Hi First name / friend!

This week, we happily take you behind the scenes of our creative journey, shedding light on the fabric design process that brings our unique visions to life. From the initial spark of inspiration to the final selection of colors and prints. We invite you to join us in exploring how we transform our ideas into the fabrics that define our collections. We’re so excited to offer a glimpse into the process that shape our designs!

Starting a new collection always begins with the creation of a moodboard for me. It's a crucial element in my creative process, serving as a visual tool for brainstorming that sparks inspiration and adds excitement to fabric design. I often already have a concept in mind, as I continuously compile ideas for collections and prints in my phone's Notes app — you never know when inspiration will hit!

 

Moodboards function like a compass in the realm of creativity. They enable me to visualize, not just ponder, about colors and patterns, shaping the direction of my collection. They're invaluable in communicating my vision to the RSS team, providing a clear and shared understanding of the design concept. It also makes the process of creating things really special and exciting, turning my rough ideas into beautiful, real designs. Once you have a visual roadmap of what direction you'd like to go, then it's time to start sketching!

I love coming up with the main print for a collection. I typically start off with a big art making session in my sketchbook that is inspired by a theme. Then I take my most coveted idea and translate it into a design for a hero print.  This step involves thinking about the main “icon” Once I have done an icon, I then think of supporting icons or decor and then final touches and details. I love to think about how there is a nice hierarchy within a composition just like there is when designing the different prints for a collection. Generally a focal, some supporters and then those blenders that we all love for creating a more dynamic quilt. 

Sitting at my computer having completed my hero and one or two other focal prints I feel like I have climbed design mountain and I finally get to sit and see the vista. The next step comes with more ease, and the weight of the really hard work that goes into the more complex prints in my collection is lifted. I think “I finally get to make supporting prints!”. Each part of the design process has its exciting moments when things click and the work starts to match the ephemeral vision in my mind’s eye. Supporters just come more easily and I guess my more practical sewing and quilting side is pleased to create these prints that are so crucial to mix into projects. They’re quiet but essential.

In the process of creating heroes and supporters, we tend to come up with a lot of options and variations in motifs, colors, and scales. This is where I really appreciate being a collective - at this point we’ve looked at and thought about things for too long, and it’s wonderful to have each other’s critical eye to help get out of ruts and choose the strongest players. In the early stages when we’re first creating the prints and working through ideas, things tend to be all over the place - it can be a visual and emotional roller coaster! But we’ve been doing this long enough to trust that it will all come together and start singing.

One of my favorite parts of the design process is tightening up a collection at the end. I go through each art file carefully to make sure it is cleaned up and ready for our mill. Then, I drag every one of my color options for my collection into a huge blank Photoshop file (often at least 60”x60”). I like to sort all of the artwork into color groups and spectrums. I try to make sure I’m using the same colors throughout (no one needs 10 shades of off-white in a collection when there can just be one!) To help with this process, I often add my color swatches to the file to make sure each piece of artwork matches the swatches I’m trying to use. In addition to looking at color, I like to see if I’m creating a spectrum of values from light to dark, because that is what often makes the prettiest quilts and projects.

We always finish the process by testing out our selects in quilt patterns to make sure everything is playing nicely together. Later, after we’ve reviewed strikeoffs, we will be left with 3-4 cohesive color groups that become the headers (the sample fabrics used by our sales team) for our collections.

And that, friends, is how we create our collections! We hope you've enjoyed the journey through of our fabric design process! Each pattern has a story of creativity, collaboration, and dedication. Thank you for being part of our creative community! Get ready for more design adventures ahead!