Tag Archives: fabric printing

New Cotton Voile Fabric

As many of you know we’ve been out of stock of a Cotton Voile for sometime (sorry) but at last – we have good news! We are very excited to announce we have added a brand NEW Cotton Voile fabric to our Natural Fabrics Fabric Range! Keep reading for more info below as our new Cotton Voile is distinctly different from our older stock fabric, and we think a more premium product!

Cotton Voile is 100% Cotton and has a maximum printable width of 140cm. This fabric is very similar to muslin, is super-soft and only gets softer after washing! Cotton Voile has an off-white base colour with a touch of warmth, is semi-sheer and has a matte finish. Despite the fabric’s transparency it provides strong colour reproduction when printed and has good colour show-through on the underside of the fabric. When selecting the Cotton Voile please keep in mind that some fading as a result of washing is normal for digital printing on natural fabrics. The fading often gives our natural fabrics a charming and soft ‘worn’ look. Fading can be minimized through the use of cold hand-washing and phosphate free detergent.

Cotton Voile is a lightweight, 70gsm fabric with no stretch and good drape. The open weave nature of the fabric gives it some give and ensures it is ultra-breathable. The Cotton Voile is an excellent choice for scarves, sheer shirts and blouses, summer dresses, kaftans, baby swaddles, baby clothes and light curtains. We’ve popped some inspiration pics below!

Image via Pinterest

Sample swatches of the Cotton Voile are available through our Sample Pack Order Form and can be found in our ‘All Stock Super Pack’, ‘Natural Fabrics’ and ‘For the Little Ones’ sample packs. Get in touch to find out if this fabric will be suitable for your next project!

Snippets: Chats With Creatives, Textile Designer Audrey Gachet – Series 3, Snippet 4

Snippets. Chats with Creatives.

Here at Digital Fabrics we love everything print, pattern and colour and we love to know what makes print designers tick.

This series we are focusing on textile designers as our creatives to get into the nitty gritty of the thing we love the most, textiles and surface design! We have asked a different set of questions relative to this and as always we hope to inspire others by sharing snippets of these creative stories.

Today we are chatting to Audrey Gachet a Sydney based textile designer and illustrator who’s love of the beach and nature is reflected in her hand painted watercolour designs. Her work is elegant, classic and contemporary as well as being proudly printed and made in Sydney. She works mainly with fabrics and creates gorgeous textile pieces for the home as well as creating art prints, we love it all and can’t wait to share her inspirations and story below.

You will find her products online here or look out for her at a market, she has previously exhibited at Life Instyle, Makers & Shakers and Finders Keepers.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your brand/label name what your creative practice is, how and when you began:

I’m Audrey Gachet, I’m a designer and Illustrator based in Sydney.

Growing up in the south west of France, my creative journey started from a very young age, when I used to hang around my mother’s atelier. Being an artist herself, I was influenced by my mother’s art and you would often find me painting and creating all sorts of things in her studio.

After studying Graphic Design & Illustration in Bordeaux and London, my career as a designer really took off when I moved to Australia and worked with Australian brands, creating lifestyle products. I learnt a great deal from them and it allowed me to understand and appreciate the hard work that goes into creating products and developing them.

I created my label in 2018 and launched my first collection of luxurious homewares and fashion accessories, which I now sell online and in various boutiques across Australia.

Like many designers, sustainability is important to me. I wanted to make sure that I created designs that don’t impact negatively on the environment and I also wanted to choose natural fibres that don’t require much energy to produce and that are renewable.

The other important point to me was working with local businesses to bring my product to life, so all of my designs are hand-made by artisans in Sydney. I work with a local digital printer and maker to ensure the heart and soul of my work is translated in every product.

Where do you call home and what is your favourite thing about where you live?

Sydney is now my home. Living close to Sydney’s magnificent beaches and botanical beauties, I feel deeply inspired by the Australian lifestyle – nature informs a big part of my work. Having grown up in the French countryside, I’ve always been drawn to the simple and authentic aesthetic, so there is always a bit of France injected into my work.

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Raw, Organic, Delicate

What led you to Textile design and what is your favourite thing about working with fabrics and/or print?

I have been interested in textile design from a very young age. I learnt to sew and started designing my own clothing, bags and homewares such as cushions for my student apartment.

