What is your earliest memory of design? When did you first know that you wanted to become a fabric/wallpaper designer?

As a child I remember visiting my Grandparents house where they had a sofa upholstered in a William Morris Sanderson print.  My grandfather worked as a printer for Sanderson.  The sofa very much took pride of place in the house and I recall being fascinated by the design.  

Having been encouraged to take an academic route through my studies I ended up coming to a career in design later in life, first learning to hand print in my late 30s.  

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a fabric designer? Did this start from prior experience as an Interior Designer?

Aside from my previous professional life in retail buying and sales, I had always had a keen interest in interiors, paint and fabric.  I worked briefly as an interior designer but was always working on interiors projects at home in the background.  I first learnt to hand print on a printing course with Vanessa Arbuthnott.  I was a huge fan of her designs and absolutely fell in love with the craft after just a one day course.  I then learnt more about screen printing in a mill in Salford and went on the set up printing at my kitchen table and in my garage.  I designed and launched my first collection - Meadowlands in 2015 which was very much inspired by my rural surrounding in Cheshire.  Now my designs are inspired mostly by my travels and I have a garden studio where I can be creative. 

Where do you find the inspiration for your designs? What would you say are the main influences on your work?   

I love to use the sense of places I travel too, using colours and textures to create mood and depth in a design composition.  I take lots of photographs wherever I go often of tiles, architectural or natural shapes and forms as close ups.  

Where is the most surprising place that you’ve found inspiration for your designs? 

Perhaps the old windmill veins of Palma that can be seen as you arrive in by plane.  They’re dotted around the island but can be seen in the Es Molinar area. 

What’s your creative process? Take us through the development of a design from idea conception to the final product.

I don’t have a set method.  I will usually sketch a motif first and then may cut it out and play around with scale and layout.  I might then carve it’s shape into lino or screen print the motif.  Other times I might print out a number of different images of the sketch and cut them out, laying them out on the floor to create a pattern.  Sometimes I will paint blocks of colour and use them to create linear or geometric patterns when cut out.  

What types of materials and production processes do you prefer to use and why? 

I always go back to paper and scissors when creating basic layouts for composition.  My favourite way to print is lino carved prints though.  I’m still learning and would love to spend more time designing.  

What is something that most people don’t understand or appreciate about textile design that you wish they did?  

It’s less about design and more about the process of having a brand.  I would love to be able to launch more designs but there’s a big cost in buying stock and managing stock levels.  It’s a challenge, especially when you’re faced with base fabric supply issues as we were at the end of Covid when there was a huge linen shortage. 

 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to experiment with adding more colour and pattern to their interiors with fabric/wallpaper but is scared of making the wrong choice?

Be brave.  If you’re a little afraid of colour, you can use muted tones of textured, patterned fabrics to create interest in your home.   Alternatively go with colour but use fewer patterns eg say 3 fabrics in one scheme, letting the colour palette do the talking.  

I find that the more I use colour and pattern in my own home, the braver I become to continue to do this more so. 

Is there a particular design in your collection that’s your favourite and if so, why? 

I love the Bollin Bird as it was my very first design.  I also love Whirlwind as it feels like it has movement and I loved creating it with one lino carved motif, paper and scissors.  I also love the Ziggy Molinos and the Bisous which is new for Autumn 24. 

How has the fabric and textile industry evolved since you became a part of it and what do you see and hope for the future of it?

I think the industry has become more conscious of it’s environmental impact since I started.  I spent many months trying to source organic fabrics when I first started and they didn’t really exist in this sector.  Now organic cotton is more readily available and our linen-cotton blend uses an organic cotton yarn.  We’ve also learnt more about how sustainable linen is which is great as most of our fabrics are pure linen.  

We like to have some of our fabrics hand printed which is a more sustainable way to produce printed fabric.  Furthermore digital printing has become much more sophisticated since I first began producing fabric almost 10 years ago.  It’s something we only do a little of as I love the traditional print process and the quality of fabrics produced, however I’m coming round to the idea of printing more fabrics digitally.  

Linen and materials generally have become more and more expensive so we have had to reluctantly increase our retail prices.  We like to sell off remnants from our production online reducing waste and making use of every last scrap. It’s inspiring and positive to see people creatively make up furnishings for their homes or small accessories out of small pieces.  

I like that there are more design collaborations going on between smaller and larger brands.  I love to see this and would like to do another collaboration ourselves.