Next up as our featured artist in The Designer Project is the super-talented Cassandra Feguson or better known as The Digi Dame – with her incredible fabric collection!
She has put together the most wonderful blog post, diving deep into her creative process and inspirations for creating these amazing designs. Keep on reading to find out more!
Cassandra Ferguson
Hi everyone, I’m Cassandra, aka The Digi Dame! I am thrilled to join the Designer Project at Digital Fabrics! I’m a brand designer from Western Sydney, who loves bold colour and joyful design. With a background in graphic design, I’ve recently delved into the world of surface pattern design; I am really enjoying the process of developing this new skillset and loving the freedom it gives me to get back to drawing.
From the time I could hold a pencil in my hand as a young child, I was drawing. In adulthood, this favourite pastime took a back seat as life got in the way, as it often does. I served in the Australian Navy, worked in Makeup Artistry and became a mum before finally finding my groove in graphic design in my thirties, by chance! It was then that my love for design, colour and creativity was beautifully reignited. Now, with my recent immersion into surface pattern design, my love for freehand drawing has been reimagined in digital format.
Sunday Funday W.I.P
My design style is colourful and abstract with an imperfect hand-drawn feel. I love creating bold patterns on a large scale for maximum impact. Some of my patterns can appear a bit folksy, but folk art is not where my influence lies. My favourite artists have always been the 19th century impressionists of France; particularly the thin brush strokes applied adjacent to each other. So perhaps that’s where the decorative strokes in my work come from.
When I’m not designing for a client and therefore not following a brief, I’m inspired by the colours, textures and diversity of the Australian landscape and Aussie icons. I will often refer to photographs of chosen subjects, rather than draw from memory, and in this way, I can find direction for colour palettes and design layouts. The process is pretty fluid and informal – I will usually draw the motifs and elements in black and white first, then add colour, then make placements to form the pattern layout.
Sunday Funday Moodboard
When designing for a client, my process is much more defined; beginning with the design brief and brand research, then developing moodboards and style direction before commencing any solid designs for the client. I work predominately in Adobe Illustrator – I feel most comfortable working with vectors. I love the scalability, and Illustrator best suits my drawing style and use of block colour. I draw digitally using a Wacom tablet, directly onto my laptop touchscreen or using my mouse. I don’t use any other device like a tablet; I like the simplicity of doing all my design work on a single device using Illustrator.
I don’t have a dedicated home studio; I’m always in awe of other designers’ gorgeous workspaces! But I make it work and love what I do. Oh, and one last thing about me? I work better with cake! Thank you for taking a peek into my creative little corner of the world!
Her design style is bright and colourful, hand-drawn and abstract, with Australian elements as a strong inspiration. She particularly loves to create wildly colourful patterns and collections that are based upon our Aussie landscape, flora and fauna (which is greatly reflected in her fabric collection)
Get ready to meet our next talented designer in the spotlight – De-Anne Strange! In this feature, we’ll delve into the creative world of our upcoming designer, showcasing De-Anne’s unique style and inspirations. Join us as we uncover the stories behind her designs and the passion that drives her artistic vision. Keep on reading to find out more!
De-Anne Strange
A change in creative careers brought a lifetime of experience and skills, to help make pattern designs unique and true to me.
Work in Progress Painting
I have always been inspired by people who are their true self and create their own unique path through life, whatever that may be. From a young age I have been able to see the beauty in all things, the tiny detail that is often missed and had a great sense of appreciation for this beautiful world we live in, and this now helps in my design process.
Colour Matching Designs
I’ve been fortunate to be a creative entrepreneur in various industries and share my art with others. Years of hairdressing showed me how much I love to help bring joy through my art and creating hair styles that helped make others feel good about themselves. Many Years in my Photography business brings the ability to look at any situation or subject, through a creative lens where anything is possible and problem-solving techniques to make that anything come to life! Completing a Diploma in Visual Arts with an amazing teacher has given me the courage to step even further from my comfort zone and give anything a go, you never know where it may take you. Also helps calm perfectionism without compromising best practices and quality.
