We couldn’t be more excited to announce that our next featured artist of The Designer Project will be none other than the wonderful designer Amy Jessup!
Amy is a Textile and Surface Designer based on the beautiful Gold Coast and creates her designs under the studio name Midnight Rise Design. Her favourite part of the design process is the over-exciting feeling that you have just thought of something super special and seeing beautiful products come to life in unique, handcrafted designs. How absolutely wonderful!
Her style is a modern twist on vintage concepts. This collection was inspired by everything and anything vintage. She has always been drawn to vintage homes, swimwear and furniture. Her studio is her favourite room in the house! It’s the inspiration and motivation to create every day.
Amy’s ‘House of Vintage’ collection is full of balanced designs using a mixture of different mediums and we’re so excited to have them all available in our Fabric Shop!
‘Mimi’ is such a bubbly, feminine print. It was created with the vision to be raw, created by sketches to keep every wiggle and bump as a personal touch. It features a divine contrast of navy and baby pink with slight shadowing.
‘Mimi’ is such a perfect print for fashion accessories like tote bags or scarves!
‘Posie Citrus’ is a fun, zesty and alternative floral print. Designed in a soft and summery colour palette makes for a versatile design.
We think ‘Posie’ would look absolutely adorable for swimwear!
‘Wild Daisie’ is a warm loving print, the details were inspired by vintage Botanics and bloomed in an Autumn pallet. If you desire to add warmth to your products, Wild Daise is for you.
‘Wild Daisie’ is just the perfect print for any fashion garment, we can picture how beautiful it would look as a long flowing dress.
‘Chic Slither’, where Terrazzo and leopard collide. This balanced design is layered in natural browns. We love this minimal animal print inspired design and think it would work well for both fashion garments as well as home and interior DIY projects!
‘Zephyr’ is a watercolour design that puts a vintage twist on a classic animal print. Make a statement with ‘Zephyr Rust’ with this warm and powerful colour pallet or for more of subtle statement, there’s ‘Zephyr Stone’; full of Soft, elegant and earthy tones.
We think these prints would make the most beautiful bedding or blankets!
The possibilities are endless with Amy’s ‘House of Vintage’ collection and we hope the above suggestions have helped get the ideas flowing! Each of Amy’s gorgeous designs can be found in our Fabric Shop with the minimum order for printing just 1m!
We have absolutely loved sharing these beautiful floral designs by Brisbane-based designer Amanda Laing and hope you’ve loved her designs as much as we have! To coincide with Amanda’s “Garden of Memories” collection being made available to all of our customers through our Fabric Shop online, the artist herself has put together a guest blog which further explains her one of a kind approach to creating surface patterns and what inspires her work.
Keep reading to find out more about Amanda Laing and her stunning designs!
Amanda Laing
I’m Amanda Laing, a surface pattern designer from Brisbane, Qld. My inspiration comes from my surroundings whether they be the natural world or the built environment. I am always finding things that catch my eye and love to express it visually through colour, form and pattern.
“Rosie – Watercolour Painting”
With a background in Interior Design and Art teaching I design surface patterns for both paper and fabric. Paprly is my small business designing for wrapping paper, gift cards and tea towels.
“Eloide + Pink Petal Gouache Paintings”
I teach art workshops in primary schools and just completed a graduate certificate in visual arts. I also have a background in commercial Interior Design and Art Teaching. When it comes to surface pattern design, I’m pretty much self-taught and constantly being driven by the need to design and make things.
“Daisy Drop – Fabric Design”
Personally, I prefer hand drawing to digital and use a wide range of media from pen, watercolour, gouache and paint. Experimenting with textures and layering is also something that I love, as well as experimenting with different mediums. As a result, my style is wide and varied. My designs are both naïve and realistic prints but always with the aim of trying to create unique and original work.
You can check out more of Amanda’s work via her Instagram @mandalouau or view all of her lovely products on her website https://www.paprly.com.au/
“Lace Mimosa – Fabric Design”
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!
