Year In Review: Top 10 Indie Fabric Designers & Top 50 Fabric Designs of 2011

Top Ten Indie Fabric Designers of 2011

Continuing with the year-end reflections we began with yesterday's post, today we'd like to present the top ten indie fabric designers in the Spoonflower marketplace for 2011. They are:

1. holli_zollinger - Holli Zollinger is an artist and designer whose deceptively simple designs simply work for all kinds of projects. The Spoonflower office is full of her work!

2. studiofibonacci - Part-time designer and "life-long geek" Studio Fibonacci always seems to have her finger on the pulse of the subcultures that thrive on the Internet.

3. heatherross - Heather Ross is a bit of a celebrity, having written a popular sewing book as well as produced bestselling fabric designs and illustrations for a number of well-known companies. While she doesn't have any fabric available at the moment on Spoonflower, now and then she'll offer limited edition versions of her fabric designs, which are always hot-sellers!

4. heatherdutton - Heather Dutton Hang Tight Studio does amazing, colorful work from a lime green studion in Maine.

5. ceanirminger - Another perennial favorite in our Fabric of the Week contests, Cean Irminger spends her days designing mosaics and her evenings devising lovely, distinctive fabric designs.

6. domesticate - Andrea Whalen of Marysville, Ohio, is an interior design-lover and fan of "natural glam."

7. bora - Dutch illustrator Deborah van de Leijgraaf is one of our favorites, and she's won more Fabric of the Week contests than I can count at this point. Find her on her blog!  

8. pattysloniger - You may remember Patty Sloniger as the winner of the Project Selvage contest we put together with Michael Miller Fabrics. Her new fabric collections for MMF will be available in quilt shops this year!

9. cynthiafrenette - Our favorite designer from British Columbia, Canada, who was also a finalist in the Project Selvage contest last spring.

10. thebline - Amy, of the B-Line, teaches chemistry by day and makes fabulous things by night.

Although all the thumbnails are broken on the post, it's fun to compare this year's list to a similar list we put together a year ago for the top indie designers of 2010.

Top Fifty Indie Fabric Designs

Before you ask, let us follow up the first list with an answer to the natural corollary question: "What were the most popular individual fabric designs on Spoonflower in 2011?" In order to dig a little deeper into all the amazing original designs on the site, on this list we're offering the top 50. (note that the images should all act as links. The top-selling fabrics on Spoonflower in 2011 were:

1.  Madman in a Blue Box fabric by studiofibonacci

---

2.  Spoonflower Color Map fabric by spoonflower [doesn't really count but we left it in anyway]

---

3.  playhorsespink2 fabric by heatherross

---

4.  (Small) Eleven Traveling Doctors and Blue Phone Boxes fabric by greencouchstudio

---

5.  chevrons fabric by holli_zollinger

---

6.  (Large) Eleven Traveling Doctors and Blue Phone Boxes fabric by greencouchstudio

---

7.  Mock Pacman 2.0 fabric by pixeldust

---

8.  playhorsespink fabric by heatherross [not currently for sale]

---

9.  cricketfabric fabric by heatherross [not currently for sale]

---

10.  Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, Feorlen, and Bacon fabric by vo_aka_virginiao

---

11.  equations and equations fabric by primenumbergirl

---

12.  T.A.R.D.I.S. fabric by theunicornandthewasp

---

13.  Tea Towel Calendar fabric by pennycandy

---

14.  mustache gallery fabric by avelis

---

15.  Political Dalek fabric by studiofibonacci

2011 In Review: Top Ten Fabric Design Contests of the Year

As we here at Spoonflower head into the new year with a spring in our steps, we've decided to spend a little bit of time gazing into the rearview mirror at some of the memorable fabric-related statistics from 2011. It's been a great year for our little startup (which isn't nearly as little as it used to be) and an even better year for fabric design!