Wheat Crops Inspiration
When I first discovered the surface pattern design industry, I was so intrigued and just felt so strongly that this was the direction I needed to go. I found that the professionals in the industry were the most welcoming and supportive I’ve ever known and just love to help others reach their goals. The saying ‘there is room for us all’ is used often and I’ve seen so many new designers flourish in this supportive environment. I love being a part of it too and helping others. I have participated in lots of different education and mentor groups worldwide, which has shown me how many talented artists are creating the life they want and supporting their families from their art businesses.
Collection Colour Palettes
When I am in the first stage of a new collection creative process, I use a mix of all the skills I’ve learnt and work in mixed mediums including Photography, painting, drawing and digital artwork on my iPad Pro. When creating art on paper or canvas, I love to work with Acrylic and water colour paints, inks, charcoal, calligraphy pens, pencil and more. I use my camera to photograph anything for inspiration, create my own textures and capture my finished.
Work in Progress Painting
artworks, rather than scanning them onto my computer. I use my professional photography skills to photograph my work with good lighting and keep the digital quality high. Once I have imported my original art works, I mainly use Adobe illustrator to create my designs but also lightroom and photoshop depending on what style I’m creating.
Photographing Inspiration
Currently I have released 6 design collections, all very different and I have my next 3 already in progress. I love showcasing beauty in nature and feel my style is unique, elegant and intriguing due to abstract composition. It suits most industries but looks great on fabric, clothing and accessories, wallpaper and homewares.
I hope to keep creating my art and finding companies who wish to licence my designs, so I can help inspire others to follow their dreams too.
De xx
Love of the Land, embracing Australian Agricultural Farming and Grain Crops. Living in the Central Wheatbelt Western Australia and jointly running a farming business, De wanted to showcase this industry in a new modern light, to show its beauty. This collection is full of life, texture and interest, with an abstract feel. Using her professional photographs taken on their farm of various crop varieties at different stages of their growing processes, she has created these unique illustration patterns. Colours are pulled directly from her photos and each pattern has its own unique story and meaning to her family.
Alive – a collection bursting with life! Bold, beautiful and striking, filled with stunning colours, layers and textures. This collection is timeless and will bring life to any project. Each design is a thoughtfully made, piece of art. Every hero design has her signature hidden butterfly.
She hopes to give an insight into this profession through her art and also show its possible to be a Farmer and an Artist at the same time! Through the constant support of her Husband Leigh and their 3 sons, she has been able to bring her dreams to life and they have always been there helping along the way. Head to our Fabric Shop online to view the whole collection and shop now!
Meet our newest featured designer in the Designer Project, Melissa Hamlyn. Dive into her world of creativity and innovation as we explore her unique design journey. Get ready to be inspired by Melissa’s captivating designs and artistic vision. Let’s embark on a journey through the extraordinary work of this talented designer.
Keep reading to find out more!
Melissa Hamlyn
Welcome! I’m Melissa Hamlyn, creator of Painted Lady Studio. I’ve been working with various materials for years now, but have only recently begun creating my own surface design patterns as well as writing blogs about art and design!
Mood Board
My creations often feature bold colours and patterns made using digital and traditional printing techniques. I enjoy experimenting with new materials and techniques, which is part of what makes my designs unique. I love to sketch and test with scale and materials such as paint, markers and pen as well as styles such as realistic, abstract and geometric. Over the course of my university studies I had a tactile and sculptural practice and I experimented with different mediums such as fabric, wood and plastic – these too have influenced how I think about making two-dimensional art.
Studio Space
I have a passion for pattern, colour and texture. My work is an exploration of these things. Once I’ve settled on some sketches I scan and experiment with the image in Photoshop and Illustrator where I introduce textures and motifs I’ve made like marble effects, ginghams and shiny foils. I then begin to finalise each hero design so that it has a strong graphic impact and then I mix and match coordinates to make a collection or sometimes a design all on its own!
When choosing co-ordinates I focus on colour, never limit myself to just one colour palette and use a colour wheel to help me choose colour pairings that work well together as well as complimentary colours and contrasting shades of the same colour, this helps to create a bold look that is eye-catching but not too overbearing.