It’s that time again where we introduce our newest feature artist in The Designer Project and we are so excited to announce that the wonderful Amanda Laing will be our designer of the month! Amanda loves to express things visually through colour, form and pattern. Her approach to her designs is organic, being inspired by the world around her. She hand-draws all of her designs, using a wide range of media from pen, watercolour, gouche and paint.
Amanda’s “Garden of Memories” collection was very much a collection inspired by her childhood memories of the garden, which was her favourite place to be. She would spend hours playing outside, in her own world, observing, sampling and imagining from the natural world around her; often creating weird posies out of just about anything that caught her eye. We are so thrilled that she has made a selection of her garden inspired designs available in our Fabric Shop!
Each of Amanda’s designs can be printed onto any of our fabric base cloths which means you can order custom designer fabric that’s tailored to you! Keep reading to find out more about Amanda Laing’s beautiful floral designs!
“Daisy Drop” is a simple but bold design using a combination of a large and small floral daisy motifs. It features smokey blues with a warm golden daisy pop in watercolour and gouache.
We would love to see “Daisy Drop” used for a summer dress or some loose flowy pants!
“Elodie” is a pretty little floral design with a warm colour palette of butterscotch and blush pink. It also has a few painted gold spots for extra sparkle hand painted in watercolour and gouache.
We think “Eloide” is such a delightful print for a lovely little dress to a pair of super cute pyjamas.
“Lace Mimosa” features a warm and spicy colour and is full of finely detailed, hand drawn floral and butterfly motifs. We think this would be perfect for a super cute summer dress!
“Lace Mimosa” would be great to use for some adorable bedding or other statement homewares.
“Petal Pink” is a sweet hand painted watercolour and gouache floral print in the prettiest of pinks with a pale pink background.
We think “Petal Pink” would be the perfect print for fashion garments like a long flowing skirt or kaftan.
“Rosie” pairs flowing hand painted watercolour florals against a deep, navy-blue background. We’re loving the contrast of the pinks in this design against the dark blues.
We would love to see “Rosie” used for statement cushion covers and tote bags!
“Rose Garden” is a delightful floral design with flower motifs in pink and gold tones. Each illustration hand painted with watercolour and gouache.
We think “Rose Garden” would be the perfect print for some beautiful napkins or a tablecloth, even perhaps some fashion accessories like ties and scarves.
All of our project ideas above are suggestions only as the sky’s truly the limit with Amanda’s beautiful collection! Each of Amanda’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop, so head on over to be inspired for your next DIY project!
What a fantastic start Michaela Burgess’ feature has been for what’s now our third year of The Designer Project! Michaela is a multidisciplinary artist with a teaching position that enhances her professional design work with fine art practices. We’re so excited to have not just one, but two of her collections, “Bombay Mai Tai” and “Jungle Blue” available in our Fabric Shop. These designs are available to all of our customers as print-ready designs which can be printed onto any of our fabrics. We adore Michaela’s beautifully detailed designs and hope you’ve been as captivated by them as we have. As part of this feature the designer herself has put together a guest blog which we’ve posted below!
Michaela Burgess
Hi my name is Michaela Burgess and I’m really thrilled to be working with Digital Fabrics as part of The Designer Project and making these collections available for fabric printing. My early studies were in Object Art and Design, in both ceramics and glass and I’ve been teaching Visual Arts and Design for almost 20 years now. I balance teaching with creating my own work and have continued to exhibit throughout my career.
“Indigo Magnolia” cushion cover mock-up
I ventured into surface design in 2014. I love the process of surface design and seeing my work on a range of surfaces, especially fabrics – continually thrills me! One of my earliest memories is diving into my mother’s scarf bag, it was full of fabulous prints and fabrics from the 70’s, and creating wonderful wrap around creations for myself with her beautiful scarfs before going to a friend’s birthday party.