Check out our board on Pinterest for visuals on all the great fabrics listed below

Top 10 Fabric of the Week Contest Winning Designs

As regular readers know, Spoonflower holds a weekly fabric design contest. Below are the top ten winners from the 2011 contests based on the percentages they earned of the overall vote total in each contest.

1. Festive Forest Tree Decorating - Advent Calendar by kayajoy from our Advent Calendar contest at the end of November.

2. Bowling is Fun for Everyone by jennartdesigns from our Bowling contest in early September.

3. Queeny Brass by daniellerenee from our Spoonflower staff contest at the beginning of February.

4. Crayon Garden by beebumble from our June contest to design an 18" cloth napkin pattern using only crayons.

5. Sure and Begorrah, it's leprechaun laundry day by vo_aka_virginiao from our Leprechaun contest in March.

6. To the Circus!!! by bora from our contest to create a cut & sew pattern for a cloth baby book in December.

7. Teach Your Children Well: A Toile for Tots by sammyk from our (memorable) challenge to draw a toile inspired by the Civil Rights movement last January.

8. Little red riding hood by ninacuneo from the Folk tale fabric contest in May.

9. jingledecorations by sonny&bee from the Bell contest we just finished up last week.

10. Mariposa Magnifico by sammyk from the Lucha Libre mask contest in October (note that SammyK is the only designer to end op on this list twice!)

Top 10 Fabric of the Week Contests of 2011

We thought we'd also add the top ten contests based on the total number of people who voted in each one. In some cases the number of voters is an indication of the grooviness of the theme itself, but in some cases it's also a byproduct of our general site popularity on any given week. The top ten fabric contests this year were:

1. Project Selvage: Final Round, 5/4/11 
2. Alphabet, 4/20/11
3. Breakfast, 3/2/11
4. Kids' Contest, 6/29/11 (open to kids 12 and under only)
5. Leprechauns, 3/16/11 
6. Maps, 3/30/11 
7. Plushie Pattern,  8/31/11 
8. Folk Tales, 5/25/11 
9. Rain, 4/13/11 
10. Ice Cream, 5/18/11 

Happy New Year, everyone! We'll post a few 2011 top ten lists more lists this week, so stay tuned.

Spoonflower Year In Review: Top 10 Indie Fabrics & Designers for 2010

This the last in our series of posts looking back at 2010, a year in which our little fabric-loving Internet startup accomplished quite a bit.

We grew a lot in 2010, a transformation that included moving our office from the old sock mill in Mebane, North Carolina, where we started to a more modern, comfortable facility in down the road in Durham. The marketplace for fabric created by independent designers that we launched in the fall of 2009 has now blossomed into the largest collection of indie-designed fabrics available anywhere in the world. [Where else can you choose between 47 different hippo fabrics?]

We've still got a lot of work ahead of us, of course, but I hope you'll take a few minutes not just to appreciate the designers in our top 10 lists but to congratulate yourselves for all you've done to build the Spoonflower community and support creative expression, both your own and that of others. Thank you for being here. Here's to a crafty new year!

Top-Selling Indie Fabrics of 2010

1. Heather Ross. An accomplished and well-known designer in her own right, Heather put out two, limited-edition fabric collections on Spoonflower in 2010 and, not surprisingly, her fabrics take up a good many spots in our top-sellers for the year. For the purpose of this list, we're just going to put Heather in the top spot and note the six most popular Heather Ross fabrics for the year. Please note that none of the HR fabrics listed below are available for sale at this point.

         
l-r: newspaper boats aqua fabric, gnomes apple green (gone from site), mushrooms apple (gone from site), gnomes pink (gone from site), little spools aqua, clothes pin people sunset 2 by Heather Ross

---

2.   cherry fabric by troismiettes

---

3.   Owl Be Darned! Apron Pattern fabric by ceanirminger

---

4.   multi_owls_-_white_background fabric by petunias

---

5.   Alice Vintage Border and Text fabric by ophelia

---

6.   Cheater Friday fabric by melaniesullivan

---

7.   Tetris Border Print fabric by chronicallyuncool

---

8.   2011 Birdies tea-towel calendar by cynthiafrenette

---

9. Obscure Animals Alphabet fabric by maile

---

10.   birdhouse fabric by troismiettes

---

Top 10 Indie Fabric Designers Of 2010

Having looked at the most successful fabrics, here's one last list -- this one showing the most successful indie designers on Spoonflower from 2010. You'll see some familiar names!

