Tag Archives: textile design

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!

Nailed It: Q & A Style Interview With Stavroula Adameitis From Frida Las Vegas

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!

We are back for 2019 and we have a fabulous designer to get your creative juices flowing and your mind ticking! To get the year going we are chatting to Stavroula Adameitis, the artist and designer behind the fabulous label ‘Frida Las Vegas‘ an Australian brand known for its bright colours, pop art themes and humorous work with a big kitsch kick and homage to the 80’s. 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.

Firstly, please tell us about how Frida las Vegas was born and how you came up with the very fun name?

The name ‘Frida Las Vegas’ was given to me by a dear friend when I unceremoniously signed up for an OKCupid.com profile some time in 2012 and didn’t want to use my real name on screen. I stayed on the platform for a grand total of 10 minutes before getting creeped out and leaving the online dating world forevermore but I noted the name ‘Frida Las Vegas’ had a catchy ring to it. I felt the combination of artistic feminine expression a la Frida Kahlo with a side order of tack-a-rama Las Vegas glamour really summed up who I was and what I wanted to express, so it was perfect to create work under this name a year later!

Your artwork is uber unique! What messages are you trying to share and what does your brand represent?

Thank you! My work is super nostalgic and reflects my personal obsessions with icons of popular culture, architecture, fashion and memory – many of which are distinctly Australian, which I feel is missing from the pantheon of Pop Art. Glamour and humour are central to the FRIDA LAS VEGAS ideology as these terms usually contradict themselves and I don’t think they necessarily should.

Visually, I’m interested in creating a universe that exists in its own timewarp, like a mash-up between art deco linework, 1980s Memphis Milano graphics and 1950s atomica. Ultimately my brand represents the self-actualising power of positivity, colour, confidence and humour.

Your colour palette is bold and bright, do you ever see this changing or is it integral to your work?

My colour palette is somewhere between a Barbie Campervan and a bag of mixed lollies and I can’t see this changing too much across mediums. I connect with bright colours on a deep level as they give me energy. If I ever use black as a major colour, I’m pretty sure will only be used as a background for multicoloured neon lights!

Do you work on Frida las Vegas full time? If so how did you make the transition and what experience have you found most valuable on the way? What advice can you give to fellow creatives thinking about making the leap?

Presently, I work freelance and split my time between clients, agencies and my own work under the FRIDA LAS VEGAS label. It’s all a juggle but I love constantly learning and evolving. There’s no roadmap through a career and I’m excited to see where the path twists and turns as new technologies and opportunities present themselves in the future. It’s important to stay open and flexible, regardless of your medium or industry.

Do you think you have a specific demographic, if so who are they and what do you think they love most about your work?

Anyone who appreciates vintage-inspired styling, a keen sense of humour and a love of colour is probably going to connect with my work. I’ve been told by customers that wearing FRIDA LAS VEGAS makes them feel fabulous and confident, which is the ultimate double-whammy compliment in my books and also the reason I do what I do!

Sydney is a BIG source of inspiration for you (obviously, because she’s fabulous dahhh-ling). Can we expect to see any work inspired by any of our other glorious Aussie cities?

I adore Sydney and feel incredibly inspired to call Sydney home, but am equally pumped to explore the mythologies, signs, symbols, faces and places of other Australian locales – especially the Gold Coast (so gloriously tropical and tacky!) and Adelaide always holds a giant slice of my heart, as that’s where I grew up and spent my first 25 years on the planet.

Who are your biggest inspirations and who tops your dream collaboration list?

I’d love to collaborate with Black & Gold or Home Brand, but this is definitely a pipe dream as they are both very elusive and exclusive! Fashion-wise, I love the work of Elio Fiorucci, Jeremy Scott, Thierry Mugler, Gianni Versace and 80s Barbie, amongst others. Cinema is also a massive passion, especially costume and set design – which is truly creative across the spectrum and allows filmmakers and their teams to construct entire ‘worlds’, something I find really appealing.