“Marigold Teal” blouse mock-up
I draw influence from the world around me and find that nature is a huge influence on my process. I use a range of techniques; hand-drawing, etching, printmaking and painting, to create the bases for my designs for fabrics. I then use Illustrator to bring the elements together and place into repeat.
“Taj Mahal Nude”
I’ve shown work at Premier Vision in Paris and Surtex in New York. From experiencing both of these events I truly believe Australian design is in a unique position on the world stage, in that it is fresh, dynamic and informed by Australian aesthetic sensibilities that allow it to hold its own in a first-class arena.
“Indigo Blue Vine” dress mock-up
After completing a Master’s of Cross Disciplinary Art and Design in 2015 with studies in Textiles, Fashion, Interior Design, Urban Design and Community Projects, I’ve got several projects coming to fruition over the next year so keep a look out for the updates. A hint on what’s to come: I’ll be using Digital Fabrics and having several designs printed on their gorgeous Dilly fabric! The print and fabric quality that you are able to access through Digital Fabrics is incredible.
You can find updates on Instagram @_michaelaburgess or my website!
“Bombay Mai Tai” collection day bed 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!
We’re super excited to be bringing The Designer Project back for 2022 and can’t wait to share all of this year’s fantastic artists and their incredible work! To kick things off for the year we’re introducing you all to the ultra-talented artist and designer Michaela Burgess! Michaela works across a variety of mediums and has qualifications in ceramics, glass and object design. In 2015 she completed a Masters of Interdisciplinary Art and Design with a focus on textiles, fashion, urban design and community projects. Michaela’s designs feature vibrant colours and gorgeous textures, and have a unique Australian perspective which makes them feel effortlessly elegant.
Michaela’s most recent collections “Bombay Mai Tai” and “Jungle Blue” are beautiful dreamscapes to exotic, faraway lands, where wild jaguars and elephants roam through lush tropical leaves and the air is fragranced with spices and sweet fruits. What’s more is that the designer has made both of these collections available in our Fabric Shop online and we couldn’t be more thrilled! Each of Michaela’s designs can be printed onto any of our stock fabrics, and with minimum orders of just 1m, custom designer fabric is accessible for even the smallest of DIY projects. Below we’ve shared a bit about each of Michaela’s incredible designs and the different types of projects we think they’d be perfect for!
“Bombay Mai Tai”
“Chameleons” draws inspiration from imaginary travels along silk road trading routes. The design is available in two gorgeously warm colourways; “Sand” and “Earth”
We would love to see “Chameleons” used for custom upholstery projects!
“Marigold” is an Art Deco influenced design with wonderfully decorative marigold motifs. The design is available in two colourways; the statement making “Teal” and the beautifully warm “Clay”.
“Marigold” would be perfect for a wide leg jumpsuit or a co-ordinating fashion set.
“Elephants” shows elephants taking their annual journey down the ancient pathways of their ancestors. The overlapping elements give the design a beautiful dreamlike quality. The design is available in two colourways; “Sand” and “Blue”.
“Elephants” would be fantastic to use for men’s summery linen shirts!
“Taj Mahal” layers intricate lace motifs and Art Deco elements to create a delicate print which is truly stunning. “Taj Mahal” is available in two soft colourways; “Sand” and “Nude”.
“Taj Mahal” would be great to use for bikinis, ties and pocket squares!
“Jungle Blue”
“Indigo Blue Zebra” is a hand drawn design that evokes memories of exotic animal prints and tribal patterns. Clean white keeps the design fresh and balanced.
We would love to see “Indigo Blue Zebra” used for summer dresses, tableware and bedding.
“Jungle Blue” uses a minimalistic colour palette of indigo and white to provide a fresh take on jungle inspired textiles. The design features intricately drawn jungle cat and botanic motifs.
“Jungle Blue” is perfect for coastal inspired fashion and homewares!
“Indigo Blue Paisley” features hand-drawn elements to create the paisley shapes, which are also reminiscent of block printing.