1.  heatherross
2.  hamburgerliebe
3.  holli_zollinger
4.  troismiettes
5.  heidikenney
6.  ceanirminger
7.  sammyk
8.  kristopherk
9.  ophelia
10.  helenklebesadel

These are all incredibly talented individuals, but the Spoonflower marketplace is also full of many, many talented artists who don't appear on this list. Discovering new designs and designers is certainly the great pleasure of visiting Spoonflower.

Spoonflower Year In Review: Top 10 referring Web sites & blogs for 2010

Top 10 Referring Web sites for 2010

Even as the world drifts farther into 2011, we're still having fun sorting through data from 2010. Among the trivia extracted so far: the top 10 (non-blog) Web sites that  referred traffic to the intrepid, fabric-loving Internet start-up we call Spoonflower between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011.

1. facebook.com [we just want to be liked]
2. google.com [no surprise there. Custom fabric, anyone?]
3. stumbleupon.com [a fun alternative to search engines when you're not in a hurry]
4. flickr.com [the very best place to admire amazing crafts by fellow Spoonflowerers]
5. colourlovers.com [friends of ours who love color... and extra vowels]
6. twitter.com [snatching victory from the jaws of re-tweet]
7. etsy.com [a million suns shine across the Etsyverse]
8. vintageprintable.com [an amazing collection of public domain art]
9. LiveJournal.com [old school community]
10. reddit.com [no idea. This one came as a surprise to me.]

 

---

Top 10 Referring Blogs for 2010

Somewhat arbitrarily, we took our top referring sites and carved out the ones that are -- at least to our way of thinking -- clearly blogs rather than Internet services of some sort.

Blogs have always been the primary force behind the growth of Spoonflower as word of our services has spread, grassroots-style, from one crafty blog to another. The blogs that have driven the most traffic to Spoonflower between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011 are:

1. regretsy.com
2. heatherross.squarespace.com
3. dans-mon-bocal.over-blog.com
4. hamburgerliebe.blogspot.com
5. olivemanna.com
6. trueup.net
7. ohdeedoh.com
8. decor8blog.com
9. boingboing.net
10. totallysevere.com

[Bonus entries to the top 10 blogs -- because I just can't leave them out -- #11 designspongeonline.com and #12 soulemama.com  ]

The list above is short, whereas the list of great blogs to whom we owe our thanks and appreciation is actually very, very long. Please know, bloggers everywhere, that we admire and respect you for making the World Wide Web into the amazing and complex ecosystem of information that it is. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you do to share your experiences!

Spoonflower Year In Review: Top 10 Most Viewed Fabric Designs for 2010

As 2011 gets going, we've got another data-laden look back at dear, departed 2010 for those of you who follow the adventures of the intrepid, fabric-loving Internet start-up we call Spoonflower.

Below are the top ten most viewed fabric pages on Spoonflower between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011. Note that these are not necessarily the top-selling fabrics, but they are -- for whatever reason -- the most popular in terms of pageviews.

1. Owl be darned! apron pattern by Ceanirminger 
2. Dingleberry plaid (regretsy designer print) fabric by Pantsmonkey
3. Houndstooth-blk Fabric by Mysteek 
4. Multi_owls_-_white_background fabric by Petunias 
5. Birdhouse Fabric by Troismiettes
6. Cherry Fabric by Troismiettes 
7. Woodland fabric by Lydia_meiying
8. Alice vintage border and text fabric by Ophelia 
9. Tetris border print fabric by Chronicallyuncool
10. Spoon_flower_cakes Fabric by Daniellehanson 

Next up, we'll post the top ten blogs that wrote about Spoonflower in 2010 as measured by people who visited our site based on links from those blogs, as well as the top ten referring web sites!