As a designer now, working with fabric and prints allows me to continue to indulge that love for colour and texture. Being able to create a tactile experience, for example by pairing interesting fabrics together, is something I really enjoy doing. It’s very important to me to generate a sense of visual envy and of wanting to touch and feel the final product.

Tell us about how you get your creative juices flowing, what is your process? Do you have a source of inspiration you want to share with us?

The creative process – giving life to an idea – really excites me more than anything. Taking inspiration from my everyday life, I am quite drawn to colour combinations and texture. Whether it’s from what I see in the streets, from books, in exhibitions, on social media, or along my travels – everywhere you look there is inspiration! As a creative it is important to observe everything around you and be open to all forms of art, not just your own niche.

Do you have a favourite medium and/or method to work with, if so what is it and why?

I enjoy working with watercolour to build up delicate shades and layers of fine details and to manipulate white space and light which amplifies the surrounding colours.

I also really love the freedom that working with watercolour gives you – it is a technique that is not easily mastered but you learn to play with it and truly appreciate the unpredictability it brings. It allows me to have a free gesture which sometimes leads to aesthetic ‘imperfections’, but these possess their own unique beauty.

When designing a new collection or set of work what is your process and how long might you spend on this?

Gathering inspiration from a multitude of sources – be it colours, textures or shapes – always kick-starts the process. The next step is to organise my materials and plan what I would like to focus on and what I want to communicate through a collection. Then comes my favourite part of the process – I start painting. The process continues on through printing and production, with a full project taking from six months to a year, from initial inspiration to final product.

What would you say is the biggest challenge when running your own business, what is your favourite and least favourite part?

Having a business is a challenge on its own; you are constantly multitasking and working on all the facets of the business – sales, marketing, web designing, production coordination etc. Although, staying focused on what you are good at is the biggest challenge. You have to make sure you make time for what you love doing, which for me, is the creation process.

What advice would you give an aspiring textile designer in today’s challenging and competitive environment? Are there any resources you would recommend or websites that you couldn’t live without?

Persistence and consistency in your work is important. That’s why being passionate about what you do keeps you going. Make the things you wish someone else would make for you – I keep repeating this to myself and stepping back from my design, thinking would I love having this? If it’s a yes then I will go ahead. Sometimes you get stuck with creating your own designs. But being surrounded by other creative helps as well and make sure you keep meeting new people and network.

What would your dream creative project or collaboration look like? Tell us about why you would love to collaborate with them and what you find inspiring about their work.

I would love to collaborate with Anthropologie. I have been a big admirer of their colourful and textural designs and it is quite an institution for homewares and fashion lovers and designer.

What projects or collaborations from last year stuck out, good or bad and what is coming up over this year that you would like to plug!

I am currently in collaboration with the Australian clothing brand The Ark. It’s an exciting project which should come to life this summer 2019!

Read about what Audrey is upto: Website, Facebook, Instagram.

New Vesna Eco Lycra Fabric

You asked, we listened! After receiving plenty of interest in recycled lycra fabrics we’re very excited to announce that we have introduced one to the Digital Fabrics Fabric Range! Introducing our NEW Vesna Recycled Eco Lycra.

Vesna is an innovative 85% Recycled Polyester / 15% Spandex fabric made using recycled plastic bottles and has a maximum printable width of 147cm.

Vesna has an off-white base and a smooth surface with a slight sheen – not too matte and not too shiny! Vesna’s composition and finish provides really vibrant printing results, making this fabric ideal for designs with bright and deep colours.

Vesna is 230 GSM with an even four-way stretch and moisture wicking properties. It also has a chlorine rating between 4-5 and a UPF rating of 50 making it perfect for swimwear and active-wear garments. We think the Vesna will also be a great choice for fashion leggings, dresses, skirts, dancewear and costumes.

Image via Pinterest

Sample swatches of Vesna are available through our Sample Pack Order Form. Get in touch with any upcoming projects that you think our Vesna might be great for!

Nailed It: Q & A Style Interview With Roberta Montorfano From Betta Design Studio

Nailed It. Creative business success story

Here at Digital Fabrics we love finding a new and interesting success story on a brand or business that is inspiring to the creative community. We thought it would be useful and informative to find out how these creative businesses nailed it, lessons learned on the way and tips they might have. We have asked them to share important “How to’s” and growth hacking tips for start-ups and emerging designers. Read it, get motivated and nail it yourself!