“Indigo Blue Paisley” would be a gorgeous design to use for upholstery projects and bedding.
“Indigo Blue Vine” uses the motif of a vine to create this lattice like pattern. The vines have a wonderfully rustic quality.
We think “Indigo Blue Vine” would be absolutely perfect for table linen that feels both understated and chic.
“Indigo Magnolia” features hand-drawn magnolia flowers in a richly detailed floral print. The design uses varying tones of blue to keep your eye wandering throughout!
“Indigo Magnolia” would be an excellent choice for men’s board shorts and summer shirts.
“White Magnolia” brings together the stylistic motifs found throughout the rest of the “Jungle Blue” collection. The white background keeps the design feeling light and fresh.
We would love to see “White Magnolia” used for swimwear and beach bags.
The possibilities are endless with Michaela’s “Bombay Mai Tai” and “Jungle Blue” collections and we hope the above suggestions have helped get the creative wheels turning! Each of Michaela’s designs are available to be printed onto any of our stock fabrics with the minimum order for printing just 1m!
2021 for The Designer Project has been truly incredible, and being just the second year for the initiative, we cannot wait for all the amazing artist features that will be in store in 2022. To wrap up this year’s series we’ve been sharing the gorgeous work of Surface Pattern Designer Tanya Freitas and what a showcase it’s been! The Sydney-based designer creates beautifully rich and detailed designs, and has made a selection of her unforgettable florals available in our Fabric Shop. As part of Tanya’s feature, the designer herself has written a blog for us which we’ve shared below! The guest blog covers off Tanya’s workspace, background and typical design process. Keep reading to find out more about Tanya and her captivating designs!
Tanya Freitas
Hey everyone, I’m Tanya and it’s so exciting to be part of this The Designer Project! A textile designer by trade, I currently own and run Wild Coral Design, a boutique studio specialising in contemporary print and surface design. I live in the beautiful harbour city of Sydney, with my hubby and two little kiddos who keep me super busy but are also my reason for pursuing my dream of working freelance so I can be there for all the drop-offs, pick-ups and tantrums in between!
“Parkes”
Today I’m excited to open up the (virtual) doors to my studio and share with you snippets of my creative process, inspiration & workspace as well chat about my collection of prints now available with Digital Fabrics. Yay!
Tanya’s home studio
I work out of one half of the spare room in our home (my hubby has the other corner)! It has the best natural light and I’m forever grateful for this space! I keep my work area pretty tidy, however it often features several notebooks, planners, reference books and multiple cups of tea I’ve been drinking throughout the day. In case you’re wondering – I’m a 100% English Breakfast with milk kinda girl!
One of Tanya’s works-in-progress
I like to think of my creative aesthetic as ‘Contemporary with an Ethnic Heart’. I grew up in India so the art, architecture and colour of that part of the world is a constant source of inspiration when it comes to my designs. I often like looking ‘back’ on Art history movements to draw on motif and pattern inspiration and of course you’ll rarely see a print without a floral in my collections!
“Rosetta”
My process is 100% digital these days. My beloved iPad pro, iMac and Photoshop are my creative best mates and I love that I can use technology to create art that still retains that imperfect, hand rendered quality I’m always aiming for.
Tanya designing
The ‘Ditsy Boheme’ collection of prints is a reflection of my love for florals, warm colours all featuring that ever present, ethnic flair while ‘Nowhere but Home’ is a project born out of the pandemic lockdown, inspired by neighbourhood walks and my 5K surrounds we were allowed to explore.
“Carlotta”
As much as I love prints and fabric, I’ve never really persisted long enough at a sewing machine to master it but it’s always my dream to see my prints made up into beautiful products for fashion or home. Thanks to Digital Fabrics, I’m hoping this collection finds its place in the hearts of many talented sewers who can give life to my little drawings and create products to keep forever. So, with all these prints ready to be snapped up from the DF Fabric Shop and with minimums of only 1m, you can’t go wrong! I can’t wait to see what you create.
