Art & Design

The Fowlers Gap Mini School – Jo Mellor

We’ are super excited to be sharing another amazing project from Sydney-based textile artist Jo Mellor ! You can read more about her first incredible project here.

Jo spent a week at Fowlers Gap Research station, Northern NSW in August with The School of the Air kids (aged 4yrs old to 12 years old), teachers, governesses and parents.  Jo was resident artist and taught various art projects to approximately 80 children from the School of the Air (Broken Hill). Several of the art activities included using our remnant fabric that would have otherwise gone to waste, and we feel so fortunate to have contributed!

The artist herself has shared the blog below which details a few of the activities in which the remnant fabrics were used for and includes a series of photos captured of the art projects . Keep reading to find out more!

Activity 1
Here are some dyed pieces the children made with paint.

Activity 2
 
The small remnant fabric pieces were used to wrap tree branches and rocks and then use either a crayon, charcoal or pencil to press down on the bark or rock which caused different patterns to appear onto the fabric. 
Artist, Jo Mellor demonstrating drawing with a crayon onto fabric which is wrapped around a tree branch to create natural patterns.
Kindergarten children with their natural drawings on remnant fabric.
Wrapping a rock with fabric and drawing over the fabric with pencil.
Natural drawing on remnant fabric.
Natural drawings created on a large log with remnant fabric.
Activity 3
The large remnant fabric pieces were made into fabric banners for each class at School of the Air as mementos of their time at Fowler’s Gap Mini School.    
Each banner featured traced drawings of rocks, leaves  and sticks as well as each Child’s painted hand print.
If you’d love some fabric off cuts to use for your DIY projects, come on down to our warehouse and grab as many as you need!
You can get in touch with us to organise a day and time to get your remnant fabrics via email –  sales@digitalfabrics.com.au OR call us now at 02 8307 0258

Add to Calendar: Creative events to inspire in 2023

Add to Calendar: Creative Events in 2023After a tough two years with event cancellations due to the pandemic, the Australian sustainable fashion and cultural scene is back with a new energy and the new year looks to be shaping up to be one of the biggest yet.

With events all over the country, we have sifted through the noise and named our key dates to mark in your calendar for 2023.

Finders Keepers

WIth markets held bi-annually in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Finders Keepers has quickly become a staple of the Australian sustainable fashion scene with over 1200 vendors participating. Their first event for the new year will be their Creative Business Summit in Melbourne, followed by the winter Sydney markets in June.

Melbourne Fashion Festival

Established almost thirty years ago, Melbourne Fashion Week encaptures the best and brightest of the Australian industry. With thousands of visitors to descend on the Victorian capital from 3-11 March, this one is a must for any fashion enthusiasts. Not only will the upcoming season’s style be on the display, but also the presentation of the National Design Award, the National Graduate Showcase and the Fashion Writing Tour.

AfterPay Fashion Week

Following the Victorian extravaganza is the AfterPay Australian Fashion Week, to be held at the famous Carriageworks complex in Sydney. You can expect a multitude of events and shows starting on Monday 9 May.

The Archibald Prize Tour

Established in 1921, the Archibald Prize is our nation’s most prestigious art award, with the tour being the perfect opportunity to check out some of Australia’s most talented artists. Run by the Art Gallery of NSW, this one is for our friends in the bush, with the tour kicking off on the Mornington Peninsula in September and finishing in Port Macquarie in August 2024.

Life Instyle

Held across Sydney and Melbourne, Life Instyle is more than just a marketplace, priding themselves on bringing together Australia’s most innovative creators and designers. Kicking off in the Harbour City on 18 February, followed by Melbourne on 3 August, this is a retail trade show like no other. A must for your calendar.

Horizon Festival (QLD)

Horizon Festival is Sunshine Coast’s leading contemporary multi-arts festival, presenting 10 days and nights of visual art, music, theatre, dance, words and ideas, film and creative workshops; inspired by the stories and beauty of the Sunshine Coast. From August 25th onwards, Horizon has lots of inspirational activations across the Sunshine Coast.

Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Award

Presented by Australian Design Centre, Seed Stitch celebrates diverse textile practice. Seed Stitch was developed by the former Seed Stitch Collective (SSC) with the aim to showcase progressive textile art forms and support artists to get work out of their studios and into the public arena. Founded by Soraya Abidin in 2016, this exhibition was born out of her desire to create opportunities to exhibit alongside like-minded artists. Digital Fabrics was a proud sponsor of the award this year.

International Sourcing Expo

The International Sourcing Expo Australia connects Australian and New Zealand trade buyers with a broad range of manufacturers and suppliers from across the globe from November 21 – 23.

With a focus on apparel, accessories and textiles, the event provides an efficient way for international sourcing, learning and networking for industry professionals. If you’re looking to improve or diversify your supply chain and product offer, compare production capability and costs, produce your own label or start a new sourcing business, this is the event for you.

So much to see and do in 2023, we are excited to see Australia’s art and fashion industries come alive again.

 

The Designer Project – Katy Dee

Our first designer at The Designer Project – Artists designed fabrics and textile goods program, is simply wonderful human, textile designer Katy Dee from @shiztastic. She is passionate about all things prints, textiles and surface design and has unique fun cheerful design style that is she known for. Here is what Katy has to share about her beautiful collection.

Hi all! Katy Dee from @shiztastic here with some exciting news..  You may have seen in the recent newsletter that I have some print designs up in the Digital Fabrics fabric shop that you can choose to print on any fabric of your choice which is pretty fun! We can’t wait to see what you might make from them, perhaps a dress or some cushions?! The internet has many answers to this question.

I am excited to launch a small curated collection of textile prints that are suitable for fashion or interiors, they range in scale and each one began as an original artwork, painting or collage.

We thought it would be fun to share with you some studio behind the scene photos where the designs were made as well as some ideas for what you can use the fabrics for and a small guide of how I made them and their inspiration. Fun!

Most of my prints are inspired by botanicals, op shop finds, shapes and general fun that have an 80’s colour palette running through them even when I try to avoid it. I love bold bright clashing colours and shapes and exploring the fun you can have with it. Playful bold prints for you and your home.

Katy Dee -Studio Shot

Katy Dee -Studio Shot

Most of my prints begin as paintings or collages in some form or another. I tend to paint sheets of colours and/or shapes and play around until I find the colour or scale that I want or I might paint an artwork straight up. This process can be a labour of love and I like to take my time and enjoy it as it is the part I find most fun!

Painted Love fabric design - Original scan.

Painted Love fabric design – Original scan.

This is an example of what an original artwork “Painted Love” scanned in will look like before it has been cleaned up digitally and then turned into a repeating artwork. I use both Photoshop and Illustrator to create my prints and both have qualities that are great for different things. This design was inspired by the 80’s and a love for double denim! It is a funky print full of pizzazz and nostalgia, a stripy print suitable for fashion or interiors.

‘Painted Love’ Imagined as a skirt

‘Painted Love’ Imagined as a skirt

Here is an example of how ‘Painted Love’ fabric would look as a skirt! This print is available here and could be printed on a fashion fabric such as London or Oliver to make a skirt like this one. Get in touch with the team at Digital Fabrics  to chat about other printing base fabrics that are available for your sewing DIY project.

Painted Love fabric design printed on Ponti print base fabric

Painted Love fabric design printed on Ponti print base fabric

Wild Thing fabric design -original scan

Wild Thing fabric design -original scan

This is the original scan of the print ‘Wild Thing’ that is also available in the shop. It began as a series of funky leopard print paintings in my favourite colour combo, Pink and red! I then took it to the computer to clean it up, change scale, background colour and create a repeat:

Studio shot - Digital editing of Wild Thing fabric design

Studio shot – Digital editing of Wild Thing fabric design

My studio space is a very bright and colourful place to be. I like to be surrounded by things and artists that inspire me as well as my plants, that I try to keep alive and many trinkets that I have collected. I have lots of artwork up as well as fabric samples and vintage finds to reference when I need to.

Wild Thing fabric design after digital adjustments

Wild Thing fabric design after digital adjustments

‘Wild Thing’ fabric design ended up with a cobalt blue background because I just felt like it needed to be super bold and brash, just a fun twist on the classic animal print. This print would be great on an interior fabric as a statement piece such as a cushion or even a chair. You can order this print here and can be ordered on all-sorts of fabric for your crafty needs.

