places to hide, and a huge fishpond full of Koi. Both my grandparents with the greenest of thumbs planted and nurtured the most amazing array of flowers, including English Stock, Hydrangeas and Geraniums.

Process work

Susanna’s fur babies

Inspiration

For me, I take my inspiration from nature and the beautiful surrounds of the Northern Beaches of Sydney where I live, as well as from memories of the beautiful gardens at Elm Road.

“Hibiscus Orange & Lilac”

When out walking I always have my camera on hand taking many pictures of flowers, leaves, nuts, berries etc.  Without even realising, this really is the beginning of the design process – ‘research’.  Upon taking these pictures, I then can’t wait to get back to the studio in order to start drawing. All the way home I’m visualising how the pattern design and colour will come to life!

“Hibiscus Orange & Lilac” tablecloth mock-up

Favourite Designers:  

Maija Isola, Orla Keily, Henry Matisse, Florence Broadhurst, Marion-Hall Best, and Elizabeth Olwen

“Hydrangea Lacecap Steely Blue”

What drives me? 

My passion for home-making, along with my interest in Mid-Century architecture, and love of 1960s/70s design. These, combined with my experience as a Studio Manager in a Graphic Design, Wide-Format Print Company.

“Hydrangea Lacecap Steely Blue” apron mock-up

Design Process

Firstly, I have to say, when designing I get so lost in my work – time becomes irrelevant. It really is my happy place!

The design process usually starts by drawing and doodling away in my sketch book, either in pencil or pen, or sometimes just straight onto my iPad.

“Hydrangea Cream Moptop”

Once I’m happy with the initial sketch, I take a photo of the drawing, upload it to my Mac and trace over the drawing in Affinity Designer. I work in vector as most of my designs are simple, and large scale, sometimes up to 1000mm in width.

I strip-back the original traced sketch in order to create thick, clean lines to give a contemporary flat-lay look. This is where the fun begins as the design can easily morph into something quite playful and different – I love this freedom

“Hydrangea Cream Moptop”

Once the layout/framework of the design is complete, it’s then time for colour. For me colour is an intuitive thing. I seem to have a go-to palette in my head. That’s what really drives/excites me. The thought of those colours, and visualising the finished pattern on fabric, wallpapers, dinner/homewares, anywhere – sometimes even before I’ve begun the sketch!

Once I’m happy with the overall design, the next step is to create the repeat tile. This is truly when magic begins.

“Hydrangea Cream Moptop” bedding mock-up

Wrap-Up

The last few years I have enjoyed being part of the local Christmas Markets utilising other designers’ beautifully designed fabrics to create hand-made soft furnishings, tote bags etc. Now that I’m working alongside Digital Fabrics I really look forward to my next Christmas Market, as it will be a dream come true showcasing Elm Road’s own, Australian Designed & Manufactured textiles made into an array of soft furnishings – amazing!

“Hibiscus Lime”

Elm Road’s patterns are somewhat versatile making them suitable for a variety of surfaces such as soft furnishings, homewares and wallpapers to name a few!  I’m really looking forward to seeing what you can create when using these fabrics!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog 😊 To keep up with my latest designs follow Elm Road on Instagram, Facebook, or jump online.

“Hibiscus Lime” sofa mock-up

 

If you want to collaborate with us on The Designer Project and become part of this creative club, please apply! Send us an email with your portfolio and why you would like to be part of this initiative, and we will be in touch!

New Fabric Collection by Susanna Jarman

We couldn’t be more excited to announce that our next instalment of The Designer Project will be focusing on the incredible work of Sydney-based designer Susanna Jarman! Susanna’s passion for homemaking, love of all things 1960’s and 1970’s and experience working as a Studio Manager in a Graphic Design and Print Company have all influenced her approach to creating surface pattern designs. The artist produces her surface designs through the label “Elm Road” which is named after the road that her grandparent’s home was on.