Ethical manufacturing is clearly very important to you (yass!). As another local business supporting the ethical fashion movement we’d love to hear what your motivations with this cause are.

Ethical manufacturing makes perfect sense. From a production perspective, it’s more efficient to foster relationships with local suppliers whom you can jump on the phone and workshop ideas with in the same timezone rather than dealing with overseas companies by email. My artwork celebrates Australia in all its forms, so it’s only fair my clothing truly reflects that celebration in how it is produced and constructed. I’m a big believer in practicing what you preach!

You recently entered the world of fashion with a product list growing fast! What led to you designing and creating these pieces and what might be next?

I’m always motivated to design what I personally want to wear and can’t find on the market. I’m not interested in trying to reach a mass audience, which gives me freedom to follow my instincts and design without boundaries. Presently I’m on the hunt for the perfect swimsuit that is fun AND flattering, with no luck from what’s on the market – so I’m working on making that happen!

What projects are on the horizon for Frida Las Vegas for 2019? Can you share any juicy plans or new product launches?

I’m working on an exhibition of neon and acrylic art that I’m MEGA pumped about, which is shaping up to be an extravaganza of extreme 80s glamour!

What is your advice for creatives at the beginning of their journey? Perhaps they are not sure on the product to create or the path to go down. If you could go back and give yourself advice, what would it be?

The best way to do is by doing. Skill up. Tool Up. Bar a few established professions, the concept of a career with a capital C is 100 per cent in flux right now – so stay ahead of the game with real, practical, hands-on skills that render you valuable and flexible for a changing world.

Find your own unique style. Don’t seek to emulate the work of one or two of your favourite artists. Instead, find inspiration from the random things that TRULY speak to you. Aim to ‘channel’ your influences rather than ‘copy’. Creating a style is all about how you mix up the mediums, styles, symbols and feelings of the things you love to create a product that is more cohesive than the sum of all its parts. Do this with your own personal flourishes.

Social media now consumes so much of our time and mental space, how do you manage this area and do you have any tips on how to stay relevant and fresh?

Social platforms are purposefully addictive by the nature of their interface design. With minimal ‘exit points’, it’s important to maintain boundaries with yourself and not get lost ‘in the scroll’. I strive to share my work in a tone that is authentic, relatable and not-too-serious. If a photo or video takes more than a minute to write a caption, I don’t post it because it means I’m probably thinking about it too much. Ultimately it’s important to not take social too seriously or let it define you – we are all human, not numbers!

As a business owner these days you have to have the ability to wear lots of hats, what is your favourite and least favourite hat to wear and why?

Posting orders at the post office isn’t my favourite part of the process but I’m trying to find beauty in the banal and see it as a chance to leave the computer and stop ‘n’ smell the (Cadbury) Roses!

Thanks Stav, what a fun and inspiring read!

You can follow along with what Stavroula from Freda Las Vegas is upto Website, Instagram,

How To: Create a Mirror Repeat using our Online Uploader

Designing abstract textural prints may seem like a challenge, but by selecting the Mirror Repeat Feature when using our Online Uploader, your designs can be taken to the next level with minimal fuss when it comes to repeating your design. Here’s an easy to follow tutorial put together by one of our fabulous interns from 2018 – Emily!

Firstly, start out by creating your own designs and then scan them into your computer. We recommend to scan your artwork at 300dpi and in RGB colour mode.

For our artwork we decided to play around with line-work and contrasting colours to create a high energy zig-zag effect.

Open the design in Adobe Photoshop. It’s at this stage that you can edit your artwork if it requires any tweaks, such as changing the colours or removing / cleaning up elements. Once you are happy with your artwork use the crop tool to crop your design into a rectangular tile.