Design Work in Progress
In addition I mix different prints together – floral prints with stripes, polka dots prints with stripes, polka dots with checks, anything goes! A strong graphic look and feel is my aim and I love to include a little bit of humour in my coordinates too. I love the classic look but I like to add a twist by using modern prints and colours that make my designs stand out from other patterns and designs.
The Mosaic Blooms collection features a series of prints, that have been cherry picked from various pointcanvas of Melissa’s surface pattern designer life and captures the approach she takes with each new design idea! We think these prints would work best for Home & Interior projects and fashion accessories such as scarves. Each of Melissa’s designs are available to be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Simply head to our Fabric Shop online to view the whole collection and choose your favourite fabric!
Welcoming the talented Julia Reader as our next featured artist in The Designer Project – along with her wonderful fabric collection ‘Flowers & Foliage’!
To coincide with Julia’s fabrics being available in our Fabric Shop, she has also put together a guest blog which shares some background information about the artist herself, the inspiration for the collection and how Julia likes to work creatively. The blog is simply a joy to read! Keep reading to find out more!
Julia Reader
Hello! My name is Julia and I am the graphic designer and artist behind Julia Reader Creates! I work from a small light-filled studio in Mount Gambier, South Australia in which I sell a small range of creative products from original art and textiles to paper goods. I also teach watercolour from a large, refurbished farm-house table!
Watercolour paintings that will transfer to a pattern.
I live in the lovely Limestone Coast of South Australia. I am surrounded by nature and it fuels all of my creativity. I have a particular fascination with Australian native flora and fauna, but do love a dahlia too!
Princess Gum flower – design inspiration
My creative process usually starts with a photo that I have taken. My phone is filled with videos and photos of plants and their flowers – it’s a creative library of sorts. This library sits idle until I have a brush in hand, of which I search for the image that talks to me the most. A lot of the time I have no idea what I will create, and I love the spontaneity of that. Some of my best work has arrived from having fun and experimenting. I also have a love for colour and this finds its way into my work naturally.
Watercolour paintings that will transfer to a pattern.
I scan in my watercolour paintings and clean up the elements that I plan to use in my pattern. This can take quite a while to do, and oftentimes I don’t use everything that I paint. I tweak colours and layout until I am happy, and will also apply the pattern to a mock-up file just to see how the pattern will transfer to a product.
Crab Apples Watercolour Motifs
Crab Apples Design Mockups
I have a large store of watercolour paintings that I sift through every once in a while. I love to re-purpose my artwork and combine different elements and styles, so having this archive of artwork allows me to do that.
Stored Paintings for future inspiration
As an artist, my aim is to always create what feels aligned. By working in this way, my style remains authentic and will continue to evolve with me over time. I invite you to follow me on Instagram and Facebook where I share my work and my inspiration. Or, head over to my website where you can see everything that I do! I hope to see my patterns on your products in the future – and please make sure you tag me as I love to see where my creations end up!
Much love, Julia
Flowers & Foliage is a collection of nature-inspired, abstract prints that are influenced by the bright and wondrous things that Julia finds on her daily walks (she is a collector of leaves, shells, feathers and more). From the colour of Autumn leaves and crab-apples to the shapes of gum and grevillea leaves, these prints are designed with homewares in mind, but work beautifully on scarves, dresses and children’s wares.
Next up as our featured artist in The Designer Project is the ultra-talented Meredith Gain from MGK Designs – with her textile collection ‘Beach Days‘!
She has put together the most wonderful blog post, diving deep into her creative process and inspirations for creating these amazing designs. Keep on read to find out more!
Meredith Gain
“Hi there
I’m Meredith Gain of MGK Designs and I’d like to share my inspiration and design journey for my fabric collection Beach Days that I’m so excited and proud to have available via Digital Fabrics and The Designer Project. I grew up in the carefree beachside suburb of Nth Curl Curl on the northern beaches NSW in the 70s where I spent my time swimming in the surf, exploring the rocks and generally having fun in the sun! My journey into surface pattern/textile design came about from my love of design and always the need to be creating! Prior to finding my way to textile design – after I had my 2 kiddos – I was creating delicious food as a chef for over 15years before I had my family and moved back to the beach for that carefree lifestyle I had growing up!