Susanna is typically inspired by nature, especially the beautiful surrounds of the Northern Beaches which is where she lives. The designer creates prints which are clean, bold and colourful, and we simply can’t get enough! We’re thrilled that Susanna has made a range of her stunning designs available in our Fabric Shop online and can’t wait to see all the different types of projects you introduce them to! Below we’ve shared a little bit about each of the designs, including the designer’s inspiration and the different types of products we would love to see them used for. Keep reading to find out more about Susanna’s delightful designs!

Sydney’s summer played a huge role in inspiring Susanna’s “Hibiscus” design, with the colour range based on beautiful chilled summer fruits; limes, tangerines and oranges. “Hibiscus” visualises the artists happy memories of swimming, surfing and spending nights socialising and laughing with friends. Simple lines and solid bright colours are the perfect combination! “Hibiscus” is available in three gorgeous colourways; “Tangerine”, “Lime” and “Orange and Lilac”.

“Hibiscus” is a wonderfully versatile print and would be great for swimwear and beachwear, outdoor living, kaftans and bedding.

“Rocks Skandi” is a hand-drawn pattern that kept changing over time. Simplicity became key with this design, focusing on the form of the strong motifs and richness of the mossy tones.

“Rocks Skandi” is a truly timeless design to use across homewares and fashion. We would love to see the design used for skirts, dresses, wide leg pants and bedding!

“Hydrangea Moptop” is inspired by Susanna’s whimsical childhood memories of playing amongst the colourful hydrangeas at her grandparents’ home on Elm Road. The design features a crisp illustrations of the flowers resulting in floral print that feels contemporary and versatile. “Hydrangea Moptop” is available in two stunning colourways; “Cream” and “Buff”.

“Hydrangea Moptop” would be a fantastic design to use for wallpaper, upholstery and soft furnishings.

“Hydrangea Lacecap Steely Blue” is also inspired by the thick bed of hydrangeas at the designer’s grandparents’ home. To this day the flowers still offer a deep sense of warmth and security. The design features stripped back hydrangea motifs set against a heavenly cool background. (“Hydrangea Lacecap Steely Blue” has more negative space between the floral motifs when compared with the similar “Hydrangea Moptop” print.)

We think “Hydrangea Lacecap Steely Blue” would be gorgeous to use for tableware, statement cushion covers and bedding.

The possibilities really are endless with these designs and our suggestions above are just to get the creative wheels turning! Each of Susanna’s designs are available to be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Simply head to our Fabric Shop online, choose the design you would like to use, and select the base cloth that’s right for your project!

Customer Showcase – July 2021

We never get tired of seeing all the incredible ways our customers use their custom printed fabric, and are constantly inspired by your creativity, originality and talent! To better share some of these amazing projects with you, we’ve decided to put together a “Customer Showcase” blog series. The series will take a closer look at the inspirations and methods used to create these custom textile designs and products, and we hope will introduce you to the truly endless possibilities that digital fabric printing provides. This showcase features designs used across both fashion and homewares, and from both international designers and local creatives. Keep reading to find out more!

Sancha Prowse

Sancha Prowse is a singer and artist based on the beautiful Central Coast of NSW. Daily walks through the busy ​streets and along the water’s edge provide inspiration for her colour-filled and joyful mixed-media artworks.

Here we’ve shared Sancha’s debut scarf design which features the artist’s “A Rose is a Rose” floral painting. The artwork has been printed onto our Dilly fabric which is our premium polyester silk alternative which has a stunning lustrous finish. The artwork is inspired by the lyrics of a Susan Ashton song which is about knowing your true value and self-worth.

Sancha’s hope is that everyone who wears the scarf will feel like they are dressed in a wearable affirmation of beauty! This scarf was a favourite from Sancha’s product range for Mother’s Day gifts with owners sharing how luxurious the fabric feels. We adore how beautifully Sancha has captured an affirmative message through her gorgeous design and love the variety of ways the oversized scarf can be worn!

 

RAUZE

RAUZE is an ethical and ecological Caledonian brand which combines the designer Aure Bessieres’ two passions: creation and her love for Caledonian lagoon. Aure wanted to be innovative and create a product that is useful for our current world. Caledonians spend a lot of time at sea and are often exposed to the sun. It was therefore essential to Aure to create sun-safe products for Caledonians!