This time we have a Sydney based Textile designer to get your creative juices flowing and your mind ticking! We are chatting to Roberta Montorfano the artist and designer behind the Textile Studio: Betta Designs, a brand that is full of bohemian delight and florals to swoon over. She is also one of our workshop teachers!

We had the pleasure of asking her a few questions about how she is nailing it and what she has learnt along her journey so far and what she plans for the future of her business.

Who is behind Betta Designs Studio– tell us a bit about who you are, what you do and what services does Betta Designs offer?

Hello, my name is Roberta – I am a dreamer, pattern lover, artist and full time textile print designer!

My background is half Mexican – from my mothers side; and Italian- where I was born and spent most of my life. I have always been a curious soul wanting to see the best and colourful side of life, trying to find the best way to communicate myself and who I am through art and patterns (that you can also wear if they are textiles!!)

With Betta Design we offer collections of exclusive textile prints services:

– Collections of exclusive designs ready to go prints in high resolution Photoshop files.

– Custom design for any particular print idea and request

– Creation of different colorways and print manipulation

– Mood boards and trend research

– open to any artistic collaboration ideas

What did your creative journey look like and how did you begin designing textiles? At what point did you start your textile studio ‘Betta Design Studio’?

My journey with Betta Design has been very natural, looking backwards I can see all the dots connected to each other.

I have always wanted to have a pencil in my bag to draw and colour something since I was young; art and anthropology have always been my favourite subjects at school and when I had to choose my University career I decided to keep art as a ‘hobby’ and studied ”languages and cultural mediation” (dreaming of becoming a some sort of National Geographic photo journalist).

While I was trying to study Chinese I found a job opportunity as a sales rep for a textile studio in my hometown, which required me to travel a lot around the world (Brazil, Japan, USA, China, Europe…) When I soon after realised what I was selling and how inspiring and creative was the textile design world I automatically pursued my textile design career as well. So after working for a very well-known local print studio in Italy for few years, I decided to challenge myself: travel and move to grow and learn and seeking new dreams.

Betta Design Studio was born in my room in Bondi in 2014 after a strong desire of sharing my passion for pattern and print ideas, art and textile.

You have a very interesting background and heritage, do you think you can tell us about this and how this has inspired you and in what way do you believe it has translated into your work across the years.

My background is very interesting, two countries that have such a strong art identity:

I grew up surrounded by colours, patterns, textile. I come from Lake Como that used to be the Italian capital of silk, my dad has always worked in textile producing made in Italy silk scarves and ties. Our house was full of Mexican art and style and handmade beautiful traditional designs, it has been always around me.

I have always felt so lucky to be who I am and to be born from such a rich mix of roots.

My strong curiosity for art and the desire to create combined with my passion for travelling and exploring art and cultures brought me into textile and my passion grows every day more and more.

What does a day look like in the Betta Design studio? Do you have a routine to follow or do you work in a more ad hoc way?

It’s very hard to describe what a typical Betta Design day looks like because it really depends on what is going on. Let’s say that Betta Design never stops even at night, a bit unpredictable each day because there are so many tasks and exciting things to do every day: finding new ideas, preparing files, creating new prints, lots of admin sometimes, resourcing new projects, new opportunities, traveling and showcasing our designs around as well as painting and drawing and colouring the world with patterns!

This is what typically happens in a day but I have to say that at night is when I am more productive and full of ideas (it’s 12.52am right now!)

Florals and botanicals are clearly a huge inspiration to you, was this always the case and where do you get new inspiration from?

Styles can change from day to day, when an inspiration or a new idea comes you can only follow it. I love to change a lot: animal prints, bohemian, borders, florals, abstract prints, a bit of geometrical sometimes, tropicals.. there are infinite ideas in our minds!

Actually florals are not my best style. I love drawing florals, especially botanicals or watercolours but I am more a bohemian type. I like to design different sort of style depending on the request, the trends and ideas. But my soul is gyspy, so ethnic and bohemian prints are my favourites!

Obviously I love drawing florals, that’s why we run the Floral Workshop together!!

What does your creative process looks like? Can you take us through your design development steps and which is your favourite and why?

There are different ways I develop a print, a creative process is quite personal and different from each textile designer.

Betta Designs never stops – my eyes are everywhere I can see patterns all around me: it could be watching a sunrise, on the bus, walking around the park full of trees and flowers, at the market or looking at a tile outside your friend’s house. Inspirations can come from anywhere!