Wild Thing fabric design printed on Aerocorp fabric base

Wild Thing fabric design printed on Aerocorp fabric base

I hope you have enjoyed seeing behind the scenes and perhaps have given you an idea for a fun sewing project while we are all stuck indoors in this strange pandemic time.

You can view more of my designs in the fabric shop where you can choose the print base fabric and how many metres you want, minimum is only 1m!

Katy Dee painting botanical elements

Katy Dee painting botanical elements

Katy Dee at work designing her next fabric collection

Katy Dee at work designing her next fabric collection

Thank you for taking the time to have a read, I would love to see what you make with my designs and hope this has inspired you one way or another! Please tag both Digital Fabrics and me in any crafty projects you undertake with these fabrics!

If you want to follow along with my design stories, come find me on Instagram or Facebook. Big Love, Katy Dee

If you want to collaborate with us on The Designer Project initiative and become part of this creative club, please apply! Send us an email with your portfolio and why you want to be part of this and sure, I will be in touch.

New Collection: Cup Of Honey

To conclude the summer season, we’re celebrating with our brand new Cup of Honey Fabric Collection. Showcasing a range of fun designs, it’s sure to inspire some DIY projects that are as sweet as honey!

We’ve drawn our inspiration from the idea of a sweet summer picnic for this collection! The process began by hand painting a variety of elements using watercolours, these were then scanned and arranged into these wonderful designs using Photoshop. To help ensure the collection was versatile, we chose to use a different scale for each design. When playing around with the colour palette, we found that the pink and green tones were an excellent combination and the touch of yellow added a radiant pop!

Our first design is Dilly Daisy. It features delightful pink florals against a sunny yellow background. The bright colour palette, mixed with the lovely watercolour textures has SUMMER written all over it!

Digital Fabrics custom fabric printing fabric design fashion prints designer fabric

Next up is our Picnic. A playful gingham print that features a striking vibrant green hue. This design is absolutely fabulous and will easily remind you of a fun picnic rug!

Digital Fabrics custom fabric printing fabric design fashion prints designer fabric green fabric

Our third design is Spell. Our charming Spell features a delicate pink and red bark speckled pattern, which could be used for a range of different products.

Digital Fabrics custom fabric printing fabric design fashion print design your own fabric

Finally, we have our Fern. This tropical feeling design featuring beautiful green watercolour textures on a soft pink background. It’s sure to bring back vacation memories!

Digital Fabrics custom fabric printing fabric design fashion prints designer fabric fern fabric

We think the designs can be used for a variety of products and garments such as blouses, skirts, swimwear and bedding. The bright colour palette is sure to keep you feeling sunny during the colder seasons and will keep you inspired with whatever you choose to create with them.

Digital Fabrics custom fabric printing fabric design fashion prints designer fabric_spoon of honey

Digital Fabrics custom fabric printing fabric design fashion prints designer pink daisy

Trend Forecast – Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2019

The City of Sydney once again played host to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Australia for 2019 with a string shows, events and parties set against the gorgeous backdrop of our harbour city. This week long celebration of Australian design brings out the most stylish of industry insiders, whose fashion ends up being as much of an attraction as those being paraded down the catwalk!

We’re always on the lookout for textile design inspiration and what’s really caught our eye this year are all the playful prints being seen in Men’s fashion. We’ve collated a few of the key street style prints we spotted during MBFWA that have a perfect partner design in our Fabric Shop!

 

#1 – MINIMAL FLORALS

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_MBFWA_2019_Trends_Floral

Photographer: Christopher Queyn

This print teams a restricted colour palette with graphic motifs and an uncomplicated layout to prove that sometimes simple works best. Soft canary yellow is always a winner in our eyes!

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_Palamporia_Turmeric Flower_web_2 Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_Palamporia_Turmeric Flower_web_3

Get the look! Our ‘Turmeric Flower’ approaches colour and form in a very similar way. The print celebrates traditional block print designs and keeps to a minimal colour palette of marigold yellows, denim blues and white.

 

#3 – SPLATTERED FRENZY

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_MBFWA_2019_Trends_Abstract ArtPhotographer: Christopher Queyn

This print is absolutely bursting with energy and we love that it feels like it was snapped up from an artist’s work desk!