RAUZE creates swimwear pieces which use materials made from recycled plastic bottles and fishing nets recovered from the ocean, are resistant to the sea and chlorine and have a UPF 50+ rating. These beautiful designs were printed on Vesna (Recycled Eco-Lycra) in our studio here in Australia, before being cut and sewn by the designer in New Caledonia. The surface designs of the pieces are also created by Aure and are typically inspired by the rich and varied Caledonian flora.

Aure is proud to be a part of a generation that is worried about the future of the planet and committed to the repurposing of waste into quality products. RAUZE’s designs are truly stunning and even more gorgeous for being sun-safe, sustainable and ethically produced!

 

Tanya Krech

Tanya Krech is an artist who recently created a series of paintings inspired by the natural beauty of her home Shoalhaven while recovering from bilateral knee surgery, putting her mind and energy into being creative. The painter has always wanted to experiment with putting her artwork onto fabric to use for both homewares and fashion.

Tanya took advantage of our “Creatives Starter Pack” which is a wonderful introductory package for designers and artists to trial a range of different textile products featuring their artwork. This was a really great opportunity for Tanya to see the different ways she can use her art which is beyond the canvas!

Tanya has shared that the feedback and interest she has received regarding her bespoke products has been fantastic and has motivated her to create more paintings so that she has more textile designs to continue experimenting with. We think the paintings translate really beautifully on the range of products and have loved being part of such a positive development of Tanya’s artistic practice!

Ianny Bastos – The Designer Project

We’ve absolutely adored sharing the beautifully detailed work of Sydney-based designer Ianny Munari Bastos and hope you’ve loved her designs as much as we have! Ianny’s designs are rich, intricately illustrated, and feature warm muted tones that are sure to delight. To coincide with Ianny’s “Jasmine Bloom” collection being made available to all of our customers through our Fabric Shop online, the artist herself has put together a guest blog which we’ve shared below! The blog takes a closer look at Ianny’s creative process, detailing every step from initial sketch to final design. The blog also includes gorgeous photographs and process images which really help tell the story of Ianny’s work and the “Jasmine Bloom” collection. Keep reading to find out more about Ianny Bastos and her stunning designs!

Hi there! It’s Ianny here from IMB Design, hope you’re all great. I’m so excited to say that I’ve created an exclusive collection of artworks for Digital Fabrics, which is now up and running in their Fabric Shop!

Click here and you’ll find a compact line of original prints suitable for fashion or interior items. I’m thrilled to present beautiful unisex designs that are perfectly suited to shirts, dresses and as well as homewares items such as bed linen and more.

All of the designs are firstly created by hand, in the ‘old school’ traditional media of pen, paper, pencil, watercolours, inks and markers. Since I love to draw, I thought it would be cool to take you through my process and show you a bit of the ‘behind the scenes’ of my home studio.

I am constantly experimenting in the realm of art and illustration and often find inspiration in all things vintage. Layered, intricate and elaborate artworks are key to most of my projects, and I have to say, black ink and detailed outlines have been my favourite ways of expression and are what I’m currently diving into the most.

“Jasmine Bloom” is what I named my collection, which is inspired by the scent of these tiny delicate white flowers. The dark, vintage, hand-painted designs were a way of registering on paper the comforting and nostalgic feeling I have just from smelling their perfume.

Let’s get to the point of how I designed these prints! As I mentioned before, everything begins on paper, and it’s one of my favourite steps. I spend some time drawing and painting the motifs, just making sure I have everything well-detailed and nicely painted. This time I used black ink to paint the leaves and fine liners to outline the jasmine flowers, which would later be re-coloured on Photoshop.

After that, I scan the motifs at 300 dpi, clean all the little marks and work on levels to get a nice, clear image. I also remove the background and re-colour the elements digitally. Here’s an example of the scanned and cleaned images.

Then I go to my computer and that’s when the magic happens! I play around with the motifs on Photoshop, just trying to find the right balance and harmony between the different sizes of flowers and leaves as well as the colours.

