So this week we shared a Q&A on our Instagram with our Design & Production Manager Jem (aka: my twin sis) and y’all sure are curious cats!! There were bucket loads of questions and we lurved every single one of them. So for those that missed it, we thought we’d share Jem’s responses with you in this journal. Over to you Jem...
How do you get inspired when in the creative process of creating a new collection?
As boring as this sounds, it’s a day-in-day-out practice and you’ve just gotta start! There are days where it comes very easily, others where I can barely find it, but the practice of it becomes easier. You’ve gotta be strict with yourself though and make sure that when it feels hard, you just keep plugging along.
Pheebs and I collaborating on Anabelle designs.
Initial sketch of our Skylar linen print... I wanted to create a real 1950's feeling vintage floral with this design.
Do you like to use the colour wheel?
I don’t necessarily use one but keep the idea of the colour wheel in mind. When selecting our colours, we like to look at colour value across the Pantones - dark colours are high value, light colours are low value and making sure we have a good variety of values. This helps build the palette in terms of depth and layers.
One of my fave sets from the Anabelle shoot.
Featured: Odie Velvet Cushion.
What inspires your colour palette?
Inspiration can come from anywhere! Sometimes it’s a single image and we draw the colours from there. Other times, we look at fashion, interiors or art. Pheebs is the best at colour and seems to have a natural feel towards certain colours when approaching a new collection.
How long does it take from design to production?
It’s quite a process… Design takes about 2 months, in between the daily work load, and then from there, sampling takes about 3-4 months, with production another 3-4 months on top of that. The start to end process takes roughly 10-12 months, but we’re often working across 3 collections all at varying stages!
Where did you study and what?
Study - I studied Bachelor of Design at Monash Uni and then also Bachelor of Textile Design at RMIT.
Do you find it hard coming up with ideas season after season?
Ideas season after season - In short, yes! But there is a bit of a “formula” to our collections which definitely helps. We also try to introduce a new or reimagined textile technique when we can - crochet in a different form, embroidery pushed to it’s limits or woven elements used in different ways.
BTS at the Anabelle shoot.
Top tips for budding designers
Be strict with yourself, look outside the box and where you can, introduce something unexpected - colour, pattern clash or scale!
Why did you leave India?
We came back home from India just before Nelly, our daughter, was born - flew when I was 32 weeks pregnant, right on the cut-off! (Not necessarily something I would recommend).
Our last day in India - Jaipur, before we flew home. Miss this beautiful place.
Enjoyed this? Read more about the story of our designs here.
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