Meet the Designers

Meet the Designer: Crystal Walen

August 6, 2018

Mod Triangles Navy Mint Pink by crystal_walen

This week in our Meet the Designer series we’re highlighting one of our community favorites; Crystal Walen of crystal_walen. Over the last seven years, this Southern California-based artist has built a following in the Spoonflower Marketplace for her gorgeous watercolors. Within her shop of over 640 designs, you’ll find geometrics such as chevrons and ikats softened with hand-painted stripes, and roses and cacti composed in dreamy, romantic color palettes. Love that old-world meets new-world aesthetic too? This is one designer you won’t want to miss: her design style is both eternally timeless, yet unequivocally modern. Keep reading for a glimpse into how Crystal has built a successful career around surface pattern design.

When did you get started designing?

“I started designing patterns in high school which prompted me to study textile design in college. I have always been drawn to prints especially in terms of fashion. Growing up thrift shopping with my grandma for clothing and other vintage wares, I was often attracted to rich colors, prints and soft unique textiles.”

https://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/7012884-vintage-blush-floral-on-soft-sage-by-crystal_walen

Photography by Jes Hoyda at @dotdot_baby | Vintage Blush Floral on Soft Sage by crystal_walen

Meet the Designer: Crystal Walen | Spoonflower Blog

Crystal working on Sparking Rosé Flora

Meet the Designer: Tina Vey of ottomanbrim

July 16, 2018

Meet the Designer: Tiny Vey of ottomanbrim | Spoonflower Blog

Dots on Tables by ottomanbrim

For this week’s Meet the Designer spotlight, you could say a future in design was in the cards for her. Growing up with a painter/sculptor for a mother and a photographer for a father, Tina Vey knew at a young age that art was the answer for her. Joining us from Amherst, MA after spending most of her adult life in a fast-paced New York City, we can’t wait for you to get a peek into the inspiration behind the artist we’ve come to know and love, ottomanbrim.

My day starts with…
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Meet the Designer: Janine Lecour of lapetitelecour

June 18, 2018

Peachy-Large Scale by lapetitelecour

This week’s edition of Meet the Designer brings us to the peach-state of Georgia, to meet Savannah College of Art and Design graduate and freelance designer, Janine Lecour of lapetitelecour. You may recognize Janine from our blog post, ‘Black Makers and Creatives You Need to Know‘, and she’s back with a more in depth interview giving us a look inside her creative world. If you’re looking to discover brightly intricate artwork with original flair, you’re in for a treat—Janine’s designs POP with exquisite color that we just can’t take our eyes off of. We can’t wait for you to meet this week’s designer!

My day starts with…

“Coffee, a quick check of any morning emails that I may have, and then I look over what needs to be done for the day. Then I put on some music and start working.”

Meet the Designer: Michael Uhlenkott of muhlenkott

May 21, 2018

Halekahiki Glyphs 4c by muhlenkott

For this week’s Meet the Designer series, we’re excited to highlight the tiki-inspired patterns of designer Michael Uhlenkott, otherwise known as muhlenkott in the Spoonflower Marketplace. Michael and his partner reside in Echo Park, a neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, California, in a 1930s Spanish Revival house that holds a unique secret known only to the tiki-loving locals in his area. Keep reading to see where Michael gains his inspiration, learn more about his design process and even gain a glimpse into what he calls The HaleKahiki.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning?

“An early morning swim workout or a surf, followed by breakfast. Then to work designing or composing music. I am definitely a morning person!”

Meet the Designer: Michael Zindell

March 26, 2018

Toucan Pattern 2 by michaelzindell

For the next installment in our Meet the Designer series, we’re chatting with designer extraordinaire Michael Zindell of Salem, Massachusetts, a city he calls vibrant and creative. You may recognize Michael’s work from recent Spoonflower design challenges such as Kilim, where he won first place and Hygge, where he placed second. What you may not know is that Michael has been a product designer for over 15 years, creating thousands of home décor products for companies such as Pier 1, Home Depot, ROSS and Michaels among others. We’re so excited to introduce Michael today and can’t wait to dive right into his engaging interview!

How does your day start?