Spoonflower Year In Review: Top 10 Tags For Fabric Design Searches

As 2011 approaches, we've decided to take a little time to look back at the year drawing to a close. The relative quiet of the last week of December offers us a rare opportunity to sift through mountains of data for fun tidbits that, if not useful, might at least prove to be entertaining to those of you who follow the adventures of the intrepid, fabric-loving Internet start-up we call Spoonflower.

---

What do robots, woodland creatures, kawaii and Christmas have in common?

The Spoonflower marketplace contains thousands and thousands of unique fabrics created by independent designers. The multiplicity of fabrics on our site is organized in part by tags, which function as designer-generated categories.

Our first end-of-year top ten list shows the top ten Spoonflower fabric design tags as seen through the volume of searches on our web site over the course of 2010. The top ten fabric tags are:

1. Birds  [this can't come as a surprise to anyone who quilts]
2. Calendar  [tea-towel calendars were a big hit again this year]
3. Owl  [because 'birds' wasn't specific enough]
4. Woodland  [an up and coming expansion on popularity of bird fabrics and owl fabrics]
5. Christmas 
6. Kawaii  [our kawaii fabric design contest helped this as a tag, but this is a big one regardless]
7. Robot  [my personal favorite]
8. Doll  [mostly kits to make dolls, but includes some doll clothes]
9. Cat  [did you know that cats are popular house pets as well as finely-honed killing machines?]
10. Dog [a good subject for fabric designs as well as a popular alternative to mini-vacs for families with small children]

---

Chad's Fabric Tag Top Ten

Because man cannot live by data alone, just for fun Spoonflower team member Chad added a top ten list of his own favorite fabric design tags that didn't make the list based on searches.

These fabric tags are also worth a browse:

1. Afrocentric
2. Damask
3. Geek
4. Regretsy
5. Alphabet
6. Tessellation
7. Map
8. Bacon
9. Mustache
10. Steampunk

Top Ten Meat Fabrics on Spoonflower (Yes, meat fabrics.)

	1.  Even if you don’t like Lady Gaga's fashion choices, chances are you love bacon, and this bacon fabric by vo has just about as much juicy bacon as anyone could ever want.  Best of all, a dress made out of this fabric is guaranteed not to spoil.
	2.  If you like bacon, but would rather have something cuter, the Bacon Makes Everything Better design by wildolive is the perfect thing for you. It’s true.  Bacon does make everything better.
	3.  True meat lovers will adore the meat design by thirdhalfstudios, with its assortment of chops and chunks of juicy red meat.  Check out the whole collection, which, they are proud to say, puts the kitsch in kitchen!
	4.  I love this meat design by gantpants because at first glance you see horrifyingly realistic, shiny meat chunks, but when you look closely, the meat is rendered in a beautiful painterly brushstroke style, with a minimal palette, giving it a 1960s illustration feel.
	5. 'HAM!', also by thirdhalfstudios, offers a unique expression of the sheer joy that comes through the consumption of pork products. It makes me hungry!

6.  The burger and fries design by itybitybags is a cute and whimsical take on the classic fast food meat meal, but I’m glad that in real life my french fries don’t have cute faces because that would be scary.
7.  Men love meat, and are grillers by tradition.  Cynthiafrenette’s Stuff for Dudes fabric is perfect for the man who loves his barbecued steaks, kebabs, and even bacon.  Wouldn’t this make a great grilling apron and mitt for the meat-loving man in your life?
8.  Sushi is meat too!  The Spoonflower marketplace has some great sushi designs, including Sushi Lovers by kukubee.  We also love the sushi designs by thicblackoutline.
9.  Sandwiches by iota1617 is a charming design featuring the way meat is so deliciously eaten for lunch.  A reusable lunch sack made from this fabric would be sweet.
10.  And last but not least, for the vegetarians, vegans, and non-meat-lovers out there, we have something for you, too!  Happy Tofu by fauxfauna.