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_textile design_wearable art_watercolour prints_4

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_textile design_wearable art_watercolour prints_3

Get the look! Our ‘Hand Dyed’ print features similar splattered elements throughout the design, focusing on inky watercolour textures rather than the painterly style shown above.

 

#3 – NAÏVE CHIC

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_MBFWA_2019_Trends_Naive IllustrationPhotographer: Jack Steel

We love the use of childish illustrations as textile motifs and think this print’s use for a beautifully tailored garment is a match made in heaven.

digital fabrics_custom fabric printing_new linen fabric_6 digital fabrics_custom fabric printing_new linen fabric_5

Get the look! Our ‘Vanity Fair’ print is inspired by playfulness and decadence. It’s warm tan background is the perfect bed for sweeter than sweet watercolour motifs.

 

We’d love to know what you think these designs, or any of the others in our Fabric Shop, would be perfect for – so get in touch!

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.

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Wildflower_2

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Zephyr_1

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Tea Party_2

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.

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Eclipse_1

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Viper Sun_1Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Zephyr_2

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.

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Tea Party_1

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Eclipse_2

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Watercolour Illustrations_Viper Sun_2

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.

Wildflower_Inspiration_1image via Pinterest

Wildflower_Inspiration_2image via Pinterest

Wildflower_Inspiration_3image via Pinterest

Wildflower_Inspiration_4image via Pinterest

Wildflower_Inspiration_5image 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.

Digital Fabrics_Textile Design_Wildflower_Hand Painted Designs_Mockup_1_web

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.

 

Digital Fabrics_Waratah_Polyester Fabric_unprinted_01

Digital Fabrics_Waratah_Polyester Fabric_unprinted_2

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!

fabric printing_custom fabrics_print your own fabric_waratah fabric 72 dpi

Digital Fabrics_Stock fabrics_custom fabric printing_Waratah_ 72 dpi

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!

Digital Fabrics_Waratah_Polyester Fabric_1

Digital Fabrics_Waratah_Polyester Fabric_2

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!

New Chevy Fabric

We have another very exciting addition to our fabric range which we are dying to introduce. Please meet our newest polyester fabric, the Chevy! We think this will be a particularly exciting launch for those with budding summer fashion projects!

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_polyester fabric_chevy_2

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_polyester fabric_chevy_3

Chevy is a polyester / spandex blend (92% polyester / 8% spandex) which provides the fabric with a little stretch. The small amount of stretch provides the fabric with some give, making it a really comfortable fabric to wear.

The fabric has an off-white base, with a chevron weave and a matte finish. The fabric’s composition and finish, results in strong colour reproduction when printed, making it an excellent choice for projects with bright and deep colours.

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_polyester fabric_Chevvy_5Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_polyester fabric_Chevvy_6

Chevy is a mid-weight 170 GSM fabric that is both durable and smooth to touch. Chevy is ideal for fashion garments designed to have structure to their form, whilst still being super comfortable to wear. We think the Chevy will be perfect for light suit jackets and blazers, bomber jackets, pants, culottes, shorts, skirts and dresses.

Digital Fabrics_Chevy_Tata NakaTata Naka

Digital Fabrics_Chevy_Vogue Spain

Vogue Spain

Digital Fabrics-Chevy_Markus Lupfer

Markus Lupfer

Whilst we think this fabric is most suitable for fashion applications, it’s durability, printed colour results and resistance to creasing would also make it a great choice for some interiors and events projects, such as tablecloths and banners.

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_polyester fabric_Chevvy_1

Digital Fabrics_custom fabric printing_polyester fabric_Chevvy_4

Sample swatches of Chevy are available now through our Sample Pack Order Form. Get in touch with any projects you think our Chevy would be great for!

Snippets: Chats With Creatives – Series 2, Snippet 3

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 on Snippets we are talking to Stephanie and Amy, Sydney based couple behind Outer Island. A design label that prides themselves on creating products inspired by nature such as ornaments and textiles, all made from natural or recyclable materials in Australia with a colourful and fun vibe as well as being educational and respectful to the environment.

Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image9Tell us a bit about yourself, your brand/label name what your creative practice is, how and when you began:

Outer Island is the collaboration of Sydney based couple Stephanie Chambers (artist) and Amy Ranck (graphic designer). We love traveling, collecting and being in nature. I’m from New York and Amy is from Australia so we joke that we’re both from islands, which is where the name Outer Island comes from, but really what connects us is our love for collecting and making things. Two years ago we moved to Sydney from Brooklyn and had our first Aussie Christmas together. Inspired by our endless birding and bushwalking, we wanted to bring the magic of Australian nature to our own Christmas tree. We moved here with our beloved ornament collection, but found it hard to find unique, colourful, well designed Aussie ornaments, so we started there. After making ornaments we expanded to fabric items. Everything produced by Outer Island is made in Australia using only natural or recyclable materials. Sustainability is a big part of our mission statement and we work with ethically minded vendors and manufacturers. We work out of our sunny studio in Darlinghurst and our business is a year and a half old.

Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image1Where do you call home?

Sydney, NSW

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Magical, Colourful, Purposeful

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

The beginning is always the most fun. When we’re working on a new design, we work together to decide what we want it to look like, then I do the drafting and Amy does the art directing. Running a business, we try to divide and conquer to make the best use of our time, so this beginning part is always the most fun because we get to work together.

Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image6Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image2.jpgWhat does a typical creative day look like for you? How do you stay on plan and organised?

Each day varies, but after about 10 months in business, we sat down to create a schedule that we felt would keep our business on track. We scheduled weekly meetings and also started calling Mondays ‘Marketing Mondays’ to force us to step away from painting and designing and to focus on getting our product out into the world. We use google drive to organise our documents and really started treating our business like a business around 10 months as well. Think: BINDERS. We also use spreadsheets to track our productivity and a free online project management tool called Kanban-chi. I use an old school paper and pen planner to stay on track and each month we have different larger projects that we try to get done so we can make sure to stay out of the weeds. I love to paint and Amy loves to design so it’s important for us to have easy tools and systems to work with to keep our productivity on track and to also move the vision for Outer Island forward. We try to think ahead and put systems in place now that will make it easier for us to scale.

If you could spend a day in another artist’s studio shoes who would that artist be?

[Stephanie] I’d actually love to see how it worked in large workshops during the 1600’s in Northern Europe. I’m obsessed with Dutch still life paintings and would very much like to be a fly on the wall to understand how it all came together. I’m a big Northern Renaissance nerd. I love how their paintings represented nature better than nature could have through their compositions and richness which then really emphasised for the viewer how beautiful nature truly was.

Tell us about your creative space, what are your tips for keeping a creative studio space organised?

Buy a label maker! Every now and again we have a big strategy meeting and in our last one we realised our studio was a mess. So we went out and got proper storage things and a label-maker and went to town. It’s been so much easier for us to work efficiently since we did that. We also regularly clean the studio because it makes us feel crazy if it’s a mess, especially if it’s during a busy time.

Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image11Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image3
If you could go back and tell yourself one hot tip or piece of advice when you started out what would it be?

Don’t rush.

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!

We’re expanding our line of ornaments with lots of new ones and will also be expanding our Christmas crackers this year. We really want to be able to give people items to enjoy that will bring the magic of Australian nature into their homes and create special memories. Nature needs all the help it can get and we believe if people have reminders in their homes then they’ll feel more connected to nature and if they feel more connected to it then they can begin to protect it.

Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image5.jpg

Outer_Island_snippets_series2_image7You can follow what Outer Island are upto: Website, Instagram, Facebook.

Snippets series 2 – Snippet 5 Kalaii Creations.

 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 on snippets we are talking to Stacey from Kalaii Creations who is an artist and designer who loves working with watercolour, creating textile art, and helping creative brands with their surface pattern and design needs as well as teaching workshops! She has a flair for colour and a style that is elegant, playful and enchanting.

Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_5Tell us a bit about yourself, your brand/label name what your creative practice is, how and when you began:

My name is Stacey and I established Kalaii Creations in 2016 when I was on maternity leave with my second baby. I needed a little bit of me time, and participated in a creative workshop and from there I was hooked! My creative streak was reignited. I was always very interested in drawing in my school years, and did art through high school, but lost track of it all during my later years. I am so glad to have found it again! I started by making an Instagram page, and sharing some of my artwork, and soon had orders coming in for custom pieces and I just decided to explore it all, and it has opened up a lot of doors for me. Now I host creative workshops with Workshop Brisbane, The Craft Parlour on the Gold Coast, in shopping centres, and I am soon to help teach a textile design workshop, with you here at Digital Fabrics which I am very excited about! Currently I focus on watercolour art, graphic design, textile design and creative workshops ranging from knitting, watercolour art and textiles. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future.

