Interviews With People We Love: Lourdes Sanchez of Luli Sanchez

We couldn't be more thrilled to share our interview with artist and textile desiger, Lourdes Sanchez. We first featured her work back in April when her collection at West Elm dropped. We were inspired by her then, and after this interview, we are in even more awe of her and her studio, Luli Sanchez. She was so gracious when we featured her the first time, and this time it's our turn to gush. After reading her answers, we fell more in love with her and her unique style. She definitely paves her own way and designs because it's her passion. Pretty convenient that she's incredibly talented too, no? Enjoy! 

All images created by Luli Sanchez and are copyrighted 

 
Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer? 

No I don't. There are way too many fab creators to choose one. Some that come to mind at the moment are Pygmy women painters of the Ituri Forest, Agnes Martin, Warlimpiringa Tjapaltjarri, and have recently been loving the embroidered photographs of Maurizio Anzeri. Nature usually kicks my ass as the best artist.

Has there been a certain accomplishment/success that you are most proud of? 

Supporting myself full time as an artist despite the fact I am very dyslexic, reclusive, have a massive overbite, don't have a college degree and won't work with people if they are obnoxious. 

What's your favorite place to go to get inspired? 

There's no one place-  inspiration is everywhere- I mean, just having a human body is inspiring. I do love flea markets and vintage shops ,old  nature and art books from used book stores, fab Brooklyn clothing boutiques , looking at paintings by great masters close up at the Met, and wonderfully chic people on the streets of great big cities.

What would you be doing if it wasn't for Luli Sanchez? 

I'd be doing more watercolor painting and traveling. Which I will do eventually.  

Where can people learn more about Luli Sanchez?

My website is LuliSanchez.com

Inside Lourde's studio

People we Love: Wayne Pate

We just love the quirky character and soft palettes of Wayne Pate originals. Luckily now, we can easily own our own because of his lovely web shop.  Now you can also find hand selected pieces from other talented artists there as well. So inspiring!

Interviews with People we Love: Rebekah Ginda

You may recognize Rebekah Ginda's work, maybe because she was our featured artist a few weeks ago, or maybe just because it's just plain awesome and so are you. We were fortunate enough to find out more about this talented artist, and the interview just made us love her more! Check out her sites listed below to see more of her designs and look forward to seeing her prints in Pattern People's upcoming book!

Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer?

My favorite textile designer would have to be Heather Ross as she does an amazing job of capuring a magical spirit in her work. A favorite painter of mine is Mark Ryden.  His paintings are such a treat for the eyes and have so many surprising elements to discover the more you look at his works.  Artists who portray a carefree spirit and remember that art doesn't have to make sense are the most inspiring to me.

Has there been a certain accomplishment/success that you are most proud of?

Quitting my reliable job, jumping into the world of freelancing and landing on my feet!  I am also really excited about my first fabric collection, Kitzbühel which will be coming out this August with Westfalenstoffe :)

What's your favorite place to go to get inspired?

I love finding inspiration in old children's books.  They remind me that a unique drawing style is important to creating your own voice.  Surprisingly, I often find myself very inspired after a day of swimming.  I'm not sure if its the refreshingness of the water or all the cute prints on kid's bathing suits but whatever it is I tend to come home from the pool ready to draw!

What would you be doing if it wasn't for your design studio?
 

My original plan after college was to go into costume design.  I just love creating stuff!  But then I stumbled into the world of Textile and Surface Design and have never looked back.

Where can people learn more about Rebekah Ginda?

On my website: www.rebekahginda.com
Or follow me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/rebekahgindadesign - and be sure to say Hi!

Interviews with People We Love: Andrea from Cinnamon Joe

In our first week dedicated to the wonderful world of children's prints, we shared with you the joyful work of Cinnamon Joe Studio. We were fortunate enough to get an interview with the woman behind the name, Andrea Turk, who took time out of her busy schedule to partake in an interview. It was so fascinating to learn about her background and what makes her the designer she is today.

This image was created by Cinnamon Joe and is copyrighted

This image was created by Cinnamon Joe and is copyrighted

This image was created by Cinnamon Joe and is copyrighted

This image was created by Cinnamon Joe and is copyrighted

Tell us a but about yourself and how you got started with your work.


I trained as a fashion designer and worked in the fashion industry in the children's wear market in London for more than 12 years. Part of those years I doodled, and part I had the opportunity to do freelance designing for a girl's wear range for a popular UK children's retailer and start designing a collection of artwork to sell.

