Catherine of design studio Folklore and Flora lives a somewhat romantic life. At the foot hills of a Volcano in New Zealand surrounded by chickens, veggie gardens and a farmhouse. The inspiration for design in nature is peaking all around her. As a professional designer with an array of cultural influences Catherine creates sublime illustrations and artworks that transfer into textiles creating beautiful wearable fabrics.
What initially drew you to textile design?
My background is in graphic design & fine art. These two interests have accidentally lead me to the world of textile design. I have always loved creating art and I am also a bit of a geek with computers so it came quite naturally to me to start playing around with elements of my artworks to create pattern designs.
You create incredible intricate illustrations, do you work by hand or design directly on the computer
Each one of my designs starts with a hand drawn sketch. For my more abstract work I will only sketch a few lines to start with, but for the more detailed pieces I will spend quite a bit of time getting the sketch right before moving onto the computer. My artworks are then developed further on the Ipad with Adobe Fresco & Procreate or I will go straight onto my computer with Photoshop & Illustrator. I often like to draw my initial sketch on a large piece of paper A2 size. This helps me get all the details right and it feels much more freeing to work on this larger scale.
What are your favorite tips as a textile designer you wish you knew five years ago.
Five years ago I was coming out of University with a Bachelor degree in graphic design. This is not really what I wanted to do, I wanted to be an artist! The tip I wish I could have given myself back then would be not to let go of your dreams, that a bit of self confidence mixed with hard work goes a long way.
