Tell us a little about yourself
and what you do?
I’m a freelance textile
designer specialising in hand painted artwork for bed linen and homewares. I
have somehow managed to avoid using CAD during my career as an in-house
designer, but it didn’t take me long to realise that to survive as a freelancer
I needed to sharpen up my Photoshop and Illustrator skills pretty quickly! In
February this year I relocated from Melbourne to live and work in my
Grandparent’s beautiful old farmhouse (wide verandas with iron lace, large
garden, freezing in winter and lovely in summer) in the Victorian countryside,
about two and a half hours north of Melbourne. I’m loving the tree change after
many years of city living, and am finally getting to grips with meal planning
for the week ahead, as the closest town (Bendigo) is a forty five minute drive
away. The other big plus for country
living is that I have room to plant whatever I would like to draw in my garden
– an ongoing side project of mine is a collection of Australian native flora
textile designs. Hopefully the red Banksia I planted a few months ago will
flower some day…..
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Who (or what) inspires you to do
what you love in your creative business?
I love the gentle
process of painting with watercolour and the random effects that can be
achieved through printmaking. As for inspiration, I love the painterly and beautifully
coloured fabric and wallpaper collections from Designers Guild, and the
whimsical, colourful and fashion forward designs of the Dutch clothing company
Oilily.
Where do you get your inspiration
from when you design / paint?
I always start my
morning with a quick trawl through the design blogosphere and the latest offerings
from my Pinterest community. I subscribe to a variety of Australian and
overseas interiors magazines and I have collected quite a few art and design
reference books over the years. Design
books are my Achilles heel (and a big nuisance when moving house!). I also love
to collect fabrics – such as vintage fabrics from op-shops, from my overseas
travels, and fat quarters from my favourite fabric designers.
What are the five words that people who know
you would use to describe you?
Creative, calm, inspired,
determined, motivated.
Tell us about your very first job
and what path have you taken since then?
My very first job was
located on a neighbouring tomato farm, a short bike ride from my home. I
returned to this ‘glamorous’ tomato weeding job every summer holiday until
graduating from RMIT University with a B.A in Textile Design. During my third year at Uni I was lucky
enough to win the Sheridan Design Award, which included work experience in the
Sheridan Design Studio in Surry Hills, Sydney. At the end of my two weeks in
the design studio, the CEO offered me a full time position as a textile
designer. Very exciting! I worked for four years in the Sheridan design studio before
travelling to the UK on a two year working holiday visa. I was fortunate to work alongside some very
talented and generous design mentors at Sheridan including Chris Chun, Fiona
Lenord, Fiona Budzynski, Catriona Terris, Peter O’Keefe and Alisa Ford.
Christmas Bush
In London I freelanced
for a furnishing textile design studio in between back-packing trips throughout
Europe and temp work to pay the rent. On my return to Australia I applied for a
variety of homeware textile design jobs, deciding on a position as a bed linen
designer for Linen House in Melbourne. In 2004 I was given the opportunity to
create the designs for the newly launched children’s bedding collection named
Hiccups - Linen House for Kids. After a couple of years the Hiccups brand grew
to the point where I was designing for the collection full time. After ten years
at Linen House I decided it was time to spread my wings and explore the world
of freelance textile design and illustration!
Describe a typical day in your
studio space?
I’m definitely not a
morning person, so my working day rarely begins before 9.30am! I usually spend
an hour or so reading and answering emails, trawling through my favourite
design blogs and other social media sites, updating my blog, and completing any
scanning or design touch-ups on Photoshop. After a session on the computer I
move to my painting desk where I create my design work. The majority of hand
painted bed linen designs take me around a week to complete, depending on the
size and complexity of the artwork. I find that my creative spurt tends to
occur in the early evening, so if my morning is slow it’s not an issue. I enjoy
working at night, usually in front of the TV with a glass of wine…
As a designer, what is your
biggest frustration?
I’m left handed, so
smudging freshly painted or pencilled artwork is always frustrating! I am also
trying to re-learn using the Wacom pen in my left hand after many years of
operating the mouse with my right hand. I manage to muddle the left and right
click options every time. My computer makes a lot of unhappy noises.
Tell us about how you prioritise
your work?
I keep an ongoing ‘To
Do’ list, and in between client work I try to schedule in my own ‘spec’ design
work.
Can you please tell us about how do you connect
with other artists, and your customers (i.e. how do you network?)
I’m still in contact
with most of my fellow RMIT Textile Design graduates, and I have found Facebook
to be great for catching up with the news of old textile design workmates. I
have attended quite a few Craft Victoria seminars during the past year - a great place to catch up with the latest design
trends and successful creative business stories. As for connecting with
customers, my blog has served me very well over the past year. Many of my
clients have contacted me through my blog:
http://www.nataliesketchbook.blogspot.com.au/ I am more than happy to answer any enquiries
from new designers too!
What advice can you offer other creative people
who are just starting out and following their passions?
A blog is very
important – you never know who might come across it!
Ask lots of questions,
most established designers are more than happy to help out fledging designers.
Draw from life. Sketch
a bunch of freshly picked flowers on a spare Sunday afternoon. So many textile designers use the same floral
motif and simply reverse it or shrink it to create a pattern. Take the time to
create a harmonious pattern using a variety of well observed floral motifs.
What dreams do you still want to
achieve or fulfil in your life?
I would love to
illustrate a children’s picture book one day. And launch my collection of
Australian native flora homeware designs. And work as a volunteer art teacher
for a programme such as this one run by New York Art Teacher Timothy Lomas whom
I recently met in Chiang Mai…. I could go on and on.
Mono print1
What is your proudest moment so
far?
I always get a buzz
when I see my relatives or friends using my designs. My aunties, uncles and
parents all use the same set of mugs I designed way back in 2000. Seeing them
in use all these years later always outs a smile on my face!
Tricia Guild from
Designers Guild – I met her quite a few years ago when Linen House held the Designers
Guild bed linen license for Australia, but it was a very brief morning tea
meeting. I love the painterly designs and inspiring colourways that Designers
Guild is renowned for, and the way that the company continually embraces new
textile technology to create their fabric, wallpaper and bed linen collections.
What is the most important lesson
in life that you have learned?
Everything will work out in the end.
What book are you reading right now, and do you
have a book you would like to recommend?
I’m reading ‘The Wine of Solitude’ by Irene Nemirovsky (author of Suite
Francaise), a melancholic tale that explores the distant relationship
between a young girl and her self-absorbed mother during the Great War and the
Russian Revolution. I’m nearing the final pages and can guarantee that there
won’t be a happy ending….
As for
recommendations, anything written by Rose Tremain is always a reflective and enjoyable read.
Where do we find you and your work?
My Website: http://natalieryan.prosite.com/
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