My professional background has been varied, at one point as a freelancer, I was designing children's wear for the Philippine Government Textile Board out in Metro Manila, at another point I was researching trend in Tokyo. I found the most beneficial trips were the factory visits to China, Hong Kong and India. It is then that you truly get a grasp of possibilities within the textile market, the capabilities of the factories, the reason why problems occur, a look at new techniques, but best of all, by designing on site in the factory, you have everything you need around you.

I can't tell you the excitement I used to feel, when I could spend a whole day in Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong, collecting samples of various fabrics and trimmings and then taking them back to the office and to design, and within a week or so, right in front of me, would be my samples. It really opens up your eyes to how other countries work within your area of expertise and makes you appreciate what processes the factories have to go through to get you the sample. All my experiences make me the person I am today.

Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer?


I am currently into the work of Anthony Pack. He is a great artist who uses flea market finds to create the most comical and humorous works of art. As someone who designs character art on a regular basis I really appreciate the way Anthony creates very individual works of art whereby every one is completely different and unique.

What's your favorite place to go to get inspired?


I love going to London. I'm fortunate to have travelled to many interesting places with work, but there really isn't anywhere quite like it. It's sprawling streets of flea markets, that go on...it seems forever. You can easily lose all sense of time as you rummage through bric-a-brac boxes, search stalls of handmade crafts, meander down small shop pathways to get to amazing finds at the back. It's not only the wealth of product from all over the world, it's the atmosphere, the people lost in their own busy little worlds rushing around like worker ants, and I'm one of them too! London really has it all. The designer shops, great museums, interesting specialist stores, wonderful main stream stores where you can find really unusual bits and pieces, fantastic stationery shops, and great places to eat!!


What would you be doing if it wasn't for Cinnamon Joe Studio?


HMMM! If I didn't have Cinnamon Joe Studio, I think that I would probably still be working in the fashion trade. It's an amazing business to have been part of and I'm very thankful for it, as, without it I wouldn't be creating artwork today.

Where can people learn more about Cinnamon Joe?

If anyone would like to know more about Cinnamon Joe Studio, they can visit our blog, www.cinnamonjoestudio.blogspot.com or we will be showing at Surtex from the 15th to the 17th of May at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, where we will be showing not only my artwork, but the work of some really talented designers who contribute to the collection.

Go here to learn more about Surtex

Interviews with People we Love: Minouette

A couple of weeks ago, Gail featured a lovely artist in her segment about block printing. Today, we have got a tasty treat for you. An interview with that lovely artist, Minouette! Enjoy!

"Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started with your work."

I have been printmaking since I was a child. I had the chance to take courses at the Art Gallery of Ontario, beginning in elementary school, which included instruction in screenprinting, etching, and lino block printing. As I grew older I found that my favorite subjects were art and history on the one hand, and physics and math on the other. I found that I wasn't as interested in trying to find a profession at the intersection of these two, so I made a decision to pursue science. I thought I could continue with art on my own, but if I had made the opposite choice, it would be impossible to pursue science. So I am trained as a physicist (a marine geophysicist), but I spend much of my free time making art. I found that I really need to exercise both sides of my brain, or to express myself artistically, for my own happiness and well-being. I really began to focus on making linoleum block prints about 7 years ago. I enjoy other media as well, but the magic of printmaking is of co
 urse that one can produce multiple originals. This was really a way to share my art making. It's much easier to part with art, when one can keep a copy!

"Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer?"

This is a tough question! I have many favorites and many sources of inspiration. I like to think of myself as a Renaissance woman. So I have always been very fond of Leonardo da Vinci's approach to life. He was effectively both a great artist as well as being a scientist and engineer. I am fascinated about how his multiple interests informed one another. Depictions of water became studies of turbulance, for instance, which fed back into his painting.

As a printmaker I am prehaps most inpired by Hokusai and his moku hanga (Japanese woodblock) prints. I also love typography and look at a lot of contemporary design work.

"Has there been a certain accomplishment/success that you are most proud of?"

I think one of my most complex and successful prints is my Japanese-style woodblock print 'Little Boat, Big Ocean'. I'm certainly proud of that piece.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66990813/little-boat-big-ocean-woodblock-print

"What's your favorite place to go to get inspired?"

The internet! I do love this constant source of new visual stimulation and imagery. I'm very interested in the intersection of art and science and blog about some of my favorite finds at magpie&whiskeyjack.

In terms of physical places, I do like to go to a huge nearby park called High Park. It includes everything from some old growth forest, to more cultivated and managed gardens and a small zoo (which is a good place to observe animal anatomy).

"What would you be doing if it wasn't for Minouette?"

Well, when not making art, I would prefer to be on a boat. I do love exploring, and doing marine geophysical fieldwork at sea makes me feel like an explorer. The oceans remain largely unexplored. Though, I think my life would be very unbalanced if I did science without also creating art.