For this collection I envisioned a dark and muted palette, and below you can see how my screen looks when I’m in the middle of the process on Photoshop:

And that’s the final print. Voilà!

This design is called “Evening Jasmine”. With muted and earthy tones, “Evening Jasmine” has a vintage feel. I wanted to give it multiple layers of flowers to create a rich artwork, that could print perfectly on dresses, blouses and shirts.

Hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek behind the curtains and that it may inspire you and generate ideas for your next DIY project. How about a skirt or a new cushion cover? Don’t forget to check the Fabric Shop to see this collection as well as other designer prints, where you can choose your fabric and order online.

Thank you for coming along with me in this journey! I can’t wait to see what you make with my designs! Please tag Digital Fabrics and myself in any projects you create with these fabrics. Also, please join me on Instagram and Facebook, and have a look on my website www.imb-design.com to see my new adventures in the printed t-shirt world!

If you want to collaborate with us on The Designer Project and become part of this creative club, please apply! Send us an email with your portfolio and why you would like to be part of this initiative, and we will be in touch!

“Jasmine Bloom” – New Fabric Collection by Ianny Bastos

Thrilled to share that next up as The Designer Project’s feature artist is designer Ianny Munari Bastos. Ianny is originally from Brazil and has been based in Sydney for the last four years. The surface pattern designer is the creative genius behind IMB Design, a label which offers beautifully illustrated t-shirts for the whole family. Ianny has a background in fashion and a passion for drawing which has led her to creating prints and patterns for both interiors and fashion. Vintage inspired and dark hand-painted designs are Ianny’s signature as she aims to celebrate the unique beauty of nature and simple treasures.

We’re feeling incredibly fortunate to be featuring Ianny’s talents for this instalment of The Designer Project which includes the designer making a range of her stunningly intricate designs available in our Fabric Shop online. Ianny’s “Jasmine Bloom” collection is inspired by the scent of the delicate white flowers which remind the designer of home. Below we’ve shared a little more about each of the designs in the collection and the different types of projects we think they are best suited for!

“Jasmine Garden” is a delicate design with beautifully illustrated butterflies nestled amongst the muted pink florals. The print is a dreamy display of vintage romance.

We would love to see “Jasmine Garden” used for flowy blouses and pocket squares.

“Night Jasmine” is a dark and mysterious floral print that celebrates beauty and elegance. The colourful outline only floral motifs provide movement and bursts of light throughout the moody design.

We think “Night Jasmine” would be a gorgeous design to use for evening-wear head scarves and camisoles.

“Evening Jasmine” uses muted and earthy tones to create a vintage feel, whilst the pops of vermillion give the design a contemporary touch. The design features layers of illustrated motifs resulting in a rich artwork that’s easy to get lost in!

“Evening Jasmine” is a perfect print for fashion applications, which would work particularly well for dresses, blouses and men’s button up shirts.

“Jasmine Jungle” has a dark olive background which gives the design a utilitarian feel. The intricately drawn flower motifs pop against the richness of the design.

We think “Jasmine Jungle” would be a fantastic design to use for tailored jackets and tailored shorts.

“Jasmine Scent” is a soft, romantic and ethereal print. The design pairs dusty and muted shades to create a floral print which feels unisex and versatile.

“Jasmine Scent” would work well for men’s shirts, summer dresses and swimwear.

All of the ideas listed above are suggestions only as the possibilities with these designs are truly endless. Each of the designs from Ianny’s “Jasmine Bloom” collection are available to be printed onto any of our stock fabrics and can be found in our Fabric Shop!

 

Menindee Lakes Art Project – Jo Mellor

We’re so excited to be sharing the incredible work of Sydney-based textile artist Jo Mellor who has recently been creating artworks focused on the drought and mismanagement of water in the Menindee Lakes and Darling River regions. The project seeks to raise awareness and understanding of the suffering in regional towns, where mismanaged water has caused environmental catastrophe.

