Tag Archives: fabric printing

Meet the Designer – Meredith Gain

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!

 

Naomi Robinson – The Designer Project

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!

‘Follow Me Sunshine’ Textile Collection by Naomi Robinson

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! 

LeAnne Payne – The Designer 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

‘Spring Picnic’ & ‘Australian Flora’ Textile Collections by LeAnne Payne

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!

‘Spring Harvest’ Textile Collection by Nicole Wilton

For our latest installment of The Designer Project, we’ll be featuring the wonderful work of artist Nicole Wilton!  

Nicole Wilton is an Australian artist and surface designer. Born and raised in the country, her love of all things rural is reflected in hand-painted watercolour designs from her ‘Spring Harvest’ collection, inspired by everything the home paddock has to offer.  

‘Spring Harvest’ captures the abundance of goodness and joy we receive from our veggie patch and array of fruit trees. Vibrant, hand-painted watercolour, and playful patterns celebrate the hope and promise of Spring. There are loads of lemons, and carrots ready to be pulled. The snow peas are at their peak, with the happiest sea of green foliage. Planting out seeds, watching them grow, and then eating of the harvest straight from the tree – it doesn’t get much better than that! 

We think this collection would be absolutely perfect for a range of Fashion and Homeware projects! Think of stunning dresses and Tea Towels, Cushions and Table linens + many more – the sky is the limit.

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 so keep reading! 

Loads of Lemons is a fresh and fruity print, with a slight vintage feel. Hand-painted in delicate watercolour, Loads of Lemons is playful yet elegant. A timeless and versatile design, there is no limit to what this delightful print can be used for. 

Yellow Stripes is hand-painted in delightful watercolour. These stunningly simple Yellow Stripes bring all the joy of a warm Spring day with a gentle breeze and is bound to brighten your day. 

Wilton & Co Posy was inspired by a dinnerware set which was gifted to Nicole for her wedding, It’s a simple and delicate pattern, using a single, hand-painted motif in gorgeous blue watercolour. 

Tossed Snow Peas is a little bit quirky, but oh so fresh. Inspired by veggies straight from the garden and a dinnerware set. Delightful blue motifs are scattered amongst vibrant, green snow peas, all hand-painted in stunning watercolour.  

Green Check is fresh and simple, made up of gorgeous green watercolour squares to create a classic print. This pattern works beautifully as a co-ordinate print or as a simple print to brighten your day. 

Heirloom Carrots is another hand-painted design, full of vibrant watercolour. Pulled straight from the garden to your next sewing project! A playful tossed pattern, that pairs perfectly in the kitchen, but don’t let that limit you. 

 

We truely hope you love this beautiful collection as much as we do, and can’t wait to see what you create- the ideas are endless! Each of Nicole’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online.

Jenni Rogers – The Designer Project

We’ve absolutely adored sharing the delicious ‘Blooms & Bakes’ Collection by artist Jenni Rogers for this installment of The Designer Project!  

As passionately described by Jenni, “When I bake the texture and colours consume me – there is never ending inspiration from these subjects. It’s life and it is a part of us all”. Jenni’s creative process starts with feelings that she gains from the observation of these subjects. Then her mind starts to envision how it could look, usually painting from still life, photos or real life as in plain air.

We hope that you have all loved Jenni’s beautiful collection as much as we have! Each of Jenni’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online. Keep reading to find out more about Jenni’s work, inspirations and typical creative process! 

Jenni Rogers

Hi, my name is Jenni Rogers, artist, surface pattern designer and chef and I’m based in the beautiful Byron Bay Hinterland. I love creating paintings/patterns that combine two of my favourite things –  cooking and art. 

And I’m super excited to be included in the Designer project with Digital Fabrics, thank you!  

I thought I’d introduce myself by sharing a little behind the scenes look at how my patterns start, what my inspiration is and how my sketches and paintings evolve into the patterns you see here at Digital Fabrics. 

Almost all of my initial inspiration comes from food in some way or another whether it be raw ingredients, like how vanilla paste sparkles in the sun on a teaspoon (that may sound odd to you…lol ) or a messy table after a great meal shared with family and friends, with serviettes, plates stacked, etc. Yes these are the things that capture my attention!   

I find all aspects of food and cafes very emotional.  I often associate memories to food. I know when I bake bread, I think of my dad in the kitchen baking these enormous loaves for our family, my Grandma and I making little, sweet jam mushrooms with icing and pastry stalks and my mum and I destroying the kitchen through cake decorating, every bowl and appliance in the house was used. Our favourite recipes remind us of our loved ones – when we create them, in a way, it brings them back to us. My paintings and then patterns are a way of capturing those images. 