“Ditsie”
It’s been a pleasure to chat with you and I so appreciate that you’ve made it to the end of this post 🙂 I’d love to keep in touch and see what you do with my fabric, so please feel free to tag me and Digital Fabrics in all your sewing adventures! Instagram is home to all the latest in the Wild Coral world and you can follow along here @wild_coral or head over to my website, if you’d like to see more of what I do and get to know me a bit better!
See you around soon,
Tanya x
“Floral Bokeh”
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!
We couldn’t be more thrilled to have the incredibly talented Tanya Freitas as our final feature artist for The Designer Project 2021 and think she’s the perfect finish for what’s been a truly fantastic year of showcasing local talent! Tanya is a Sydney-based designer who creates stunning print and surface designs. Tanya first studied Textile Design at university and then worked as an in-house designer for several years before launching her surface design studio Wild Coral Design. The designer’s work reflects her love of nature and colour, and gives a nostalgic nod to her Indian heritage while maintaining a fresh and contemporary feel.
We adore the designs that Tanya has made available in our Fabric Shop with the selection focusing on florals and features a playful variety of styles ranging from muted line-art through to a vivid celebration of botanic forms. Each of Tanya’s designs can be printed onto any of our stock fabrics, and with minimum orders of just 1m, custom designer fabric is accessible for even the smallest of DIY projects. Below we’ve shared a bit about each of Tanya’s stunning designs and the different types of projects we think they’d be great for so keep reading!
“Boho Fleur” features beautifully drawn flower motifs, delicately outlined to give a vintage feel. The design gorgeously pairs vibrant and muted hues to create a versatile print.
We would love to see “Boho Fleur” used for wide leg trousers, button-up shirts and tote bags.
“Rosetta” is a stunning garden rose inspired floral with a statement colour palette of rusty reds and blush pinks. The illustrated details have us swooning!
“Rosetta” would be the perfect print for decadent tableware, scarves and pocket squares.
“Floral Bokeh” is a hand-painted boho inspired print. The design features dainty flower motifs in pastel hues, which are set against a deep background.
We think “Floral Bokeh” would be fantastic for blouses, camisoles and aprons.
“Ditsie” is a sweeter than sweet floral print! The design pairs soft dusty pinks with pops of pastel denim blue to create the prettiest of colour palettes.
“Ditsie” would be great to use for tea towels, oven mitts and hair scarves.
“Burra” is a beautifully rich design, layering plenty of gorgeous floral and foliage elements. The design has a wonderfully warm colour palette setting lilacs and corals against decadent caramels.
We think “Burra” would be the perfect design to use for statement jumpsuits and sarongs.
“Carlotta” is bursting with life and colour, inspired by neighbourhood gardens and sidewalk foliage. The vibrant print has a statement colour palette of lilacs, midnight blues and chartreuse.
“Carlotta” would be an excellent design to use for statement homewares and summer dresses.
“Coree” takes a more pared back approach, with sweeping linear details and a simple two-colour palette. We adore the combination of dusty lavender and burnt orange.
“Coree” would be the most stunning fabric for upholstery and bedding!
“Parkes” is a fun, quirky print, inspired by sidewalk bushes and fallen foliage in autumn. The design layers big, bold, leafy motifs with a playful colour palette of chartreuse and bubble-gum pink!
We would love to see “Parkes” used for statement cushion covers and tote bags!
All of our project ideas above are suggestions only as the sky’s truly the limit with Tanya’s stunning collection! Each of Tanya’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop, so head on over and elevate your next DIY project!
It’s been an absolute blast sharing the playful work of Lillie McDonagh for our current instalment of The Designer Project and we hope you’ve fallen as in love with her designs as we have! The Sydney-based designer creates illustrations and print designs which feature quirky hand-drawn motifs which celebrate everyday simplicity. We’re so thrilled to have Lillie’s “Lil’ Bit of Sunshine” collection available in our Fabric Shop and are keen to see all the inventive ways our fabulous customers will use them! As part of Lillie’s feature the designer has also put together a guest blog which details her typical creative process as well as the things that inspire her! We’ve shared the blog post below so keep reading to find out more about Lillie and her charming designs!
