Josephine Kimberling

Book Review (& Press!) - A Field Guide to Fabric Design

2012-01-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

I just received my copy of 'A Field Guide to Fabric Design' by Kimberly Kight of the fabulous fabric blog True Up, in the mail yesterday, and let me just say it - I LOVE it! Kim did such an amazing job with this book and if you are someone interested in creating your own fabric collection, learning from current fabric designers or wanting to learn how to put your artwork into repeat, either by hand or in the computer - this is the book for you. She also included Designer Roundtables where she holds Q and A with a variety of fabric designers, which I am so excited to be a part of.

I'm super-sure you've heard of Kim and her True Up blog - but to let you know a little bit about Kim, she started her blog in 2008 because of her obsession with fabric, and over that time has used that passion to teach herself fabric design, and now teaches on the subject where she lives in Austin, Texas.

A Field Guide to Fabric Design walks you through how to design, print and sell your own fabric and covers both traditional and digital techniques. I love that she teaches one of my favorite Illustrator tools, the 'Recolor Artwork' tool which allows you to create colorways easily of your designs. As well as the Photoshop 'Offset Filter' which helps you create seamless repeats.

The book is broken down into three sections with multiple chapters within each section, which are:

Section One: Design and Color
Fabric Design Fundamentals
Step-by-Step Design - Covers creating repeats by hand and by computer
Know Your Color - Creating color palettes and colorways
Colorways and Collections - Creating collections of patterns for the fabric industry and balancing color throughout

Section Two: Printing
Know Your Surface: Fabric Basics
Step-by-Step Hand Printing
Digital Printing

Section Three: The World of Fabric Design
Designing for Fun and Profit

There's also a wide variety of page previews of the insides of this book on Amazon, if you'd like to see more. Overall, if you haven't added this book to your library, I would highly recommend it! Kim did such a great and thorough job at including everything you need to know about being a designer in the industry and taking a shot at it yourself. (And by the way - this book is ranked #2 on Amazon's Textile and Costumes Bestseller List - for good reason! Way to go Kim!)

Spring 2012 - D&G

2012-01-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

{Images from Style.com}

The next Spring 2012 runway show that I absolutely love is the print saturated D&G collection. To me, what's better than one print? Two! Three!...FIVE! The more the merrier in my book. These designs are just stunning and full of colorful scarf prints which contain a mixture of medallions, butterflies, polka dots, crests, flowers...you name it - throw it into the pot! All in vibrant, gorgeous color. Yum!

I would happily take one of those maxi dresses and add it to my closet. And check out the scarf wrapped shoes! Too bad snow is in the forecast for Seattle, cause this show makes me ready for Spring!

Spring 2012 - Burberry Prossum

2012-01-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

{All images from Style.com http://www.style.com/}

The Spring 2012 runways have come and gone, many months ago in which time I spent days scouring through them and saving off image after image of gorgeousness! I usually like to share the beauty with you closer to the season, so it stays fresher in our minds.

First up, Burberry Prorsum. Their show wasn't packed full of print, but the color was just awe-some! I love the deep, rich, Africa inspired colors and the rich, artisan & handcrafted feel to the collection! It's exciting to see color coming back in a BIG way! Aren't these colors DE-lish?!!

Reflection on 2011

2012-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

{Image via}

As 2011 comes to an end, and I'm working away on my calendar and deadlines for 2012, I'm finding myself reflecting on what has happened this past year. I absolutely love the optimism of what a New Year brings - the aspirations and intentions and the new slate for new beginnings.

I don't usually do this - reflect on the past year. I'm usually planning the future, not living in the current or the past (um, let me put down my 2012 calendar...). But after many conversations with friends, and going through a huge transition this year in my life, I thought it would be a good exercise for me & my heart and allow myself to reflect.