Jo’s three stage art project was set in Menindee, in far west NSW and took place over April 13th to April 17th. The project saw Jo incorporate both custom printed fabrics and remnant fabrics that would have otherwise gone to waste, and we feel so fortunate to have contributed to such a significant art series. The artist herself has shared the blog below which details the three components of this project and includes a series of stunning photographs captured by Jo. Keep reading to find out more about Jo Mellor’s Menindee artworks!

Event One – Textile Installation

 Installing (weaving and wrapping) lycra material around the dead tree

Three women artists from Sydney travelled with me to perform this series of events alongside Ngypampa Elder and Menindee resident, Aunty Beryl Carmichael. We used the fabric offcuts provided by Digital Fabrics for a textile installation on a dead tree on Menindee dry lake bed (the lycra offcuts were fabulous to wrap a tree with).

 Installing (weaving and wrapping) lycra material around the dead tree

For our first event we wrapped a tree that Aunty Beryl had chosen for us to wrap on the dry lake bed. Wrapping a tree with fabric and yarn represents a symbol of comfort and care towards the environment in and around The Menindee Lakes and The Darling River in far west NSW.  The environmental catastrophe in the area includes water mismanagement, where millions of litres were diverted to cotton farms and agriculture. There was no consultation with Indigenous groups regarding the diversion of water.

Wrapping yarn over the lycra material

Over a million fish died in the Darling River in Menindee during the summer of 2019.  This event was due to the stagnant water, which was covered with a toxic blue green algae bloom.  There was not enough oxygen for the fish to breathe because the algae took over the waterways.

Textile installation complete

Another factor that has caused distress for the community is that water licenses are given to anyone willing to pay for them.  Water is taken away from the community and given to people to trade.

Textile installation complete

What is interesting to note is that for the first time in 5 years, Lake Menindee weir opened up and water was released into the bone dry lake only a couple of days after we had installed and de-installed our textile installation on the lake. I feel that Aunty and the installation working in unison really worked to bring water back to Lake Menindee!

Menindee resident Aunty Beryl Carmichael, who is the last Ngypampa Elder, watching over our textile installation

Event Two – Protest Banners

Jo Mellor and the Sydney artist participants Jenny Tubby, Terhi Hakola, Bernadette Facer and Tess Mullins in protest with women from The Barkandji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Menindee Branch, Cheryl Blore, Barb Quayle and Cindy Bates.

The second event saw textile banners used with the local Menindee community to protest the mismanagement of water in the Menindee region.

Printed and embroidered textile banners and posters on the graffiti bus

When I de-installed the textile installation, I asked the Barkandji River Ranger Co-Ordinator at The Barkandji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Menindee Branch – Cheryl Blore, if she would  like the leftover textiles and she welcomed them with open arms.

Embroidered textile banner on the graffiti bus

The Sydney women participants and I joined with three Barkandji women to protest next to the famous graffiti bus.  I protested with my embroidered textile banners which I had printed at Digital Fabrics. Cindy Bates, Barb Quayle and Cheryl Blore had their signs up too surrounding the bus. We were women united in one cause!

We protested in unison with the message to bring water back to The Darling River

Event Three – Yarning Circle & Drawing Workshop

Drawing workshop and yarning circle using remnant fabric from Digital Fabrics

Painting using remnant fabric

The third event comprised of a yarning circle and drawing workshop which was held by the banks of Pamamaroo Lake. The event was a collaboration with Aunty Beryl Carmichael and the Sydney women artists and featured textile remnants provided by Digital Fabrics to draw on.

Aunty Beryl Carmichael yarning with Tess Mullins, Bernadette Facer and Terhi Hakola by the banks of Pamamaroo Lake, far west NSW

Painting using remnant fabric

New Romance Fabric

We are so excited to share that we have finally made it possible for our customers to custom print onto rayon fabric! The newest addition to our range of stock fabrics is sure to become a favourite – time to meet our NEW Romance fabric!

This wonderfully soft fabric is lightweight (100GSM) and made from 100% rayon fibres. Romance has a fine satin weave with a smooth texture, and has a maximum printable width of 140 cm.