This is my initial process on how I create a pattern and it starts in the kitchen:  

1/Photograph whilst making the recipe – usually cake! 

2/ Eat baked goodies and share with family   

3/ Sketch out different elements within the baking process to see what looks good and to plan how the recipe will read and if its easy to follow. 

4/ play around with painting different parts of the process  

5/ This is the finished painting below.  I call it Recipe-art.

 

Once the painting is finished, I then use some or all of the elements within the painting to create patterns.  I start by scanning in my finished painting, basically pulling it apart on photoshop and then arranging them into repeat patterns.  I usually end up with at least 50+ patterns from each recipe, its actually hard to stop! 

High Tea Design WIP

And this is the finished pattern. 

“High Tea” and it’s available to use now within Digital Fabrics. 

I would love to see what you make with my patterns and I hope this has inspired you to get busy creating!  Please tag both Digital Fabrics (@digitalfabrics) and myself on Instagram or Facebook.  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetart_by_jenni  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetartbyjenni  

Happy Creating , Jenni  

  

This photo below is where I paint smaller artworks and working in photoshop.  

Jenni’s Art Studio

And this photo below is my art studio where I paint larger artworks and I can get a bit messy.  

Jenni Rogers

 

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!

‘Blooms & Bakes’ Textile Collection by Jenni Rogers

We’re super excited to be bringing The Designer Project back for 2024 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 Jenni Rogers and her ‘Blooms & Bakes’ Collection!

Jenni is an Australian artist, surface pattern designer and chef, who is based in the beautiful Byron Bay Hinterland and delights in creating paintings that combine two of her favourite things – cooking and art. She bought her first cafe when she was just 16 years old – The Chelsea Teahouse in Avalon. It was only later in life that she discovered her love for painting. This love is what lead Jenni to go on to create artworks depicting beautifully presented food. Jenni is in her element whilst baking beautiful cakes, biscuits, pastries and turning them into works of art.

Below we’ve shared a bit about each of Jenni’s incredible designs from her ‘Blooms & Bakes’ Collection and the different types of projects we think they’d be perfect for!

Brunch is a fun colourful hand painted watercolour. This design has everything you need to bake lamingtons from the butter, vanilla , eggs and cocoa powder to the Kenwood chef mixer and not to mention my favourite Falcon oven.

Brunch would be perfect for any kitchen homewares such as aprons, tea towels and oven mits!

Sunset Poppy is a warm floral print with hand-painted watercolour golden poppies cascading over a deep rich earth red watercolour background.

Sunset Poppy would work great for table linen! Think Table Runners, Table Cloths and Napkins.

Sunshine Poppies, a floral print that has hand painted water colour poppies in various shades of red scattered over a golden yellow splashed water colour background. This multi-directional pattern is bursting with sunshine.

Sunshine Poppies is the sweetest print for any bedding or blankets!

Whisk & Spoon is a checkerboard style print with alternating hand painted whisk & spoons. Soft shades of pale yellow and blue make up this delightful kitchen print complete with a spotty background.

Whisk & Spoon would be perfect for any kitchen homewares such as aprons or tea towels!

High Tea is a hand painted pastel watercolour on a white background. Eclectic pink and blue tables & chairs fill this checker style print, with everything for a High Tea, complete with teapot, cups and lamingtons. This is a soft and delicate print.

High Tea would look wonderful as some sweet pyjamas!

Cream Tea is a hand painted pastel watercolour on a light blue pin stripe background. Eclectic pink and blue tables & chairs fill this checker style print, with everything for a High Tea, complete with teapot, cups and lamingtons. This is a soft and delicate print.

Cream Tea is the most perfect print for lounge wear garment projects!

Honeycomb is a patchwork style design with a delicate golden thread weaving in and around the honeycomb pattern. This is a multi-directional pattern with soft and delicate pinks and yellows.

Honeycomb is a fantastic print for any fashion project! We’re thinking a lovely springtime dress.

Let Your Light Shine is an abstract pattern created from one of Jenni’s oil paintings, “Red Table” and pieced back together with a delicate gold thread. Vibrant bold colours of deep reds, burgundy, yellow ochre, white and gold.

Let Your Light Shine is another amazing print for any fashion project!

Sunshine is a hand painted watercolour floral print in warm yellows, rich ochres and a touch of purple. Fun, bold and inviting is how I would describe the feel for this pattern.

Sunshine is also a perfect print for some custom bedding and blankets!

 

We truly hope you love this beautiful collection as much as we have, and can’t wait to see what you create- the ideas are endless! Each of Jenni’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online.

