Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of Lemonni | Spoonflower Blog

For this week’s Meet the Designer series, we’re traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to talk with self-taught surface pattern designer, Annie Chen who is known as lemonni in the Spoonflower Marketplace. With a deep passion for sleek colorful pattern that is both sophisticated and playful, Annie seeks to share happiness and style with the world through her home accessory line of the same name. We are in absolute awe over Annie’s imaginative body of work and can’t wait another second to dive in!

My day starts with:

“Coffee. I cannot function without a good cup of coffee. I usually check my emails first thing when I’m at my desk. And then I’d spend a few hours doing some admin work, such as replying to emails, following up on leads, maintaining my online shops or working on marketing. During the day I also spend a lot of time and energy taking care of my two fur babies (one senior bunny and one young dog), so I usually design and work on projects in the evening when I feel most focused and creative.”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of Lemonni | Spoonflower Blog
Animal Geo and Peekaboo Night from lemonni’s Peekaboo Collection, Right: Annie’s fur babies, Waffles the bunny and Sammy the pup!

I fell in love with design when:

“I was doing a working holiday in London 10 years ago. I stayed there for about 8 months and the city inspired me to pursue a creative career.”

Who or what influences or inspires your work and why?

“I adore Orla Kiely’s work. She inspires me to do what I do today. I love how bold and timeless her patterns are. The way she incorporates colours is ingenious too.”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of lemonni
Modern Geometric – White by lemonni

When I’m in my studio, I feel:

“Cozy and creative.”

What’s in your toolbox?

“Sketchbooks, watercolours, Copic markers, iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of lemonni
Annie of lemonni in her studio

I’d love to see one of my designs turned into:

“Umbrellas and socks!”

My proudest accomplishment over the last year is:

“I think 2017 was a special year for me. I’ve made some great, creative friends through shows and collaboration. Having a community that you can turn to and share your ideas with is super important, especially if you work alone most of the time. It was also a year in which my work started to get noticed. I’ve been getting more project inquiries as a result. I think I can honestly say to myself now, that I love what I do!”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of Lemonni | Spoonflower Blog
Sea to Sky wall lights, Traverse Ottoman

What piece of your wardrobe best represents your style?

“A dress with big, bold print all over.”

The best advice I’ve ever received was or My mantra is:

“Be different, not better.”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of lemonni
Faux Suede Geometric Pouch by lemonni

If I could live in a painting, it would be:

“Any painting with dogs in it.”

The secret to a strong collection is:

“I think a strong collection should have designs that would work well together no matter how you mix and match them, so colours are very important.”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of lemonni
Tulip tea towel and table runner by lemonni

If I could only wear one Spoonflower fabric it would be:

Poly Crepe de Chine. It’s soft yet it has a nice structure.”


Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of lemonni

Want to see more? We’ve been gushing over lemonni prints on Roostery products, such as pillows and cloth napkins. You can keep up with the simple and elegant universe of lemonni by visiting her website and following her on Instagram.