Creative Space
I now spend my days creating art for fabric, actually any surface that needs a design! And of course, I still love cooking! And always with music playing! I pursued my love of art and design via a surface design course at ISCD and won several awards at the time … This led to an opportunity to design a wallpaper and interior fabric range for Emily Ziz .. I now have 3 collections with them. Alongside my interior fabric collections, I also continue to create for several print studios for swimwear and women’s wear … and even have a few rugs and carpet designs! I am happy to create and adapt my style to many different briefs and clients, but my natural handwriting lends itself to an organic abstract very textural coastal vibe. I love to walk the many bush tracks and coastal paths of sunny Sydney; in fact, any coastline will do !
Peach Breeze in the making
I gain so much inspiration and joy from the surrounding nature and I find this comes out in my art via the mark making and line work that makes up much of my artworks. The designs I have available here for Digital Fabrics are in a lovely warm palette of pinks, peaches and oranges, reminiscent of a sunrise and the happy rosy glow after a day spent by the beach; with sunscreen, sunglasses and hat on of course!! I work mainly on my iPad in Procreate to experiment & muck around.Working with layers and effects that I then upload straight to my mac to work on further to put into repeat and play with colours. It’s usually straight to Illustrator and sometimes Photoshop but I’m definitely team Ai !
Iceream Trek Original Art
Each design usually starts with a mark making frenzy when something inspires me. Again, mainly on the iPad but sometimes I like to spend a day and get the paints out to do a big batch of swirls, marks, shapes and lines that get used in my designs. Though I even recently did a piece using the only material I had on hand…a lipstick and a notepad!! I then take photos of the mark makings and digitise using image trace in Ai. This is where I like to play around with layers, textures, colour and scale. As it helps to visualise the end product, I like mockups to see how the designs might look on a skirt or swimwear. The colours are generally depending on if I have a brief or what I’ve recently seen that inspires me. On a recent girls trip away to Daylesford VIC I was so inspired by the scenery and the colours that I just had to create a mood board! It actually inspired the design SAND DRIFTS…even though I’ve changed up the colours for this collection!
Lipstick Art
My work is always evolving!
You can find my latest works in progress or my ‘just because I’m feeling it art’ on instagram @mgkdesigns and my website https://www.mgk-designs.com/“
Beach Days is a collection of organic, abstract, all-over patterns; inspired by coastal walks by the beach. Many things inspire and remind Meredith of her childhood, spent living by the beach: bark on the trees, bird footprints in the sand, coastal bushes, sand hills, beach debris and lazy summer days! These designs would be great for any number of applications such as sundresses, swimwear, cushions, beanbags, tablecloths & napkins, tea towels, scarves, sarongs and beach towels! Each of Meredith’s designs are available to be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Simply head to our Fabric Shop online to view the whole collection and choose your favourite fabric!
We’ve absolutely adored sharing the beautiful work of Queensland-based designer Naomi Robinson and hope you’ve loved her designs as much as we have! Naomi’s designs bring a playful, fresh Spring-time vibe.
And reflects Naomi’s charming, organic and whimsy style.
To coincide with Naomi’s ‘Follow Me Sunshine’ 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 Naomi’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 Naomi’s work and the ‘Follow Me Sunshine’ collection. Keep reading to find out more about Naomi Robinson and her stunning designs!
Naomi Robinson
Hi, I’m Naomi a watercolour and mixed media artist based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. A place that is rich with natural beauty, and very tropical! I have been a visual artist for over 10 years, taking to watercolour only a few years ago. And recently beginning my career in surface pattern design, an aspiration I have had since 2012. I grew up 40 acres of bushland, close to where I live now. Spending much of my childhood playing outside; pondering, observing and interacting with the natural world. This sense of wonder and excitement has impressed my soul, and greatly influences my arts practice today.
Naomi working on her Dandy Wishes print
You may have already seen my curated selection of designs ‘Follow Me Sunshine’ available here at Digital Fabrics, I’m super excited about it! They are intended to reflect my organic, whimsy and delicate style. As well as being a stand-alone collection offering a playful, fresh, Spring vibe. My process for creating a pattern collection begins with inspiration from the environment around me. I go on to ask myself a series of questions; “What specifically is intriguing or inspiring me? Shape, form or colour..?” “What feelings arise from that? I.e. imperfect, playful, tropical”.