Lillie McDonagh
Hello! I’m Lillie, or Lil’ Designs – the designer behind the new Digital Fabrics collection “Lil’ Bit of Sunshine”. I am super excited to be sharing these print designs with you. I hope they add a lil’ bit of sunshine to all sorts of amazing DIY projects!
“Summer Sunset”
“Summer Sunset” Tote Bag Mock-up
The pattern designs in this collection feature warm colours and playful illustrations that all started as small sketches and doodles I made of little things that I think bring joy – sunsets, stars, flowers. I love creating simple line-drawings and turning them into fun designs for greeting cards and print designs, and even just to share on Instagram to spread a little creativity!
Lillie’s pen and marker illustrations
“Autumn Leaves” Cushion Mock-up
One of my favourite creative exercises at the moment is drawing something in as many different ways as possible. Whether it be flowers or stars or rainbows, it really gets you thinking and experimenting, finding ways to draw these things in a way that’s unique to you and your style. Then I’ll see what I can make them into! These patterns are pretty much a product of this process, with “Spring Blooms” featuring all different types of flowers, and “Autumn Leaves” lots of different leaf motifs. This is my favourite way to work as it creates nice variation and adds that hand-drawn feel to the finished pattern or design.
“Spring Blooms”
“Spring Blooms” Tote Bag Mock-up
My designs always start out as pen on paper. I find it’s the easiest way for me to feel free to experiment and make mistakes as nothing has to be perfect right off the bat. I have about a million different weights of felt-tip and gel pens, and lots of different brush pens and markers that I like to experiment with while I draw. Then I’ll scan them in and clean them up a bit, and that’s where the patternmaking begins! Personally, I really like patterns that are random and fun. Not so structured or repetitive, and have a really hand-made feel to them. I think it adds so much character to the final product!
Lillie’s marker illustrations
“Golden Moon”
These designs are perfect for your fashion and interior projects, bound to bring some warmth and add a little bit of joy. I hope you love them as much as I loved creating them!
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!
We’re very excited to share that for our latest instalment of The Designer Project we’ll be showcasing the creative work of Sydney-based designer Lillie McDonagh! Lillie is currently in her final year at UTS where she is studying a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication. The creative primarily creates illustrative and print design works and in particular loves risograph printing. Her designs perfectly balance a playful charm with chic simplicity, and we just can’t get enough!
We’re over the moon that Lillie has lent us her talents by making a range of her designs available in our Fabric Shop. Lillie’s “Lil’ Bit of Sunshine” collection is warm and sunny, featuring bright and playful prints which are intended to bring a sense of joy to any DIY project. The designs all feature delicate hand-drawn illustrations set against big, bold colours. Each of Lillie’s designs can be printed onto any of our stock fabrics and we can’t wait to see the different types of projects you use them for! Below we’ve included a little bit about each of the designs and the types of projects we’d love to see them used for.
“Golden Moon” is inspired by the night sky and features minimally drawn star and moon motifs with a warm neutral colour palette. We love the variation in star motifs seen throughout the design.
We think “Golden Moon” would be a fantastic print to use for bedding, pocket squares and swimwear.
“Summer Sunset” is a wonderfully warm print, featuring a bold colour palette inspired by the drawn-out sunsets of summer. We love the combination of pale pink and vivid coral.
“Summer Sunset” is an ideal design for swimwear and hairscarves.
“Sunshine Confetti” is a fun and playful print which encapsulates the joy of celebration! The design features squiggle and spot motifs reminiscent of small paper streamers and confetti.
We would love to see “Sunshine Confetti” used for tote bags and button up shirts.
“Autumn Leaves” features beautifully illustrated leaf-motifs which give the sense of falling leaves.