Check the size of your image by selecting ‘Image’ > ‘Image Size’ from the menu bar in the top-left of your screen. If the dpi of your image is larger than 300, please reduce it to 300dpi. If the dpi of your image is less than 300 you can keep it at this size. Please note we recommend artwork for digital printing to have a dpi of at least 150 for best results when printing onto fabric.

Save the tile as a JPEG so that it is compatible with the Online Uploader.

Next head to our website! The Online Uploader is available either clicking here or by copying & pasting this link: www.digitalfabrics.com.au/custom-fabric into your browser. Use the Online Uploader to upload your design. After the file has loaded you should see it in the fabric preview window.

To the right of the fabric preview window you will see a list of options, including any changes that need to be made to your artwork size as well as the type of ‘repeat’ required for your design. When first uploaded your artwork will always be shown using a ‘full drop’ repeat. Select the ‘mirror repeat’ option. This will reflect your design tile’s edges when placed next to each other, resulting in a seamless repeat pattern of your textured artwork.

Congratulations! You now have a repeat design all set to be printed on the fabric of your choice and applied to any project you can imagine!

Textile Collection Flora Folk

We had so much fun creating our last collection we thought we’d release another range of beautiful fabric prints dedicated to florals. This time round we completely changed our creative process to deliver fabric prints that felt entirely different to the soft, inky designs of the Palamporia Collection. Introducing our new Folk Flora range, which is available now in our Fabric Shop.

To make sure we were creating floral motifs that felt new we put the watercolours away! This time we wanted to focus on the textures and line work that could be achieved by working digitally only. This does unfortunately mean that we don’t have any gorgeous process illustrations to share, however we think the end results are stunning enough!

We began by collecting images of flowers to draw from, as well as endless scans and photographs we’d gathered of interesting textures. We drew our floral motifs digitally, giving them crisp sharp lines and overtly simplified shapes reminiscent of retro floral forms.

We then began to play with our gallery of photographs and scans. These images were manipulated, distorted and layered to come up with interesting designs to use to fill our floral motifs. Some designs, such as ‘Kaleidoscope Garden’, layer several of these digital textures to create a really rich patchwork, whilst others like ‘Stormy Blossom’ choose to showcase just one gorgeous texture. The strictly digital process of drawing, cutting and collaging resulted in designs that had a vintage flair, so accordingly we chose a warm colour palette that reflected this outcome.

With so many of our prints starting with hand-drawn elements it was refreshing to try a whole new process with a different set of restrictions and possibilities. The Folk Flora Collection creates retro feeling designs for the digital age, and can work for both fashion and interiors applications.

We’d love to know what sort of project you think this range would be perfect for – so get in touch! Designs are available in our Fabric Shop now.

Snippets: Chats With Creatives, Textile Designer Beck Ng – Series 3, Snippet 1

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 Beck Ng from Fabric Drawer, a Melbourne based surface designer and maker who has a passion for pattern! She creates prints often inspired by nature and the things she has seen and done throughout her life, these are available for license or purchase. She also makes things from her printed fabrics and sells them at markets and online here

We love her style, whimsical and folk like florals that look great on our favourite thing, fabric! Her work has been featured in lots of awesome places including the Print and Pattern website, the latest Flow Calendar and she is currently a finalist in the Frankie Good Stuff Awards so you can vote for her here!

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

I’m a designer, maker, mum and pattern lover from Melbourne. My creative journey started in graphic design, but took a side step into patterns when I started a textiles course. I created the label Fabric Drawer (in 2012) to showcase my love of patterns, for licensing and also for use on my own range of products. I started out designing patterns and didn’t begin making my own products until a few years later.

Having my own business allows me to create my own style of work and turn it into a product that people can purchase and take home (or gift!). So far, I make each and every product myself and have been committed to sourcing materials locally where possible. I also enjoy the process of licensing my work, which means I work with clients to have my designs on their products. I really enjoy being involved in all facets off my creative business; it’s a never ending learning process!