"Where can people learn more about Minouette?"

People can find my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/minouette
the shop's fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/things.from.secret.minouette.places
my personal blog: http://minouette.blogspot.com/
magpie&whiskeyjack: http://magpieandwhiskeyjack.blogspot.com/
my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22611996@N02/
and my twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/minouette

Interviews with People We Love: Elaine Fong

Elaine: YOU reign supreme!

Elaine's "about" section on her website

So the first person that we *loved* on our blog, was our friend, Elaine Fong. Lucky for us, she's still our friend and was kind enough to do a little interview with us. Until recently, Elaine worked full time as a designer for Paper Source Inc. We are so proud of her for starting a new chapter in her life with launching her very own studio. To learn more, check out her site here.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started with your work.

I was born and raised in New Orleans, and traveled from city to city till I ended in Chicago, which is where I've been for the last 6 years. When I was in high school, I didn't know what I wanted to study, so my sister told me there was "this thing" called graphic design, that would allow me to create art and make money. She talked more about website designs and magazine layouts, which I thought was ok, so I signed up as a graphic design major. Going into college, I never fully understood what it was, until I joined a roommate for her smoke break to keep her company. When I picked up her cigarette box to look at it, I was immediately attracted to the design. It was a box of Camel Reds, with a warm color palette of red, orange and black, that emulated a Mondrian grid, and had well placed type. I knew exactly at that moment what design was, and I knew I wanted to do it. I still have that cigarette box to this day. 

Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer?

Overall, I've always loved Matisse. Everything he's ever done – paintings, drawings, sculpture, etchings, paper cut-outs. I've consistently loved his work in all periods of his life, and love that his inspiration came from anywhere like trips to Morocco to his grief with WWII. Towards the end of his life, when he was bedridden and nearly blind, he still made art — that's the kind of artistic heart I want to have. 

For design I look up to Ryan McGuinness, Paul Rand, Hella Jongerious, Charles & Ray Eames, Marian Bantjes.

Has there been a certain accomplishment/success that you are most proud of?

Currently I'm most proud of quitting my day job, (last week was my last day!), to start my own studio. People do that all the time, and it's not uncommon I know, but for me it was a big decision that I've struggled with for over a year. I just had to do it when it felt right for myself. I'm excited about the whole thing!

What's your favorite place to go to get inspired?

Hmm... there isn't one particular place. But inspiration often starts out with a jolt of espresso, followed by going into a store that has lots of beautiful package designs. Like any specialty food store, apothecary store, beer & wine shop, or even clothing boutiques. I like looking at labels for their typography and color, boxes for interesting cuts and folds, and clothing tags for finishes like embossing/spot varnishes/diecuts or unconventional production materials.  

 What would you be doing if it wasn't for Elaine Fong design?

Gardening – specifically working on edible landscaping. Having to research and understand regions, horticulture, and varieties of edible plants and then design them in a way that's visually pleasing, is very appealing to me. That's the part of me that wants to do something that requires me to be outside all the time, away from my computer.

Where can people learn more about Elaine Fong?

From my website or blog, (which will both be redesigned in the next months), or over brunch or a bike ride!

Elaine Fong Design t: 312.391.3664 w: http://www.elainefong.com 

Interviews with People We Love: Jill Bliss

Photos from Jill Bliss.com

After visiting the awesome Renegade Craft Fair in December, we did a post about one of the designers there, Jill Bliss. We decided we wanted to get to know her a little better and find out how her brand came to be. Here is the wonderfully obliging Jill Bliss’s answers to our questions, starting off our new “Interviews with People We Love” segment off right:

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started with your work.

i've always drawn and made things. drawing is how i come to understand how things are built, or work together; and making and organizing things is like breathing for me!

Do you have a favorite artist/designer/photographer?

that changes all the time! my blog is a good indicator of what i'm into at the moment!

Has there been a certain accomplishment/success that you are most proud of?

i know a lot of designers don't want to be bothered at a certain point and hire someone else to do this for them - but i love doing sales events! talking with the customers who buy and use the things i make, and getting their in-person feedback is essential to me! 

What's your favorite place to go to get inspired?

anywhere that gets me out of my daily routine!

What would you be doing if it wasn't for your Jill Bliss Brand?

there are so many alternate careers i obsess over! some include: a park ranger, a naturalist scientist, a writer, a furniture-maker, an architect, a psychologist, a librarian... 

Where can people learn more about Jill Bliss?

jillbliss.com

blog.jillbliss.com

shop.jillbliss.com

etsy.com/shop/jillbliss

facebook.com/jill.bliss.artwork