I remember one of the first print I created it was in my first or second collection: a water effect digital print. Very bright and vibrant and blue! I started from a photo that I took during a coastal walk in Tamarama, a photo of perfectly smooth waves from the top of the rock. I still remember that moment, the perfect combinations of shades of blues and whites. Then I got home and I started playing with it in Photoshop and I created a print that I called ‘Splash’ (I used to give actual names to my prints). That print was sold to a great swim local label.

This is my favourite part of the design development process – The natural one, when the idea just comes by itself and you create something that is new and interesting.

Going back to your question I was getting too emotional; whenever the inspiration comes from (a catwalk trend or a picture you took from a flower on your balcony) the design process is quite standard:

– Creation and preparation of the elements. This is my favourite step, usually the most creative one. Drawing and preparing the elements, choosing colours and movement.

– Designing the print: display the elements and put them in repeat. This is the most “technical process”.

– Try different colorway options and check the file at the end.

Can you share your go to online resources for textile design trend research and inspirations?

I tend to use more books for inspiration but as in online resource I manly keep myself updated on trends on wgsn.com on weconnectfashion.com and blogs, I use Instagram and Pinterest to share and get inspired.

You are represented at some of the international textile trade shows, what goes on at the shows and what do you get out of them.

Yes, we have tried some trade show, the most recent one was the London Print Textile Fair. Trade Shows are a great opportunity to connect with other customers and it’s a window for new opportunities and to grow. We are also represented by agents in Australia, US and Europe.

If you were to start your creative journey all over again, would you do something different and if so what would it be?

You know when they say “it was meant to be”? – I strongly believe that we have a path to follow and mine led me here where I am now. So no, I would not change a single thing of what I did so far. Textiles is more than a passion and is a way of living. My creative journey has been very natural for me and I hope I will always stay as exciting and inspiring as it currently is every day.

What skills do you think are necessary to have in order to become a textile designer that specialises in developing fabric prints for the fashion market?

– Definitely a strong passion for patterns and colours

– love to create and drawing skills

– strong eye and observation skills to constantly look around yourself and always inspire and get inspired

– strong knowledge of Adobe software (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign..)

– lots of patience and determination to keep believing in yourself and your art because it’s worth it!

What words of wisdom do you have for others wanting to do what you do?

It’s not an easy industry like many other creative carriers. It’s challenging to constantly be creative and share hoping that someone else will like what you have drawn (and eventually wear a dress with your design).

So many times I have asked myself what I was doing and why, but I could never stop because my imagination was bigger than any fear of failing. And failing is actually a good thing sometimes. Whatever your passion is just follow it, it’s never going to be wrong as long as it makes your soul smile.

“Creativity means enjoying any work as meditation; doing any work with deep love.”

What would you like to see in the future of Betta Design Studio, any dream collaborations, projects or ideas that haven’t come to life as yet?

In the future of Betta Design I can see so many things that I don’t even know where to start. So I try to stay optimistic while trying not to overwhelm myself with expectations either. I would love Betta Design to keep learning and keep sharing prints around and get inspired by collaborating with different people and projects hopefully around the world and I will do my best!

Thanks Roberta, what a fun and colourful read full of inspiration.

You can follow along with what Roberta from Betta Designs is upto Website, Instagram, Facebook

Snippets: Chats With Creatives, Illustrator & Pattern Designer Amber Davenport – Series 3, Snippet 3

Snippets. Chats with Creatives.

Here at Digital Fabrics we love everything print, pattern and colour and we love to know what makes print designers tick.

Today we are chatting to Amber Davenport, a British illustrator and surface pattern designer with a flair for hand painting bright and colourful artworks inspired by travel, botanicals and her surroundings.

She aims to make people happy with her artwork and accessories and we have to agree that she does! Her style is unique and she captures scenes in such a wonderful way with brushstrokes, patterns and colours used and details captured.

She has worked with Urban Outfitters, Birchbox, Target and OhhDeer and been featured in some great publications including Mollie Makes, Brownpaperbag and Artistic Moods. Her work is aesthetically pleasing and works in a variety of spaces and we had fun asking her the snippets questions:

Tell us a bit about yourself, your brand/label name what your creative practice is, how and when you began:

I’m Amber, I’m an Illustrator and Surface Pattern Designer from England. I sell my Illustrations as prints via my website and through companies such as Urban Outfitters, Target and Paperchase. I also create surface patterns for a range of different products including Cushions, Tote Bags and Wall Hangings. My business started in my bedroom in 2016 whilst I was studying Textiles at University in Manchester. Fast forward 3 years and my hobby and passion project has turned into a full time dream as a shop owner and Freelance Illustrator! Since graduating University last year I work from my studio at home where I’m kept company by my three cats and endless potted plants.