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

I live in Melbourne, close to the city and I enjoy the convenience of being able to walk, bike or tram to most places.

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Inspired by nature

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?

My creative business does a little bit of everything. I license my designs, make products from my work and sell at markets around Melbourne.

I started out in art licensing through an art agent in America. They represented me for almost 3 years and I was fortunate to have my work sold/licensed on products such as greeting cards, party ware, gift bags and wall art. I have learned a lot about the art licensing industry and am finding it an area I’d like to get more and more into. It’s still a big learning curve for me and it’s certainly challenging finding my own licensing opportunities without an agent.

Outside of the licensing, I have made my own collection of products from my patterns. I’ve been doing this for about three years now, starting out very small by sewing a few products and selling them at markets. Initially I didn’t sell very much, but as I kept going, I started to sell a bit more at each market and have now been able to be part of some of the larger design markets in Melbourne. I sew everything myself, which is a very time consuming process, but has been the best way to make small quantities and keep things local for now.

I find licensing and making products both a rewarding process and I think that having my own range of products has helped the licensing side of the business.

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

To be honest I don’t have much of a creative space. I have seen pictures of other creative studios, and I love the idea of a light filled space, with your computer on bare desk and pieces of your work and work that inspires you decorated around the wall and studio. In reality, I work in my bedroom, lounge room, dining room (I have a laptop) and small nook in a room (for sewing). It’s not very glamorous, but I guess I wanted to share that so people realise you don’t need the perfect set-up to get started and be creative. Sometimes constraints are needed so you can focus on creating. That said, I wouldn’t mind the type of studio space I described above!

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

I keep it pretty simple and start out my patterns by drawing on regular plain white paper with a pen or pencil. It’s good to have a bit of a story or theme in mind, but I don’t always start that way. When I feel like I have sketched up enough motifs, I photograph them and bring them into my computer to start tracing them in Illustrator. I love using Illustrator because of the flexibility it allows to scale and change colours. From there I start working on the hero print, then build out the secondary and simple coordinates. I try to have a minimum of 5 patterns per collection. I have been known to put together a collection within a couple of weeks when I’m under a bit of a deadline, but it could take a month or months if I take my time.

Which part of the creative process is your favourite and why?

I really enjoy the process of piecing a surface pattern together. It’s feels a bit like a jigsaw puzzle; fitting each motif into the right space and then working on the right colour palette.

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

Time! There is never enough time. I don’t work on my business full-time and never have. I have a part-time job as a graphic designer, sometimes I freelance too and have two young girls to look after. Usually I would have to work on my creative stuff when the kids are in bed, or if I have any small snippets of time throughout the day. I would love to focus on my creative business more, but the reality is I still need some bread and butter income.

My favourite thing about having my own business is that I can create whatever I like. As a graphic designer, you’re bound by what the client wants, so having my own work gives me the freedom to express myself creatively.

My least favourite part is social media. I feel like it’s a bit of a time suck, and am spending more time on it then I’d like. I do try to post regularly to share my work (because opportunities can come out of social media) and build my brand, but I kinda wish I didn’t have to.

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?

I feel like being a creative is a bit of a labour of love, so you need to be passionate about what you do, because it’s not a huge money maker for most. Persistence and consistency is important. Keep creating consistently and by the end of the year you’ll have a good body of work. With licensing and collaborations, it can be a disheartening process, because it’s not that easy to sell or license your work, especially when you are starting out. Often you’ll contact companies and they don’t even respond! But keep persisting and asking around, while continuing to build up a stronger folio of work and through this hard work, things can start to happen.

Facebook groups can be immensely helpful connecting with other surface designers. I’m in a few surface pattern / licensing groups and it’s great way to get some advice. I’m part of a meet-up group of other designers who are specifically interested in licensing their art. Skillshare is a great resource for doing some short courses at a reasonable price. I did the Make It In Design Module 3 course, and I felt that was helpful to get me started. There are quite a few online courses, but they can be costly. I’d probably recommend starting with free or low cost options first and see where that takes you, before investing in an expensive course.

