Michelle Aitchison bold and graphic design aesthetic evokes thoughts of a retro home with dragon fruit curtains hanging in the kitchen, chairs covered in black and white prints and kids running around dressed in overalls of Tetris designs.

Michelle’s eclectic design work covers many aspects of life’s print essentials. Classic mono prints of black and white, brightly coloured graphic kids prints, soft floral designs and the ever essential Leopard.

Dragon Fruit, Stripe-n-Cross, Shake it Yellow

What initially drew you to textile design?

A few things really…
For a few years I have felt unfulfilled as a graphic designer in the sense that I felt I couldn’t creatively express myself (corporates don’t usually like cutesy designs – who knew??!).
From a young age, I used to dream of draping and wallpapering rooms with floral numbers that caught my eye. A key moment in my journey was when the lovely Ellie Whittaker showed me that “you can totally create a pattern in Adobe Illustrator!” And so my love for graphic and interior design met that fateful day and have been happily textile designing since.

Do you plan a print or does it organically evolve?

Yes and no. Things that I encounter during the day may trigger a memory that I like to tap in to. I like to keep up to date with major trends (as best I can) while delving into nostalgia.