Original Sketches
Once I have my descriptive words I go on to collate images together to create a mood board and gather any other images that can help me further tell the story. It’s a very intuitive process. Colour is the next step, and again it is done intuitively and in response to the feelings I experience from my descriptive words. When I’m ready to sit down to paint, I begin by quickly and roughly sketching the motifs on paper to practice their form and build some muscle memory. So that when I go to paint I’m able to retain a ‘loose’ style. I assess the painting as I go and ensure it’s in alignment with my key words.
Designing in Progress
Once I’m ‘in the flow’ (a few watercolour pages later!) I start to see beautiful and organic shapes arise. My painting technique allows the magic of watercolour to take centre stage. I work quickly, and try not to fuss or overwork it, as I believe the natural and earthy pigments of the paint mixed with water imbue the artwork with an aliveness, imperfection and beauty much better than my conscious mind ever could!
Creekside Maiden Motifs
I’m really looking forward to seeing my patterns live a new life on your gorgeous products! Please tag me @naomirdesigns and @digitalfabrics in your projects on social media. And if you’d like to see more of my artwork and designs, head on over to my Facebook or Instagram page @naomirdesigns, I’d love to connect with you there!
Patterns, Love and Nature. x Naomi
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 announce that our next featured artist from The Designer Project will be ever so talented, Naomi Robinson!
Naomi is a watercolour and mixed media artist based on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She works in a way that allows the mediums innate beauty and imperfect qualities to shine through. In doing so, reflecting nature’s charm and uniqueness and helping us re-connect to the truth of who we are. The ‘Follow Me Sunshine’ collection brings a playful, fresh Spring-time vibe; and reflects Naomi’s charming, organic and whimsy style.
Keep reading to find out more about Naomi’s wonderful floral designs!
Creekside Maiden enchants us with her earthy tones and delicate leaves. Softly hand-painted to create a timeless, sophisticated minimal print, practical for many uses. Keep a look out on your next rainforest walk and you may be charmed too!
Indoor Paradise is inspired by the lushness of a house full of plants and features wonderful tones of green and pink! Bring the feeling of an Indoor Paradise into your homes with this sumptuousness, alluring and refreshing pattern.
Circles of Allure is a flirtatious, fun and bright take on Banksia flowers, viewed from above. These gorgeous watercolour blooms range in size from 5-8cm diameter. A super versatile design that could be made into many lovely products; think tablewear, home decor, tote bags, baby products or women’s clothing.
Sweet Leaf is a cute, versatile coordinate pattern of hand-painted daisy leaves. Inspired by the profusely flowering wild daisies found along the roadside. Which burst to life after a Spring time shower! Perfect for women’s apparel, cushions, accessories and an array of home decor.
Dandy Wishes is a playful and delicately painted pattern, that would be ideal for making dresses, skirts, children’s clothing and even homeware items, like cushions and tea towels. Inspired by Dandelions with their bright golden pops of colour, that beam through the foliage in early Spring, reminding us of hope, rebirth and the end of Winter days.
Diverse Devotion features alluring watery effects and texture, which are a lovely display of the wonders of watercolour. Creating an alive and unique story of tropical rainforest leaves. Ideal for use on cushions, baby clothes, homewares, skirts and dresses. We are looking forward to seeing what you make with this beautiful design!
Peach Gingham is a quaint, charming and nostalgic Gingham design, which reminds us of the warm Spring days of our playful childhood, where possibilities were endless and days were long! A timeless print, perfect for use on tableware, napkins, cushions, dresses, skirts and baby wear. And would pair beautifully with the Strawberry Days pattern!
Bee Mine is cute and irresistible; childhood vibes of something sweet! Bee Mine features hand-painted strawberry vine flowers and would look great paired next to Strawberry Days and Peach Gingham. Could also be a loveable stand-alone print! We can see this sweet pattern on Summer dresses, baby’s clothes and kids clothing.