I thought I'd share with you my 2011 year in recap. Things that pushed me, inspired me and happened in my life.
* I became an aunt! My only brother had 2 twin boys, and they are just cute, balls of joy
* Worked with fellow Textile Designers on a print trend presentation and gave presentations to the company (previous day job)
* I read countless books on managing people & becoming a good leader, just in case my day job turned that way
* I actually ended up becoming a manager
* Within my day job, I developed a company-wide process for working with our new Print Studio, and rolled it out to a room full of leaders
* Met some wonderful women at work with whom I deeply connected with and had transparent & supportive conversations. All of whom had just the right thing to say at the right time.
* Helped a handful more of people figure out their personality profile
* Attended a wonderful friend's wedding and got to catch up with more wonderful friends
* After 12 years of dreaming of working for myself I decided to leave the corporate world and chase my dream
* I signed-up for and prepared for my Surtex booth in 2 months
* I had my first booth at Surtex 2011 in NYC
* Met lots of companies at Surtex and left with exciting opportunities
* My husband Jake and I shared our 10 year wedding anniversary!
* We vacationed at the Grand Canyon and went on to explore Zion National Park. Soaked up the sun, drove many miles, took lots of pics, and spent the last day watching HGTV in the hotel and having pizza delivered (hey, we don't have cable, so it was a TREAT!!)
* Got food poisoning from our 10 year anniversary dinner - lovely
* Signed a few contracts with companies - {psst - fun, new stuff coming next year!}
* Struggled with guilt feelings of absolutely loving what I do
* Allowed myself to be OK with it, to enjoy it, soak it up & run with it
* {Repeat the above 2...quite a few times}
* Went hiking a few times with Jake, after many years of putting it off because I 'didn't have anything to wear'
* Actually spent money on hiking shoes not heels
* Speaking of which - actually added T-shirts to my wardrobe - yes, seriously ; )
* Struggled with 'why am I not going to the gym 4 days a week if I have the time and theoretically want to?' Then realized I'm human.
* Since then, I've lowered my expectations & now find enjoyment in doing said task instead of obligation
* Did the 'Couch to 5K' running plan & started Pilates
* Filmed my first TV spot (details next year!), which is a huge accomplishment of fears for me, as I'm pretty shy
* My family lost my 32 year old cousin to cancer - melanoma - leaving behind 2 twin girls. (Please make sure you go to your dermatologist at least once a year. Especially if you love the sun.)
* Was overwhelmed by the love, tears & memories shared at her memorial
* Thankful for her in many ways, one of which is if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have met the love of my life
* Beat my child-holding record by helping my brother out with family Christmas photo's
* Was able to keep said children from crying! Ya-hoo!!
* Spent fun times catching up with a distant friend
* Met with multiple friends during the day while everyone else was at work (I work crazy flex hours)
* Enjoyed every minute of it
* After 10 years in the fashion industry (extremely fast paced, high expectations & productivity), I have finally started to learn the meaning of work/life balance

What a year! I'm assuming I'm writing the above to myself, as it's pretty long and non-monumental to someone not living my life. I thought I'd post it so I could reflect back on it...and also to let you know a little bit more about me as well.

I gave up a long time ago on setting New Years resolutions, but I do like to aspire and set-out to be more intentional in my life. Sometimes I'll be great for a few months at something, then it'll fall by the wayside, only for me to get back on the bandwagon later on. I'm working on accepting this : ) I find the more I force myself to stick to a regiment with high expectations (even though I LOVE structure!), the more the happiness gets sucked out of me. Enter - realization that I'm human, not perfect and that life is a constant cycle & roller-coaster of wonderment and bummer-ness.

Enter 2012. I'm excited. I'm ready. I'm optimistic. I hope you are too. Whichever way you embrace a new year, I hope 2012 brings you much joy & awesomeness.

I Heart: Wallpaper

2011-12-08T07:20:00.001-08:00

{Anthropologie: Enchanted Forest by Rebecca Rebouche}

Check out my bold wallpaper round-up and guest post I did for my wonderful, sweet & super-talented friend Tobe over at the blog Because It's Awesome (she's also part of the fabulous I Am Project, which I posted about here). I'm sure you will get lost for hours looking through her blog pages of awesomeness!