Romance has a white base with a touch of warmth and a gorgeously subtle sheen to it’s finish, providing good-strength colour reproduction when printing.

Romance has good washability, meaning that the colours won’t wash out too quickly from wash and wear. As always, we recommend hand-washing to best preserve the longevity of your custom printed fabric. Due to the fabric’s fine weave we recommend to hand-wash only in maximum temperatures of 40 degrees, do not tumble dry and iron on low setting on the reverse side of the print.

Top sample shows colours before washing, middle sample has been hand-washed according to our care instructions, bottom sample shows colour fade after standard machine cycle.

Bottom sample shows fabric before washing, middle sample has been hand-washed according to our care instructions, top sample shows colour fade after standard machine cycle.

Please keep in mind that Romance will shrink a little after a washing, with expected shrinkage being 1.7% in the width (weft) of the fabric and 7.5% in the length (warp) of the fabric.

This fabric’s fine weave, good drape and finish makes it a fantastic choice for fashion projects! We think it’s ideal for dresses, women’s blouses, scarves, long summer tunics, sarongs, bandanas and pocket squares.

Sample swatches of the Romance are available in either our ‘Natural Fabrics’ or ‘Super Pack’ fabric sample packs which can be ordered online. Want to know if the Romance fabric will suit your upcoming project? Get in touch! We’d love to know more and offer some recommendations.

Beck Ng – The Designer Project

We have felt so very fortunate to have the incredibly talented Beck Ng of label Fabric Drawer taking part in this instalment of The Designer Project and have loved sharing her creativity and designs with you all! Beck has a background in graphic design however the maker eventually found her passion for textile design and we’re so glad that she did! Not only has Beck made a range of her wonderfully playful designs available in our Fabric Shop online as part of The Designer Project, but the designer herself has also written a guest blog which is featured below. The blog details how Beck came to surface design, her inspirations and how she typically creates her quirky pieces. Keep reading to find out more about Beck Ng and her fabulous designs!

Beck Ng

Hello! I’m Beck and I’m a surface designer and maker from Melbourne who has a love of creating patterns and making things.

Beck’s inspirational books, sketch book and all important iMac

After working as a graphic designer for many years and yearning to create something away from the computer, I enrolled myself into a couple of screen-printing courses, which led me to become fascinated with pattern repeats and eventually to study textiles.

Beck’s sketch book

“The Meadow Strike” design

I enjoy drawing and find inspiration from my travels, nature and life living in Melbourne. Florals, animals and geometric shapes feature heavily in my work.

Beck’s sketch book

“Roar Neon” design

I start most of my patterns as sketches on paper. I’ll usually draw quite a few different motifs in my notebook before I bring them into Adobe Illustrator to digitise. This means I am often re-drawing them on the computer, which allows me to easily edit and re-colour later. I tend to gravitate towards busy repeats and lots of motifs for my hero prints, but I also love the simplicity of a simpler design (which is not always simple to create!). From a hero print I will develop a collection of prints using the same theme and colour palette. It can be a bit of a process building a collection, so nowadays I will often just work on a hero print and come back to secondary and basic prints if I want to later on.

“Roar Neon” printed onto fabric

“Roar Neon” t-shirt mock-up

I created my label Fabric Drawer to showcase my work on a small range of fabric and paper products. The range is evolving, but I love to see my designs come to life on products. I also collaborate with clients to license my work to feature on their products.

“Siesta Blue” printed onto fabric

“Siesta Blue” tote bag mock-up

I’m really excited to have a collection of prints available through Digital Fabrics. One of the things that I love about having my prints on fabric is the joy of seeing what people create. As a sewer myself I know the possibilities are endless, so I look forward to seeing what you create!

You can continue to follow my creative journey through my Instagram account @fabric_drawer, and please do tag me if you would like to share what you make with my designs!

You can also check out more of Beck’s work at Fabric Drawer.

If you want to collaborate with us on The Designer Project and become part of this creative club, please apply! Send us an email with your portfolio and why you would like to be part of this initiative, and we will be in touch!