Who doesn’t like quirky hand-painted strawberries!? Strawberry Days offers a playful, fresh, Spring-time vibe, and conjures up childhood memories of picking and eating fresh strawberries from our mother’s garden. Did someone say Garden Tea Party?! We think it would look super cute on picnic ware, tableware, tote bags and fun bold clothing!
All of our project ideas above are suggestions only as the sky’s truly the limit with Naomi’s stunning collection! Each of Naomi’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop, so head on over to be inspired for your next DIY project!
It’s been amazing sharing all of the wonderful designs by textile designer LeAnne Payne with you! We hope you’ve loved them just as much as we have. To coincide with LeAnne’s ‘Spring Picnic’ and ‘Australian Flora’ collections 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 creative process, what inspires her designs as well as bit more about herself.
Keep reading to find out more!
LeAnne Payne
Hello! my name is LeAnne and I am the designer for Leanne Mary Designs. It is wonderful to be here at Digital Fabrics, an Australian owned and operated eco friendly fabric manufacturer. Digital fabrics have selected some of my stand alone designs to bring to you first, a collection of fun, whimsical designs.
LeAnne Sketching in Studio
At Leanne Mary Designs our focus is to bring designs that provide the solution to your project needs. If you have an idea, let me know and we can collaborate to bring it to life! I am blessed to live in the most beautiful part of the world, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, where I live with my husband and one four legged friend. Our home is a peaceful haven from the busyness of the world and a place that I can create and enjoy my art, while getting inspiration from the bushland and lake. You will often see me stopping on our daily walks to pick up a twig or leaf because it has a great shape or colour, I find inspiration all around us.
LeAnne Sketching at Lake
I have always been an artist, dabbling away at watercolour, acrylics, digital, I even love coloured pencils. When I discovered Surface Pattern Design it blew my mind. I had never before thought of how the patterns on items came into being but once discovered I now see patterns everywhere! The moment I made my first repeating pattern is right up there in ‘Best moments of my life” I may just have emailed that pattern to everyone I knew I was so chuffed. And that was to be the start of an artistic obsession to make repeat patterns.
Watercolour Paintings
My process for making a pattern can start in a variety of ways but they all finish up the same way. With lots of refining in either illustrator or photoshop. I love the process of taking the motifs and making them into a repeat pattern but this is also the part that I take lots of time with. Going over each element to make a well balanced pattern. Why? Because I am passionate about art and illustrations and producing work that is quality and perfect for the project that you have in mind.
WIP Designs
I would love to see what you make with my designs, it is a buzz that never ends. Tag me on instagram @iamleannemary or send me a message: leannemary6@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/iamleannemary
https://linktr.ee/leannemarydesigns
It’s come that time again to introduce our newest featured artist of The Designer Project…introducing the wonderful LeAnne Payne and her textile collections ‘Spring Picnic’ and ‘Australian Flora’!
LeAnne is the designer, and everything else, behind Leanne Mary Designs. She lives, works and creates in the beautiful Lake Macquarie area of NSW. Her style is all about texture, water colour layers, chalky pencil drawings or a combination, all brought together in digital form. LeAnne takes inspiration from the beauty of Lake Macquarie, the lake and the bushland.
What’s more fantastic is that the whole collection has been made available in our Fabric Shop online, meaning each of the designs can be printed onto any of our stock fabrics. Below we’ve shared a bit about each of the designs and the types of projects we think they’d be great for so keep reading!
Spring Picnic Collection
Blue Floral with delicate White Leaves is a versatile design of complimentary blues, teamed with bright white. We love the combination of blue floral motifs against the white foliage and think this would be the perfect print for a mix of both Fashion and Homeware projects!
A Riot of Wildflowers, the name says it all! This design showcases a collection of wildflowers in an array of colours, which are sure to inspire you to go and pick some flowers from the garden. Although a very busy print, the muted tones of the colours create a calm vibe to this design. This is a divine print for Fashion projects such as sleepwear or a lovely summer dress!
Wobbly Check features a light grey base with pink and peach stripes, that cross over to create this wonderful check pattern. Checks are so on trend right now, but why have boring when you can have hand painted ones with a bit of a wobble! We think this print inspires Homeware and Fashion projects, such as fun cushions or a cute matching set.