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 loved being involved in some of the bigger design markets, such as Markit, Finders Keepers and Makers and Shakers market last year. It’s great to be amongst other creatives and interact with customers directly, even though I’m quite an introverted person. It’s a lot of work though, preparing for markets when you make everything yourself, so I haven’t planned any markets for this year so far.

I also really enjoyed working with Apiary Made on their range of beeswax wrap designs. It’s been great to work with a local business whose values sustainability and ethically made products. I have collaborated with another couple of brands, but I will share the details when the product comes out as I’m not sure when this will be happening. Licensing can be a bit of a tough road, but I’m hoping I get to work with more clients in the future.

Where would you like to see your work featured?

I would love to have my own range of fabric one day. I love the idea of seeing what people would make with my own fabric.

You can find out what Beck from Fabric Drawer is upto: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Textile Collection Palamporia

Hello 2019 – we hope everyone is feeling refreshed after the break! We know it can be hard staying motivated after taking some much needed time off, so to help keep everyone on track with making 2019 a year full of creativity we’ve launched a brand new range of textile designs that feel summery, fresh and timeless. Introducing our Palamporia Collection.

When embarking on designing a new range we found ourselves being drawn to the intricately detailed and beautiful tradition of Palampore textiles. These textiles were common across India during the 18^th century and often featured hand-painted and hand-dyed designs depicting botanic motifs.

The creative process began by collecting gorgeous reference imagery and local flowers to draw from, and then illustrating the motifs in pencil. A warm colour palette was then selected inspired by colours commonly found in natural and vegetable dyes, such as indigo and turmeric. The painting of delicate floral motifs using water colours then became a worthwhile labour of love.

When putting the textile designs together it was important to mimic the undulating nature of the inky textures with interesting use of negative space and organic placement of elements. In some of the designs that have a more formal layout, the curved lines and water colour medium helps to give them a free-flowing feel.

The Palamporia Collection puts a contemporary spin on the tradition of Palampore textiles, providing a pared-back style with a limited colour palette. The play between lovingly painted details and crisp negative space shows its versatility. We can see these prints working well for both fashion and interiors applications. Gorgeous summer dresses and linen pants, and fresh feeling bedding and cushion covers spring to mind. We’d love to know what sort of projects you think these designs would be perfect for so please get in touch! Designs are available in our Fabric Shop now.

Textile Collection Native Whimsy

The end of year break is almost upon us! It’s a time that feels undeniably Australian for many of us, with road trips to the beach, seafood on Christmas Day and the annoying song of a mosquito to keep you up at night. We let this drive our creativity for our latest textile range, and have produced a range of prints inspired by the uniqueness of Australian flora and fauna. We’re excited to introduce our last range of prints for 2018, our Native Whimsy Collection.

Sprinkled Gumnut

We feel like the magic of Christmas invited our inner child to take control of our approach to this range as were drawn to naïve, rounded forms, reminiscent of the images found in children’s books. This sweet illustrative style gave a soft finish to typically jagged plants and bushy animals.

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_native whimsy_rustled feathers_3

Ruffled Feathers

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_native whimsy_rustled feathers_4

Ruffled Feathers

The elements which feature in the Native Whimsy Designs were first drawn with pencil before being brought to life with watercolour paints. The inky textures of watercolours suited the sweet drawing style we has embraced. The hand-painted nature of the designs provides textural balance for otherwise simple motifs.

Sprinkled Gumnut

Native Whimsy pairs big bold colours, such as hot pink and emerald green with plenty of white negative space and earthy neutrals. The result is a set of prints which makes wearing colour, or introducing statement hues into the home, a breeze.

Eucalyptus

The Native Whimsy Collection is a celebration of the wildlife that doesn’t make the regular ‘animal print’ or ‘floral print’ cut. We’d love to know what you think of these designs and how you think they would best be used so get in touch! Prints are available in our Fabric Shop now.