“I’m usually up by 6 a.m. or earlier. Weather permitting, I take my dog for an hour-long walk through town to the city common and back. Then I come home to make coffee and go right to the computer. Before I start my full-time job, I try to eke out an hour to myself to work on freelance or passion projects, as well as Spoonflower design challenges.”

Meet the Designer: Dinara May

March 12, 2018

Watercolor Peaches by dinaramay

Today we’re elated to introduce watercolor designer Dinara May (aka dinaramay in the Spoonflower Marketplace) for this week’s Meet the Designer series. Dinara’s home base may be in Moscow, however, she has spent the past year and a half traveling the world on a self-described “amazing journey of personal transformation and self-acceptance.” All the while, Dinara stays true to her unique vision of expressing her art and her human existence through being 100% present in her inward and outwardly exploration. We’re willing to bet you’ll be in your own meditative state by the end of this inspiring interview.

My day starts with:

“Tea and meditation. I don’t get to work until after lunch so my mornings are usually very slow and full of the things I love. I like to treat myself in the morning, it gives me a great boost for the rest of the day.”

Meet the Designer: Jessica Prout of LittleArrowDesign

February 5, 2018

Modern Moroccan on Navy by littlearrowdesign

Jessica Prout, aka littlearrowdesign, didn’t start out designing, and that’s why we find her story so inspirational. In 2012, she stepped away from a corporate job in engineering to stay at home with her daughter, but soon after realized that while motherhood was an amazing experience, she still needed a creative outlet. So she opened an Etsy shop featuring her handmade bibs, crib sheets, and baby bedding. While searching for ways to make her shop stand out, she discovered Spoonflower. From there, the combination of her love for fabric and her husband’s background as a graphic designer led her to try designing too—with over 6,600 designs in her shop, you could say she found her calling! Get to know this featured designer who hails from Richmond, Virginia in our interview (and video) below.

My day starts with:

“Getting my kids ready for the day and a cup of coffee.”

Meet the Designer: Heidi Kenney

January 22, 2018

Stacks (melon) by heidikenney

Welcome to this week’s edition of Meet the Designer! Today we’re taking a deep dive into the playful and vintage-inspired world of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania based artist Heidi Kenney. Not confined to just one type of creating, you’ll find Heidi’s adorable, spirited character art adorning pottery, plushies, custom toys, fabric and a dozen other trinkets you’ll want to get your hands on. We are so excited to get to know one of our community’s Marketplace favorites, that one blog post just isn’t enough. Don’t miss a special Valentine’s Day tutorial created by Heidi just for you.

My day starts with:

“Coffee and a trip to the ceramic studio. I am part of a ceramic guild and like to go in first thing in the mornings to get a little pottery time in each day. I love making things and could never commit myself to just one sort of making or designing. My days are usually filled with a mix of design, pottery, sewing, and maybe a little knitting thrown in somewhere.”

Meet the Designer: Annie Chen of Lemonni

January 8, 2018

Toucan – Navy by lemonni

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: Heleen van den Thillart

December 4, 2017

Christmas Birds in Snow by heleen_vd_thillart

If you’re someone who’s curious to delve into pattern design for the first time, we have just the interview for you. This week we’re getting to know Dutch designer Heleen van den Thillart, who joins us from the heart of Rotterdam, Netherlands where she lives with her spouse and two children. Heleen discovered Spoonflower as a way to earn money doing something she loved while raising her young family. She had never designed patterns for fabric before, so using Spoonflower’s design challenges as a springboard, she decided to commit to it for a year. Not only is Heleen now publishing new designs weekly, but she’s also secured licensing deals with companies large and small. How cool is that? Keep reading because we promise you’ll be running for your art supplies by the end of this post!

My day starts with…

“Early morning snuggles with the whole family. I do not function before 7 o’clock in the morning, so my kids (ages 1 and 4) are allowed to crawl in bed with us to cuddle and play. During the day I stay home with them which sometimes can create a struggle to get work done since they don’t have the same nap schedules. I make up for it in the evenings, though, unless I don’t have the energy to work after a day with the kids. That’s when I will watch a movie or binge a series on the couch. But, I love to draw and design so it’s often not a problem to sit behind my desk in the evenings. It doesn’t feel like work at all. Except when I have to do my taxes, but nobody likes that anyway, right?”