textiles: robert le héros

I think I've had blogging block. Sure, I've been reading other people's inspired entries, but alas, have been lazy with my own. Although I've had good reason - it's the height of summer here in New Zealand, and everyone is out at the beach. This last weekend my sweetie and I celebrated both our birthdays at this idyllic spot for 2 days, also taking in a Donovan Frankenreiter concert. But now it's back to the real world.

I splurged a bit on a cosmetics bag and an ipod bag for myself this holiday season. I just couldn't resist the coated natural linen bags by Robert le héros that came into the shop where I work (I bought the ones in the bottom image). The whole line is durable and funky, and I just love the floral patterns - looks great as pillows and curtains, too. If you live in New Zealand you can purchase here, in the US try here.








Top 4 images from here.

textiles: laughing bird & ingrid anderson

I just found out about Laughing Bird, a company started by Freedom Wilson to produce contemporary handprinted Australian textiles. I love that Freedom has turned her charming drawings into homewares using solvent-free inks and natural fabrics. Who wouldn't be chuffed to bits to received one of her aprons or tea towels this holiday? You can purchase here.

All of the Laughing Bird products are screen printed at their Blue Mountains studio, where the calls of the native birds depicted in the illustrations echo in the background. Thanks, Freedom, for sharing your unique work!




On the Kiwi side of the Tasman, Ingrid Anderson is producing a nice range of screenprinted textiles with kiwis, tuis and other native flora and fauna. You can shop for Ingrid Anderson products online here, or at design stores throughout NZ. Images below from their website.

floral textiles: leanne culy for home base collections

I just found out about this stellar line of fabrics by artist Leanne Culy, for Home Base Collections. They use cotton and hemp yarns grown using no herbicides or pesticides that are fully biodegradable to create their line of fabrics. Great styling in the photographs as well. Photography by Brian Culy.

"Home Base Collections has created a range of fabrics inspired by the things we love about New Zealand. Icons we remember, things we had forgotten. Something pretty but not too pretty, feminine but not too girly, sometimes more masculine, thought provoking but kind to the eye, soft, beautiful & honest."

I'm loving the above two patterns, Rata and Magnolia Gisbourne, named for flowers. The Rata is a native New Zealand species, blooming red around Christmas time.



All images and quote from Home Base Collections website.

textiles: galbraith & paul

Loving these fresh patterns by Galbraith & Paul. So many things to covet... lighting, rugs, fabric.

textiles: bird textiles

I read InsideOut, Australia's best interiors magazine, regularly because it always showcases great designers and artists. Case in point is this find: Bird Textiles, based in Byron Bay. I love that the company was started by a woman, Rachel Bending, and is a climate-neutral business that produces hand-printed floral textiles with water-based dyes. All by solar power!

Gorgeous floral-themed textiles are the core of the business, which also includes a range of "luxury-eco" garments, homewares and stationery. Visit the Bird Textiles website to see the whole collection.

floral textiles by creative ladies

Lately I've noticed some awesome textile designs, which all seem to be originating in the Southern Hemisphere. Maybe the flower and leaf shapes down here are particularly inspiring? Whatever the reason, I'm loving these graphic screened and block-printed fabrics by a bevy of creative ladies. The images below are from Jesse's great blog, Jezzeblog. Check out her Etsy page to purchase yardage. Sample swatches shown below...


Love the patterns juxtaposed on these fabric buckets... hmmm, would be great for storing yarn.


I particularly like doing floral designs with proteas, so this green print is my favorite of the lot, I think.


I've also been reading Kirin Notebook for a while, ever since getting really interested in Melbourne. Lara has a great eye for color - and this print of ginkgo leaves looks super cool in aqua on a bag by Mattt bags.


Lara's even applied her illustrations to letterpressed cards, below. Check out her beautiful website to see the whole range of current products (looks like a lot more coming soon, too!) It's way cool that she uses hemp/organic cotton and cotton/linen blend fabrics screen printed with environmentally friendly, solvent free inks.



And last, but not least, is Heather from Skinny laMinx. Shop for tea towels, aprons, bags and fabric on her Etsy page (while admiring the photo styling), or see more of her illustration work on her website.


Thanks, ladies, for inspiring all of us! And if you've got a design that would be perfect on fabric, I just found out about a great new company called Spoonflower that will print your designs on fabric in small runs. I'm definitely going to give it a try when they open up to the general public (still in beta right now, printing is by invitation only).

And in case you don't know about Spacecraft, hop on over to their website and check out their funky fabrics - looks like they use realistic flower shapes in some of their designs (is that purple agapanthus I see laying on the floor or their studio?). See shots of their Melbourne shop on Gertrude St. at The Design Files here (best shopping guide to any city I've seen, Lucy you're a genius), or read this post on modamuse, or this one on Studio Home Creative.

Just noticed Design*Sponge has a great feature as well on textiles using floral motifs from a company called Three Sheets 2 the Wind. Looks like it may be time for some new bed linens around here.