LFN Textiles on Spoonflower

LFN Textiles on Spoonflower 

I have been turning over in my mind how to use this blog, which I regard as my "design" blog.  My other life, of fine art, is described on my other blog, laurafosternicholson.  Somehow that is easier to write for: I like to describe my thought process, my art-related interests, my studio progress on various works.

I began lfntextiles to write about my ribbon designs and later added comments about my other commercial work for companies such as Renaissance Ribbons, Land of Nod, Crate & Barrel, and Monticello's shop.  I would like now to expand into the full creative process that happens in the design half of my studio (I have, at one end of my lovely large space, a room reserved solely for weaving; at the otherend is the room with the computer, the phone, the printers, the sewing and layout table: basically all of my other activities!).

Conservatory Bedding by LFN Textiles for Land of Nod, summer 2012

So today I will begin to tell you more about my own self-directed design work.  I have happily been playing with Spoonflower ever since they began 2-3 years ago.  In case you somehow don't know, Spoonflower is the first really successful consumer-based digital fabric printing service.  One can upload designs, maintain a public or private design library, order custom fabric on a variety of fabric types (all natural fibers!), order other people's designs, enter contests, and basically become part of a creative fabric-and-design oriented community.  The difference between this activity, and working for a client like Crate & Barrel, is, of course, free will.  I love designing items with my signature look for Crate, but as the designs become part of their catalogue they are applied to items of the company's choosing; they don't take everything I design (for some reason!) and I have to submit designs which are not only LFN but C&B in style.

Palampore Leslie by LFN Textiles, available at Spoonflower

 But -- being mainly an independent studio artist -- I like to have my own way once in a  while.  So I design my fabrics, sometimes get them printed, and sometimes offer the good ones for sale online at Spoonflower. I am gradually picking up a base of followers who "like" and even purchase fabric with my designs, for which Spoonflower pays me a very nice royalty.  Not a bad way to go!  And so I am beginning to take this aspect much more seriously as a potential public portfolio and income stream.

"Bahia" by LFN Textiles for Crate & Barrel, used on apron & oven mitt

The photos I have posted here detail some of the work I do and how it is transformed by application.  I made a design called Bahia a few years back, initially designed as a 2-color jacquard weave, then licensed to Crate & Barrel for kitchen accessories a while later.  I took the basic line design and colored it, showed it to Land of Nod, and they asked me if I could develop it into a Tree of Life pattern (the Indian Palampore) in girl colors.  To date it is the most complex pattern I have designed, and it translates wonderfully into other colors.  The "Leslie" version was colored for an interior designer to go with a specific room setting.  There are a few other colorways on Spoonflower as well.

"Bahia" in color by LFN Textiles, available at Spoonflower

I will continue to profile my designs here for a while: I have a lot of favorites ( usually the most recent ones of course!) so watch this space.

all designs copyright Laura Foster Nicholson, 2000-2012.  All rights reserved.