Top Eleven Fabric Craft Kits Available On Spoonflower

One of the wonderful things about the Spoonflower marketplace is that it’s full of fantastic little projects that are a snap to make, and in many cases everything you need fits on a fat quarter of fabric.

Here is a list of my top eleven favorite kits (in no particular order, because it’s so hard to pick favorites!).  Any of these would make an awesome handmade gift. For the super crafty people on your list, you could just give them the kit and let the fun of making it themselves be part of the gift.

1.  See the world with $11 and a sewing machine! The globe kit by weavingmajor is one of our most popular designs probably because it is such a great idea.  Beautifully rendered, educational, and fun to play with, there are several different sizes of globes you can order, and every one comes with more than just one globe to make.

 

 

---

2.  Little girls will love the Yum Yum Dolly apron set by Victoria Lasher which, depending on whether a fat quarter or a yard is ordered, results in an apron for their doll and a matching one for themselves.  Mom can help make it and have a matching apron too!  Kids will love all the little details, like the coordinating oven mitts and the pocket surprises, and the mom's apron comes with all the same whimsical features.  Check out victorialasher's coordinating fabrics designs, too, for other kitchen projects.

 

 

---

3.  Speaking of dolls, some of our most popular designs have been doll clothes kits by Daniel Bingham, like this trio of dresses for a 16” doll.  With only a fat quarter, your little girl’s doll can have three gorgeous new outfits!

 

 

 

 

---

4.  And speaking of aprons, this hilariously wonderful design by French artist nadja_p is a kit for a fish oven mitt and matching apron, great for a guy or girl to wear in the kitchen and have some fun.  Sew and stuff the extra little fishes for some charming little household decorations.

 

 

 

 

---

5.  Tea towels are always easy and elegant to make and give, but what I love about this tea towel kit by cathyheckstudio is that one yard gives you two double-sided (read: ultra lux) lovely towels.  The fact that the design is a 2011 calendar makes it all the more multi-tastic.

 

 

 

 

---

6.  The possibilities are endless for printed fabric gameboards.  Check out this fun beach-theme game by kkitwana, which might end up becoming a family vacation favorite.  Fabric gameboards are so much more durable, kid-friendly, and transportable than your average cardboard-boxed game, and this one is certainly beach-friendly.  Plus, the designer suggests that it could even be made into a tablecloth or a fun beach wrap.

 

 

---

7.  The Spoonflower marketplace is full of amazing puppet kits.  One outstanding design is Pinkerton the Pirate Cat by melissamelissa.  Pinkerton comes with a sidekick finger-puppet, First Mousemate Squeek, and plenty of extras like a treasure map and an eye-patch.  

 

 

---

8.  Gorgeous pillows can be made from any Spoonflower fabric, but thank goodness for designers like antoniamanda, whose pillow kit printed on a yard of fabric provides an adorable duo of front and back fabric to make two darling accent pillows for your home.

 

 

 

---

9. Whether its the holiday season or not, it’s never too late to make cute ornaments for your own Christmas decorating, or to give as gifts.  Baubles by gomakeme are easy, adorable, and would look spectacular hanging from a Christmas tree, or from the bow of a wrapped package.  Check out the designers other kits, like the stuffed Mr. and Mrs. Santa softies.

 

---

10. Get your sewing space organized with a cute pincushion.   The sweet design by anda, printed on a fat quarter, gives you enough to make a pincushion for yourself and a few more for your crafty friends.  

 

 

 

---

11.  Placemat fabric by heatherbrady makes dressing up your table so easy.  Just cut and hem the placemats and try to resist keeping them for your own table.  Wouldn’t a set of them make a sweet wedding present?  

 

 

 

---

Spoonflower fabric has endless possibilities for imaginative folks, but sometimes it’s nice to just have everything all ready to go, and these kits do just that. What are your favorites?