Where do you call home and what is your favourite thing about where you live?

I live in a Warrington in the North West of England, it’s great because it sits between two great cities; Manchester and Liverpool.

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Botanical, Naïve and Colourful.

Tell us about your creative space, what are your tips for keeping a creative studio space organised? What would your dream space look like?

My studio is currently packed into the spare room of my home. It has very good natural light and is filled with plants as continuous inspiration. It’s great because I always have my cats to keep me company although sometimes I do get a bit of cabin fever, its so important to leave the house at least once a day! I’d love a bigger studio as I’m currently surrounded by boxes of stock with limited space to spread out. My dream studio would be a large white room, a blank canvas, filled with lots of desk space. Id love a designated area for packing stock and another area where I could paint and be messy!

What does a typical creative day look like for you? Do you follow a routine or are you project led?

Typically, in the morning I focus on replying to emails, updating my website, sorting content for social media and heading to the post office with lots of prints! These areas are the parts of my business I enjoy the least so I try to get these things done first so I can enjoy the rest of my day. After lunch I sit down at my desk and paint, whether it be for personal projects or client led projects. I love this part of my job and I get totally lost in it, sometimes I don’t leave my desk until the early hours of the morning.

Tell us about how you get your creative juices flowing, what is your process? Do you have a source of inspiration you want to share with us?

I love to travel, I recently got home from a four-month trip to Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hong Kong and Thailand. So at the moment I’m definitely ready to burst with ideas! Obviously I cant afford to travel all the time, so when I’m not travelling I like to visit Botanical Gardens and watch lots of David Attenborough documentary’s, on repeat!

Do you have a favourite medium and/or method to work with, if so what is it and why?

Acrylic and Gouache paints. I also like to collage with painted bits of paper, screenprint and sometimes like to papercut too! I’m a very hands on designer, I’ve never really been interested in digital design as the process isn’t as fun for me.

What would you say is the biggest challenge when running your own business, what is your favourite and least favourite part?

Time management! Its difficult juggling marketing, accounts, post office trips and replying to emails when all you really want to do is create. These things don’t come naturally to me so I have a habit of pushing them aside. My favourite part is completing personal projects. I consider myself so lucky that I get to create the art that I want the majority of the time. Some days I get to paint whatever I feel like in that moment, I find that sometimes these pieces become my best sellers and that’s just the best feeling ever. My least favourite part is the uncertainty of running your own business, my monthly income varies and this is quite daunting. I suppose organization and self motivation is key to feeling like you’re keeping on top of everything.

Where would you like to see your work featured?

Id love my surface pattern to be featured in Anthropology, it would just be a dream. Aside from that I would love to grow my brand enough so that I could start selling wholesale to high street stores. I’m currently working on expanding my product range to include more of my Surface Pattern Designs so if I could pull that off id be so happy.

You can read more about what Amber is upto Website, Instagram, Facebook.

Textile Collection Wildflower

It’s that time again – our design team has been busy working to deliver new range of textile designs for our Fabric Shop that delight and inspire. Having focused solely on digital methods to create designs for our previous launch we’ve returned to hand-drawn and hand-painted motifs, texture and line for our latest range. Introducing our Wildflower Collection.

Once again we found ourselves being inspired by nature. It’s hard not to be when it still feels like Summer in Sydney. Our research began by collecting imagery of picture perfect gardens and the creatures that lie within them. These were then used to start drawing and painting interesting forms and surfaces.

From the variety of motifs drawn, a selection of watercolour elements were chosen to develop further for the range, with detail rich designs being an area of focus. We wanted to create a range of prints where the designs could work on their own as well as complement each other when used together. By choosing the unifying feature of watercolour motifs across the range we knew we could be experimental with colour and still create a balanced and harmonious collection.