(And Tobe? Thanks so much for the intro - you made me blush sweet friend. Xoxo)

My 2012 Desk Calendar & Etsy Shop

2011-12-02T11:45:00.001-08:00

Whew! OK. After years and years of wanting to make my own desk calendar I FINALLY did it! On top of that, I made a few extra's and opened up an Etsy shop to sell some as well. My little Etsy shop only has this one item in it right now - and I hope to add more products in the future.

My 2012 Desk Calendar is full of bright colors and features some of my most popular designs - maybe you'll recognize some of them from fabrics? It comes in a clear CD case that doubles as a stand and is gift wrapped just for you or to give as a gift. There are 14 pages total - one page for each month and a front and back cover.

Here are all of the month designs at a glance, January to December from left to right...

Hope your holiday shopping & gift making is going great!

Cozy Christmas Wreath Project

2011-12-01T12:30:00.001-08:00

Between working on Christmas projects, designing my holiday cards & creating a 2012 desk calendar on top of everyday work, things have been a bit busy around here and my blog has been a little neglected. Oopsy! I thought I'd hop on here and go ahead and share with you my Cozy Christmas Wreath project I just finished up. SO fun!!

I helped make some of these for friends and just HAD to rush home and make one for myself! In my rush, I settled for a 14" wreath, but I would have much rather had a larger one, if I took the time to do some research, as this one is a bit smaller than I'd like for my front door. But doesn't this look fun, festive and cozy!! I absolutely LOVE felt flowers, so I kept making them and added more and more...I was even tempted to make a whole wreath out of felt flowers, but I really liked the wooly wreath too much to cover it all up.

Here are the instructions for you, in case you want to make one for yourself. Total time=2 hours. Great to make while watching a movie.

To make this exact wreath, you will need:

1, 14" straw wreath - keep the plastic wrapping on it
1 package of 'Wool-Ease', Thick & Quick yarn (I used an Oatmeal color with flecks)
Felt in a variety of colors - approx 2, 9x12 sheets for each large & medium flower. 1 sheet for small & mini flowers.
Scissors

STEP 1
WRAP THE WREATH
Wrap the wreath with the yarn, making sure you cover the wreath completely. I went over places multiple times to make it thick.

STEP 2
CUT OUT FELT FLOWERS
Make a variety of felt flowers in different sizes and colors. Each felt flower is made up of 8 circles. I made 4 different sizes of flowers for my wreath: 1 large flower using a 5" circle. 4 medium flowers using a 4" circle. 2 small flowers using a 2.5" circle. 3 mini flowers using a 1.75" circle.

STEP 3
ASSEMBLE FELT FLOWERS
Once your felt circles are cut, fold a circle in half. Cut 2 slits at the fold in the center, about 1/4"-1/2" long and leaving about 1/4" of room between the slits. Cut 1 foot of the yarn you used to wrap the wreath, for each flower you want to make. Thread the yarn through the slits of each of the 8 pieces of felt that make up a flower. Once all are threaded, tie a tight knot at the base & leave the tails as you will use them to attach the flowers to the wreath. Arrange the felt nicely to make the flower.

STEP 4
ADD THE FELT FLOWERS TO THE WREATH
Arrange each of the felt flowers on top of your wreath in any way you desire. Tie them down in the back of the wreath with a knot. Snip the edges. Once you are completed, hang on your door to provide a warm welcome for your guests!

Keep me posted if you make one!! I'd love to see!!

Book Review (& Press!): Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design

2011-11-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

The highly anticipated book by fabric designer Laurie Wisbrun 'Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design' is Laurie's first book and is an inspirational and practical guide that walks readers through the entire fabric design and printing process. Laurie finds the offbeat beauty in everyday objects and patterns, and translates them into unique surface and textile designs. Be sure to head over to her website to check out her fun & bold work!