Snippets: Chats With Creatives, You Are Brave – Series 2, Snippet 7

Snippets’. Chats with Creatives. We are back with series two! Here at Digital Fabrics we love everything print, pattern and colour and we love to know what makes designers tick. This second series is all about asking some fun and different questions and learning about the inspirations and ideas behind the artist and their work. We hope to inspire others by sharing snippets of these creative stories. We gave the artists and designers featured a varied and different set from series one list of questions to choose from so we will learn something new from everyone involved, should be fun!

Today we are chatting to Michelle from You are Brave, a textile brand that creates hand printed apparel, tableware and interior decor pieces inspired by nature in all it’s glorious forms. Her work has earthy tones and emulates a relaxed Australian vibe. She worked as a commercial textile graphic designer for years before stepping out on her own, inspired by the words of her Aunt Mabel ”You are Brave” her products are hand printed and made locally, an important part of the brands ethos.

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

YOU ARE BRAVE textiles is known for it’s hand screen printed fabrics (although I’ve also produced digital prints in the past). I think my style of print design is simple, relaxed + has a coastal and tropical Australian feel.

My prints tend to focus on single aspects of natural forms. I’m trying to isolate “the one thing” or essence of natural things that can seem complex + mind blowing at the outset. This is how I gather my inspiration + it becomes like a meditation for me.

Uplifting everyday practicalities is also central to the ethos at YOU ARE BRAVE as are the benefits of natural + sustainable fibres … the offering is of printed meterage, hand made interior décor and most recently, women’s apparel which is all locally produced.

My leap of faith into YOU ARE BRAVE textiles came in 2014 when I left a long career in commercial textile design. It was a brave move at the time. But I knew I had to do something more meaningful with my creative energy + my time on earth.

Where do you call home?

Sydney’s Inner West is now firmly my home although I grew up in & still have close family ties in Cape Town, South Africa.

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Relaxed. Natural. Australian

What would your dream creative project look like? Who or what is your dream project, client or job? Tell us about why you would love to collaborate with them and what you find inspiring about their work.
I love travelling. And there’s something about the tropics that not only appeals to me but more than that, tropical places make me feel alive. So I would love to work with a boutique resort on updating or designing their textile furnishings.

What would you say is the biggest challenge when working for yourself ?

As a person with many ideas + interests, I would say staying focused + motivated has been my biggest challenge. I think being creatively self employed requires not only a commitment to yourself but a large amount of self belief. These are things that constantly ebb + flow for me so it’s something I’m always working on.

What/who inspired you to take the leap in to your creative venture, how did you get started?

My Great Aunt Mabel has always been inspirational to me but as most people who ask about the origin of my label’s name know, she was also the reason why YOU ARE BRAVE has it’s name. The story behind it is posted on my website but in a nutshell, my Aunty Mabel believed in me when I didn’t, she showed me that with a little self confidence, I could do anything.

Tell us about how you get your creative juices flowing, what is your process?

Two things here … I respond to being immersed in nature. Line, colour, pattern, shapes + smells in nature are powerful stimuli both visually + spiritually.

But I’ve recently learned that I respond creatively when I take on a big challenge, see it through + do a good job of it. It energises me + it seems to provide more motivation to explore future endeavours.

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

I worked in fashion for a long time but after 14 years in the industry, I felt I needed to work with my hands again + produce things that were meaningful as well as beautiful, so I returned to my roots in interior decor when I started YOU ARE BRAVE in 2014. Recently I’ve produced some prints that were just calling out to be made into apparel, so I guess I’ve come full circle. I now offer printed meterage for all those talented makers out there as well as decor + a small range of apparel.

You can follow what Michelle from You are Brave is upto Website, Instagram, Facebook.