The Wildflower Collection plays with primary colours throughout the designs, with warm and cool variations of reds, yellows and blues being seen throughout. This balancing of undertones and vibrant colours results in a fun range of designs perfect for those who love to make a statement by mixing and matching bold prints together. We’ve included some reference imagery below that show not only designs comparable to those in this collection, but also those that celebrate the art of clashing prints.

image via Pinterest

The Wildflower Collection is full of dramatic colours, textural hand-drawn elements and motifs that feel both ‘naughty and nice’. Whilst ‘Viper Sun’ and ‘Tea Party’ are best suited for fashion rather than homewares, ‘Eclipse’ and ‘Zephyr’ can definitely work well for both. We’d love to know what sort of applications you think these designs would be perfect for – so get in touch! Designs are available in our Fabric Shop now.

Cotton Poplin Fabric

This time on the blog we’re focusing on one our most popular fabric choices from our range of Natural Fabrics – the Cotton Poplin! Even if you haven’t printed on our Cotton Poplin before there’s a good chance you’ve seen, used or worn similar Cotton Poplin fabrics. It’s a first choice fabric fora variety of products, garments and homewares.

Our Cotton Poplin is a high quality lightweight 100% cotton fabric which is both durable and versatile, and has a maximum printable width of 140cm. This plain weave natural fabric has a smooth surface making it great for designs with intricate and fine details. It has a warm white base colour and a matte finish. The Cotton Poplin’s tight weave allows for good colour reproduction when printed.

When selecting the Cotton Poplin please keep in mind that some fading as a result of washing is normal for digital printing on natural fabrics. The fading often gives the Cotton Poplin a charming and soft ‘worn’ look. Fading can be minimized through the use of cold hand-washing and phosphate free detergent.

Cotton Poplin is 105 GSM and has no stretch. It has a crispness to its drape and holds it shape very well, making it ideal for fashion garments such as shirts, dresses, skirts and kids clothing. It is a particularly good choice for Summer fashion! The fabric is also a popular choice for pillowcases, napkins, displays and beeswax wraps. We’ve included some reference images below which

image via Pinterest

Sample swatches of the Cotton Poplin are available through our Sample Pack Order Form on the website. Contact us to find out if this fabric is a suitable option for a textile project you’re working on!

Snippets: Chats With Creatives, Textile Designer Molly Fitzpatrick– Series 3, Snippet 2

Snippets. Chats with Creatives

Here at Digital Fabrics we love everything print, pattern and colour and we love to know what makes print designers tick.

Today we are chatting to Molly Fitzpatrick, a USA based textile designer who has designed for a wide variety of clients and products including major airlines, home furnishings, and baby accessories. She also works as a textile design consultant assisting with manufacturing and production needs as well as being the Founder and Creative Director of DittoHouse – modern, bold textiles for the happy modern house.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your brand/label name what your creative practice is, how and when you began:

My name is Molly and I own DittoHouse, a textile and surface design company based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. My company got its start when we welcomed an adorable baby boy into our family four (almost five!) years ago. I quickly learned that comfy cozy blankets are an essential part of every happy house; blankets for the baby to play on, for our visitors to snuggle under, to throw an impromptu picnic in the back yard! Not only is it essential that our blankets be so cozy, but they must look at home in our happy modern house.

Where do you call home and what is your favourite thing about where you live?

My hometown is Cleveland, Ohio. I live with my husband and kids in our bungalow that we’ve redesigned together. We made the inside open and bright, with clean and modern lines. Will (my husband) has done all the work himself! My favourite part is my office/studio space, which is on the second floor. He created a walkway with a balcony to make it into a loft. It’s got lots of fun design details to facilitate creativity (built-in bulletin boards, lots of storage space, and a fun hiding spot for our kids to play in, too).

What 3 words best describe your creative style.
Rhythm, bold, colourful

Tell us a bit about what kind of studio, space or practice you run? Do you sell online or license your prints, do you do commissions or lots of freelance and what do you like doing the most?

I have three facets to my business: I work as a textile design consultant where I give creative direction to manufacturers on their textile products, I license my textile designs to companies, like CB2, and I have a product line of home textiles called DittoHouse.

Tell us about how you get your creative juices flowing, what is your process? Do you have a source of inspiration you want to share with us?

I love looking at my favorite textile designers and optical artists of the ’50s and ’60s for inspiration. Anni Albers and Gunta Stolz are two of my favorite textile designers. I love the optical art of Julian Stanczak and Richard Anuszkiewicz.

When designing a new collection or set of work what is your process and how long might you spend on this?