This book is currently available in the UK and will be arriving in the US in February! I happily received my copy, read through it immediately, and decided I MUST share the contents with you.

This book not only contains techniques, tutorials and inspiration, but it also contains interviews of some fabulous designers out in the field now, which are very fun to read, and sprinkled throughout the book. And I must let you know that I am thankful to have been included in the designer interviews for this book! {Thanks Laurie!!} I had a great time answering her awesome questions and am super excited to be included in Chapter 2 'Sourcing Inspiration'.

To start things off, I must say that this book is very relevant to the now. It seems like every corner I turn I come across someone who has questions about creating a fabric collection, how to put artwork into repeat, or how to make a profession out of being a surface designer. This book is a great resource geared toward the beginning and budding designer, to assist in guiding you through the exciting field of fabric design and production.

Here's the chapter breakdowns for you:

CHAPTER 1: Designing for Fabric
Walks you through the different types of 'motifs' (such as florals, geometrics and ethnic designs), types of repeats, and working with color.

CHAPTER 2: Sourcing Inspiration
From researching trends, to keeping inspiration journals and creating mood boards, this chapter will guide you though ways to keep yourself inspired.

CHAPTER 3: Designing Patterns
Contains tutorials on how to build 3 different types of repeats in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop CS4, how to create a digital color palette, and how to create repeats by hand.

CHAPTER 4: Understanding Fabric, Inks and Dyes
Reviews different fabric treatments, textile dyes/inks/paints and resist dyeing.

CHAPTER 5: Hand Printing
Walks you through block printing basics and how to create repeats using block printing. Also includes stencil printing & the screenprinting process.

CHAPTER 6: Digital Printing
Working with a digital printing service, including adjusting color and touching up images.

CHAPTER 7: Going Professional
Chocked-full of designer interviews, and includes lists of examples of courses of study from universities that will put you on the road to this industry, as well as a list of full-time career options. Another highlight is how to approach fabric manufacturers and how to develop collections for licensees to developing a marketing plan and tidbits on trade shows.

I would highly recommend this book for beginning designers as it is a fabulous resource tool full of important information that will help you on your way to learning more about fabric designing! Be sure to get your hands on a copy!

Heartspiration: Self-Determination

2011-10-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

{image via}

I was inspired today by this post from Tara Gentile, a creative business coach & consultant, and since this thought topic has been on my mind for - oh, about a month or two - I figured what better time to talk about it than now? (I apologize right now for the lack of beautiful, inspiring pics on this one!)

What's all this about? Self-Determination - and I'll throw in a few drops of discipline and consistency while I'm at it. Do you have it? Do you want it?

As many of you who have been reading along over the past few months have known, I left the corporate world I lived in for 12 years, and it's been about 6 months ago now (more about that here). Working for myself has been a wonderful blessing full of adventure, creativity and being able to take the reigns in my life like never before. Instead of being a quiet horse in someone else's carriage, I get to drive the carriage and shout my voice from the top of my lungs (which explodes with rainbows and flowers - just sayin'). Love.

Here's a little story about the journey and discoveries along the way of working for myself...

In the corporate world, I had a mentor. A pretty hard-core business minded one. Savvy. Brilliant. She asked what my passions were - I mentioned a pretty big one. She said 'I don't believe you, because if you loved it so much, you would make time to do it.' I bawlked. I wholeheartedly disagreed. I understood it was her point of view but marched in the opposite direction. (Hey, I'm a passionate creative, yes?)

I figured - 'when I work for myself, my life will look like FITB!'...balanced, gym goer, get my social life back, you name it, FITB for yourself. (I'll use going to the gym as an example because who can't relate to THAT one?) Then I started working for myself and wha? I didn't go to the gym. I had all this 'extra' time and I wasn't going to the gym. It finally struck me like lightening, what my mentor was getting at. Then I realized...I must not really WANT to go because I'm not making time for it. In theory I do, but obviously, if I really wanted to, I would make time to do it, not make excuses. I'd decide to put in the effort and the discipline.