Tree Line Gold is a hand drawn design, full of whimsical and quirky shapes that form tree lines, filled with all forms of doodles. We love the mix of Teal and Red, with that bold pop of Gold. This unique print would work so well for fashion garments! Think fun dresses or even kidswear.
Terracotta & Sage Tile Petal are classic prints that feature hand drawn petal motifs in an off-white shade. The petals are rotated to form a four-petal flower, as an outlined version with a Sage Green background or a solid version with a Terracotta background. These prints have a retro feel, making them a great choice for Home & Interior DIYs! Perhaps some designer Cushions or Tea Towels for your home.
Australian Flora Collection
Bottlebrush & Wattle features hand painted water colour motifs with ink details, that bring the Australian bush alive. We love the pairing of the Red and Green with the pops of that Wattle Gold! This design would work wonderfully for any fashion or homeware project! Personally, we would love to see it featured on a range of stunning summer garments.
Wind Blown Gum Leaves Terracotta & Darkest Blue showcase delicate line drawings of leaves and gum blossoms in what appears to be white but is actually a wonderful soft grey. It pairs perfectly against the Rust and Dark Grey Blue backgrounds. These beautiful prints would be the perfect choice for any Home & Interior projects, such as Cushion Covers, Tea Towels or even Table Linen!
Australian Gum Leaves & Blossoms is another design full of delicate line drawn leaves and gum blossoms, which cascade over a textured light blue back ground. We love the simplicity of this design, as it makes it a fabulous choice for a range of projects – both fashion and home related!
Our current feature artist as part of The Designer Project is the wonderfully creative designer Nicole Wilton and we have been so fortunate to have her talents on board!
Nicole has offered a range of her hand-painted, watercolour designs as print-ready artwork in our Fabric Shop online, with each being available to print onto any of our stock fabrics! What’s more exciting is that the artist herself has shared with us a guest blog which discusses her primary inspirations and creative processes.
Keep reading to find out more about Nicole Wilton and her ‘Spring Harvest’ Collection!
Nicole Wilton
I’m more surprised than anyone when I tell people I am a watercolour artist and designer. I was previously studying medicine – true story, I was going to be a surgeon! And before that, I’d studied and worked as a medical scientist. Safe to say, I’d never really thought of myself as much of a Creative.
Painting in Studio
Completely self-taught, both in painting and the digital side of surface design, the learning curve has been steep to say the least. My designs all begin on paper. Sometimes I start by sketching out ideas, elements or whole patterns. And then I paint. A lot! All my designs are hand-painted in watercolour. I love the delicate honesty of watercolour. It is so beautifully imperfect, and captures the glorious forms and features in nature.
Painting at Desk
The whole process of painting – with an actual brush and paint and paper – it’s part of the joy of it all. Once scanned in, I can easily get lost in editing and creating patterns for hours. Seeing my paintings realised into patterns and ultimately products is such a thrill. I sewed an apron for my eldest girl using Heirloom Carrots – it brings a lot of fun and joy to the kitchen.
Painted Elements for Snow Pea Toss
As mama to three little people, I do most of my painting and design at night while they sleep! Our wildlings love to be involved in the process though too – we gather and forage together, sketch and paint. We’ve even collaborated on a few patterns.
Inspiration for Loads of Lemons
I’m never short of inspiration (just time!) – home-grown lemons led to Loads of Lemons, while veggies from the garden and our dinnerware set inspired Tossed Snow Peas and Wilton&Co Posy. I like to use neutral tones and simple forms to capture the striking beauty and understated elegance of Australian flora. While vibrant colours and playful patterns celebrate our delightfully ordinary days filled with gardening and honest joys.
Painting Elements for Heirloom Carrots
Born and raised in the country, my love of all things rural is reflected in designs inspired by everything our home paddock has to offer. Alongside my wonderful husband, we’re raising our three little wildlings in our home among the gum trees. It’s simple. It’s honest. It’s joy.
You can follow along @nicolewiltondesign
Nicole Wilton
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!