Stacey_Biggs_Kalaii_CreationsWhere do you call home?

I have been based in South Brisbane, Queensland, for most of my life (I moved from NSW when I was just a baby).

What 3 words best describe your creative style.

Feminine, Boho inspired, Vibrant

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

I love the initial stages of creating, when a client comes to you with their vision, and their inspiration, and you get a rush of exciting ideas and ways in which you can help them. I love being able to see what I will paint in my mind, and then how I can manipulate that in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator and then still always be pleasantly surprised at the finished result.

Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_2

Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_10What does a typical creative day look like for you? How do you stay on plan and organised?

A typical day for me is a little bit of a hot mess actually! I have two kiddies under 5, and I also work at a Brisbane based university for 3 days a week and thus arrange my creative design work at varying stages around this. Mostly I work at night, once the kiddies are asleep and I host my creative workshops on the weekends. I stay on top of my workload by completing little bits every day, and stay organized by using a Passion Planner. I write down all my clients needs and deadlines, and I also write down all the personal designs, and tasks I want to achieve within my business, which keeps me focused!

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 would love to further explore the possibilities of having my designs feature more on active wear and swimwear out in the market place. I would love to be custom creating designs for people left right and centre! I find it so exhilarating when you see your artwork making a product pop! I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to work with Sarah from @saltysparrowbikini on her new line release coming later in the year. I would also love to work with @midoribikinis. I love their designs and aesthetics and feel my designs would fit well with this brand.

Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_3 Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_4Which other artists/ designers/ makers, artists or creative people are you enjoying at the moment?

I am currently in love with @jessswan_art I love the colours she uses, the shapes, tones everything! It is mesmerizing watching her work!

Tell us about your creative space, what are your tips for keeping a creative studio space organised?

It is my dream to soon create a creative space. Currently I work from my dining table (I know there are many of you out there just like me) and I also have a very small old fashioned house which does not leave a lot of room for arts and crafts and product storage. I use a combination of storage draws and desk space to stay on top of my organisation at home. I am hoping soon to extend our house for multiple reasons, and I may just sneak in a little studio while I am at it!

What has been your proudest creative business achievement to date?

My proudest creative business achievement to date and a dream come true is an upcoming swimwear design project I have been able to assist with. Sarah from Salty Sparrow Bikini (@saltysparrowbikini), has chosen my designs to feature on her first swimwear line which I am over the moon about! I am also super excited to be working with Jemma from Newymummyblogger on the designs for an upcoming project she will be releasing soon. But I will keep that hush hush for now 🙂 Another major achievement for me is being able to work so closerly with Digital Fabrics to help teach textile design classes. I keep pinching myself about this amazing opportunity!

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

I love speaking with new clients about their design ideas and inspirations, as often their ideas require me to push my artistic and creative boundaries each time. They make me think outside the box and think of ideas/combinations that I would not have ventured into, if it was not for their influence! This is my favourite part! Then I usually research their inspiration and competitors to get a vibe for the type of project I am working on and then I get to creating. I usually see the end product first, and then work towards creating the elements to bring this to reality.

Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_6What 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 have loved working with Workshop Brisbane, The Craft Parlour, Sarah and Jemma, and also Lauren from @cocokini_ (another bikini designer who has also featured my designs)

Kalaii_Creations_snippets_1_image_1I am super excited to further develop my relationship with Digital Fabrics and help by teaching textile design class for beginners, and I look forward to printing some more fabrics for some special pieces I have in mind. Watch this space! My next venture is the release of a cute little day clutch, great for the beach, where I have collaborated with Kate from  @blue_eyed_girl_creations who has helped to sew the clutches for me. I can’t wait to see what people think of them.

Stacey_Biggs_Kalaii_CreationsYou can follow what Stacey is upto: Website, Instagram, Facebook

123456...

Newsletter - Join