I like to work late at night when my kids are asleep – distraction free! When I’m working on a new collection, I usually focus on a specific idea that I want to put energy and love into, and something I feel is important to share with my audience. My most recent collection is inspired by one of my heroes, Malala Yousafzai, and her calling to empower girls through education. I hope to illustrate hope, power and light through my current designs.

What has been your proudest creative business achievement to date?

Generally speaking, I’m so proud that I am able to do the work I love to do, and am able to support my family with that work. Specifically, I still get really excited every time I see my designs in publications!

Do things you love! Give yourself challenges to keep yourself creating, and making new designs as often as possible (daily or even more). Make the things you wish someone else would make – fill the space and the need for things that only you can create, with your own special vision!

What would your dream creative project or collaboration look like? Tell us about why you would love to collaborate with them and what you find inspiring about their work.

I would looooooooove to create designs for Ikea! I really respect that Ikea has a intentional sustainability component to their company mission, and they are a retailer that I use and enjoy in my own home.

You can follow what Molly is upto: Dittohouse Website, Molly Fitzpatrick Studio Website, Dittohouse Instagram, Molly Fitzpatrick Studio Instagram.

Textile Collection Luxe

Recently when we’ve launched a new range of prints we’ve taken the time to put together a blog post that details the creative process behind the collection. We thought it would be a fabulous opportunity to revisit some of the past textile collections in our Fabric Shop and share the inspiration, techniques and methods that went into the creation of these designs. For this textile retrospective we’re focusing on one of our most popular ranges – The Luxe Collection. The range features 6 key designs, with some available in multiple colourways, resulting in a rich 10 piece collection.

Palazzo Colonna Rome – nikyrovis.com.au

Dulux Styling – we-are-scout.com

Villandry Wallpaper Styling – stylelibrary.com

The Luxe Collection wanted to celebrate the essential role that textiles and prints play in designing really sumptuous interiors. The layering of different colours and textures together elevates a space and gives it that luxurious feel. Our design team wanted to apply this same logic to a textile collection by playing around with different colours, techniques and imagery.

The first design element we worked on was colour. We wanted to select a colour palette that created a sense of opulence all on its own. The secondary colours of green and purple were selected as focal points, with distinct choices for each being used, including hot pink, sage green, indigo and spearmint. The colour palette has cool undertones throughout and is reminiscent of gem stones.

The creative process then varied for each of the designs. For the ‘Bold Rose’ prints, photographs taken at The Royal Botanic Garden were digitally manipulated to create moody large scale prints. The ‘Watercolour Pink’ and ‘Circular Peony’ were created from hand drawn watercolour illustrations which gives the designs a free-flowing aesthetic. ‘Mramor Ice’ was created using marbling techniques, which also provides an organic feel, whilst ‘Elephant Ear’ and the ‘Cutout’ prints were designed entirely digitally as a point of difference within the range.

This variation between designs creates a really interesting narrative throughout the collection where the prints can either work alone or harmonise beautifully together. The Luxe Collection is a series of statement prints certain to give any space a touch of flair.

We’d love to know what sort of project you would like to use these designs for, or perhaps the projects you’ve already used them for – so please get in touch! Designs are available in our Fabric Shop now.

Waratah Fabric

Lately on the blog we’ve focused on writing about any new fabrics for printing we’ve introduced to the Digital Fabrics range. Whilst we’ll continue to write these fabric introductions, you can also expect us to write up on some of our old favourites, to help keep you familiar with our complete Fabric Range for printing and make the right selection for your next textile project!

This time we’re brushing up on a long standing Digital Fabrics favourite – Waratah! Our Waratah is a 100% polyester fabric which is highly durable, easy to care for and has a printable width of 147cm.

It is a twill weave, medium weight fabric with a bright white base and slight sheen to its surface. Waratah’s composition and finish provides excellent colour reproduction when printing, making it perfect for designs with vibrant and deep colours!

Waratah fabric is 200 GSM and has minimum stretch meaning it holds its shape very well. This makes Waratah fabric an ideal for homewares applications such as cushion covers, tablecloths and wall hangings, as well as marketing collateral such as banners and signage. We think it’s such a great choice for interiors we’ve chosen Waratah as the standard choice for Digital Fabric’s Custom Cushion Cover Service!

Interested in Sample swatches of Waratah fabric are available through our Sample Pack Order Form. Get in touch to find out if this fabric suits your upcoming project!

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Tag Archives: fabric printing

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