We would love to see “Autumn Leaves” used for bedding, pocket squares and bow ties.
“Spring Blooms” features one of our all-time favourite colour combos, pink and red, which gives this delicate floral design a contemporary feel. The beautifully drawn motifs are so dainty they invite you in to take a closer look.
“Spring Blooms” is a perfect print for soft accessories, camisoles and pocket squares.
“Warm Rainbows” features playfully drawn rainbow motifs set against a warm, earthy backdrop. The variation in rainbows is simply a joy!
“Warm Rainbows” is the perfect print for statement wide legs pants and tote bags.
The possibilities are endless with Lillie’s “Lil’ Bit of Sunshine” collection and we hope the above suggestions have helped get the ideas flowing! Each of Lillie’s gorgeous designs can be found in our Fabric Shop with the minimum order for printing just 1m!
It’s been such a joy showcasing the incredible work of our current feature artist in The Designer Project, surface designer Cass Deller and we hope you’ve adored being introduced to her gorgeous style. Cass creates stunning surface pattern designs which relies on the perfect pairing of her professional graphic design skills with her exceptional watercolour artistry. Her designs are beachy, playful and simply elegant, and we’re so thrilled that Cass has made a selection of them available in our Fabric Shop online. To coincide with this the designer herself has also written a guest blog which we’ve featured below! The blog shares Cass’s background and inspirations before taking you through her typical process when creating a collection. There’s also plenty of snaps of her beautiful studio and designs. Keep reading to find out more about Cass Deller and her work!
Cass Deller
Hey fellow fabric lovers! I’m Cass, and you may have seen my new collection released with Digital Fabrics, inspired by my love of design, colour and coastal living here on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Cass’s watercolour paintings
I have been a watercolour artist and graphic designer for over 8 years. For me, seeing my designs on fabric being used in beautiful unique ways is definitely the most rewarding aspect of being a designer. I have collaborated with hundreds of brands over the years and the excitement never wears off.
“Mango Floral”
The process of creating art for fabric is so unique to each and every artist, which is the beauty of each collection. My inspiration has always come from the ocean and that coastal, holiday vibe that we all love. I grew up in Brisbane, however our family holidays were always spent in Noosa. For three weeks of the year we would leave our “real” world behind and soak up the sunshine, sea breeze and sandy beaches. I didn’t realise at the time how much those days would influence me in the future, but they are infused into everything I do now.
Cass painting
When my husband and I both started working for ourselves in 2013, it was a no-brainer to move up the Sunshine Coast where we could build a self-paced life of freedom, and daily beach walks. It’s so easy to be inspired when we are surrounded by this beautiful lifestyle every single day.
“Mediterranean Palette” baby romper mock-up
With each collection, they always start with a feeling or a vibe. The feeling of summer, or of motherhood, or of the simple things in life. I then take these feelings and thoughts and relate them to a subject matter or theme that I’m inspired by at the time. This could be anything from palm trees to lines in the sand.
“Beach Sesh”
I will usually collate a moodboard to gather my thoughts and ideas. The moodboard can consist of Pinterest imagery, photographs and real life elements. I love that each collection can feel so different. From the mooboard I start to sketch. This sketching stage is usually just elements and ideas which I then form thumbnails around how the pattern could be formed. This really helps me when it comes to the process of creating the pattern on-screen.
Cass’s watercolour paintings
Once I have a general idea and direction for the patterns I will start to illustrate and paint the elements – my favourite part. Once I’m happy with the elements, I scan them into the computer where I edit them, experiment with colour palettes, and turn them into repeat patterns.
“Miami Palms” baby blanket mock-up
Being able to intertwine the traditional art of painting and the more modern techniques of design is such an art form within itself, and I love that I can integrate both into my work. I also love that I can teach my process to other creatives through my online courses and coaching offers. Seeing other designers dive into the world of textile and surface design is such a joy for me.
You can find more of my work at www.cassdeller.com.au or on Instagram @cassdellerdesign.
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!