Susanna April – The Designer Project

It’s been amazing sharing all of the wonderful designs by textile designer Susanna April with you! We hope you’ve loved them just as much as we have. To coincide with Susanna’s ‘My Hearts Garden’ 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 self-taught design process, what inspires her designs as well as bit more about herself. 

Keep reading to find out more! 

Susanna April

Hi fabric lovers! I’m Susanna, an intuitive acrylic artist and designer from QLD, and I’m so excited to be a part of The Designer Project!

Susanna in her Studio

I’ve been painting and dabbling in art for years, but recently have come alive with discovering surface design – as a graphic designer by trade it’s been a dream come true to marry my two loves of paint and digital together!


My process is quite fluid and simple, and really just comes down to loving paint and loving the feeling of making beauty with my hands. My art practice is very connected to my spiritual journey and I call it ‘a creative journey of surrendering all’ – you will see this in the titles of my prints! Art has always been healing for me and I’m passionate about seeing it set others free from fear and awaken joy in people hearts.


I start by layering many sheets of paper with acrylics to get in the ‘flow’ – usually at 10pm at night because I have two tiny and beautiful but also very needy kiddos. After I get in the groove I’ll work on a canvas piece or two, layering the colours intuitively – there’s not really a method to my creativity – sometimes it works, and often it does not! But the longer I persevere the more wonderful and delightful discoveries I make.


I like to think of my style as a ‘colourful minimalist’, there’s nothing better than seeing a certain colour shine on a background of white! I choose my palettes to sing together and don’t often use contrasting colours.
After I’m happy with an artwork I will either scan via my art scanner or take a high res photograph, and then create a seamless repeat in photoshop. I love how abstract art looks when it’s large scale – especially on textiles and clothing – almost like wearing a piece of art!

You can follow me along for the journey over @susannaapril, I share my heart and creative process quite openly. I would love to see the creations you make from my prints!

Thanks for reading, happy sewing!
Susanna x

 

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!

‘My Hearts Garden’ Textile Collection by Susanna April

With a new season, brings a new featured designer of the month! We couldn’t be more excited to announce that our next featured artist of The Designer Project will be none other than the amazing Susanna April!

Susanna  is an intuitive abstract artist driven by emotion and feeling in her art practice. Her pieces are created from multi-layered acrylic artworks which sing with detail and depth. She lives in Brisbane, sunny QLD, with her two kiddos and husband and loves a good day at the beach.

Her ‘My Hearts Garden ’ collection is vibrant and full of colour, the perfect patterns to bring art to life in your textiles! 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! 

‘My Hearts Garden’ is a vibrant, fresh print with lots of detail, layering and brush strokes. It features pink brush strokes mixed together with teal and green.

‘My Hearts Garden’ would be perfect for any fashion project! We especially love it for pyjamas

‘Pink Terrazzo’ is a wonderfully detailed small scale print with clear brush strokes and abstract shapes. As you can probably tell by the name, this print has the sweetest pink colour palette.

‘Pink Terrazzo’ would be fabulous for fashion accessory projects! Think Tote Bags, Scarves or Bucket Hats!

‘Treasures Above’ is a wonderfully detailed small scale print with clear brush strokes and abstract shapes. We love the combination of Pink and Neutral shades in this design.

‘Treasures Above’ would look amazing on some custom cushion covers for table linen! Any Home & Interior project really!

‘Gardens Alive’ is a vibrant, fresh print with lots of detail, layering and brush strokes. The design features wonderful shades of green and teal with pops of white.

‘Gardens Alive’ is another wonderful print that would work perfectly for Home & Interior projects!

‘Let the Heart Dance’ is a beautiful and vibrant multi-layered, pink abstract print created from an original acrylic painting on canvas. The detail of the brush strokes really make this design stand out!

‘Let the Heart Dance’ works absolutely perfectly for any and all fashion project! Summer dresses and skirts, silky pyjamas!

‘Many Waters’ is a beautifully complex design created to captivate your eyes with its delicious swirling brush stroke, in this divine teal shade.

‘Many Waters’ would be amazing for a wide range of project; not only fashion garments but also home and interior projects such as Tea Towels!

‘Desert Dawn’ is a beautiful, neutral print layered with lots of brush stroke and paint detail. It’s colour palette is reminiscent of the desert with warm tones and soft pinks.

The cosy vibes of ‘Desert Dawn’ make it perfect for homewares such as cushion covers, blankets and bedding and maybe some fashion garments such as scarves!

 

We truly hope you love these beautiful collections as much as we have, and can’t wait to see what you create- the ideas are endless! Each of Susanna’s designs can be found in our Fabric Shop online.