Textile Collection Tutti Fruity

It feels as though we’ve been hit with a heatwave! & what better way to celebrate things heating up than with a fun new range of textile prints that simply scream Summer. For these designs we’ve been inspired by the beautiful simplicity of summer fruits. We are very excited to introduce our new Tutti Fruity Collection.

Creative inspo came straight from our green grocer, and we were really excited to create a range of playful designs that celebrated simple motifs familiar to everyone. The range includes a quirky minimal print, a tangerine dream and a seriously sweet statement print.

A mixture of acrylic paints and watercolours were used to create the artwork for this range, resulting in a range of interesting and juicy textures. The hand-painted nature of the designs gives the range a lazily elegant feel.

It wouldn’t be a summer fruits inspired range without plenty of colour, and our design team did not hold back. The collection features plenty of bold colours and primary brights in perfect contrast to ensure balance within the prints.

The Tutti Fruity collection has been designed as a celebration of enjoying the little things, and we must admit we are definitely enjoying the change of season. We love to know what you think these designs would be perfect for so get in touch. Prints are available in our Fabric Shop now.

Snippets: Chats With Creatives, Carmen Hui Illustration – Series 2, Snippet 6

Today on snippets we are talking to Carmen Hui from Carmen Hui Illustrations, her drawings are detailed with a playful and fun Australiana theme and often feature botanicals and animals. Each drawing is a labour of love using layers of coloured pencil strokes and her style is unique and very distinguishable. Her designs can be seen across a variety of mediums including paper, jewellery, textiles and ceramics to name just a few and she also teaches workshops so she has lots of advice and knowledge to share with us!

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

Hello, my name is Carmen and I am an illustrator focusing on animal and botanical pencil drawings. I started Carmen Hui Art & Illustration about 4 years ago after wanting a sea change from my job as a designer. I didn’t have a set plan when I started my business, I just participated in a few group art shows, a couple of local markets and then opened an online Etsy shop. It was a slow process but each little step gave me the confidence to keep going. Nowadays, my days are split between running my online shop, doing commissioned works, teaching drawing classes and attending design markets.

Where do you call home?

I live in sunny Marrickville with my partner Mat and my cat Miso.

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Delicate, emotive and Australiana

What does a typical creative day look like for you? How do you stay on plan and organised?

Everyday is different and consists of juggling many hats. I start the week by prioritising what’s important and allocating time in the week to complete each task. I usually start the day by doing the less fun stuff such as admin, accounts and packaging orders. Then I will do more involved work such as planning and commissioned work.

I am in love with surface design at the moment and would love to see my designs on clothing and accessories. This is something that I have started dabbling in, but would love to collaborate with an experienced clothing brand and adapt my drawings into a small range of clothing.

What would you say is the biggest challenge when working for yourself ?

Being kind to oneself. Being your own boss can have many advantages and disadvantages. You are constantly thinking about your business and what more you could be doing, It is important to give yourself a break every once in a while and be happy with what you’ve achieved. I burnt out really quickly after the first couple of years working for myself, so this year I’m trying to slow down a little. It’s not easy, but I think I’m getting there.

What’s the best thing about being in the creative industry in Australia today? And on the other hand, what do you find most frustrating?

I think right now is the best time to be in the creative industry in Australia. People have a deeper appreciation of craft and great designs and are very supportive in helping small businesses to grow and develop. The growth of social media is also extremely helpful as it helps us reach people far and wide, something that is near impossible in the past unless you have a large marketing budget.

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

The project I’m most proud of this year is my Everyday Bag designs. This was a passion project of mine and am so happy that it came to fruition. I’m hoping to slowly build on this and release more designs in the new year. In terms of collaborations, I have an illustrated plant pot design with Plernters, a range of Christmas cards and accessories that are about to be launched with La La Land, as well as some soon to be available wallpaper designs with Milton & King which I’m super excited about.

You can follow what Carmen is upto: Website, Instagram, Facebook.

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