Simple concept, but really, how many of us make excuses to not live the life we want? How many of us blame FITB for not being able to do FITB? Although I still don't whole heartily agree with what my mentor was saying, cause hey, LIFE happens, and it IS truly difficult to 'have it all', if not impossible. Wanting something doesn't mean it's going to auto-magically start happening when your 'excuse' has disappeared. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy or natural. It means you have to fight for it. To have self-determination. To have consistency & discipline. To push past yourself to achieve yourself.

Once I grasped that (yes, simple concept, but can be difficult to muster up the strength over and over again for each new thing you want to add into your life!) then I held the reigns tighter. Got focused & determined. Worked on consistency. And now I've said goodbye to the horse & carriage and am a steam engine.

How about you? What do you have a passion for that you're just not doing? What's standing in your way? How do you need to shift your priorities around to achieve the life you want and need to live? As Nike says so brilliantly - 'Just do it!'.

{PS - FITB=Fill in the Blank}

I Heart: The I Am Project

2011-10-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

My good friend Tobe over at the Because It's Awesome blog just opened up an Etsy shop to sell their I Am Project lettering prints which focus on affirmations and inspirations! Not only do I love Tobe and her extreme talent, I also absolutely love the cause that propelled her and her friend's work. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Tobe at Hallmark Cards some years back, and had a blast collaborating with her on projects.

The I Am Project was started by three friends with a passion around strengthening each others hearts.

The I Am Project :: Our wish is to affirm and inspire the beauty in every woman, to celebrate the uniqueness in each of us, as well as the commonalities that unite us as women. We want to create a space to confront the dark places that come with growth; to witness women being valued for more than their bodies, clothes, or societal projections; to feel inspired by stories and images; and to become more deeply rooted in who we are as women. We want to become a net of resources that will nurture and fortify each others confidence, and fill women with awareness of the extraordinary beauty that each of us uniquely brings to the world.

Pretty wonderful idea, isn't it? This is definitely a cause that I believe all of us women can get behind and feel inspired and empowered to be true to ourselves and celebrate our uniqueness.

You can purchase these beauties in their Etsy shop in either 5x7 and 8x10 size, and they even have a 'two for' deal going on. I hope these affirmations and inspirations inspire you and your day ahead!

Inspired by: BHLDN

2011-10-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

We had a blast in San Francisco over the weekend, attending my friend's wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous! Since that day, it has definitely gotten weddings on my mind. Yes, I have been married for 10 years and already had my wedding day - but I still just love the beauty of it all! I'm such a girlie-girl, and I confess, I still buy Martha Stewart Weddings magazines for the gorgeous color & theme inspiration. LOVE!

My number one favorite store to shop at is Anthropologie. Number ONE. So, today I thought I'd share with you their wedding extension, BHLDN. They've got such wonderful, vintage-with-a-twist items, from wedding and bridesmaid dresses, shoes and jewelry all the way to festive decorations and stationery. I absolutely love the vintage take on things and all the options that allow for so much personalization and personality. It's wonderful to see weddings taking a turn from the traditional confines and becoming a reflection of the couple.

I enjoyed this info from the BHLDN story - "Our roots are with Anthropologie, so a passion for experience and creating one-of-a-kind moments runs deep. But our offering speaks more to the not-so-everyday occasions—ours is a voice that celebrates a woman’s most anticipated milestones. And one that gives tradition a twist. Be you. Be loved. BHLDN."

Isn't everything just GORGEOUS!!! I'm so glad I got married so long ago to where half of the wonderfulness that is out there now didn't even exist! Whew! But I loooove looking at it all, that's for sure! I've added these images and more to my Pinterest board 'Wedded Bliss'. Head on over there and pin any favorites to add to your boards!

Leaving on a Jet Plane: San Francisco

2011-09-30T06:29:00.000-07:00

{Ork City Map Poster of San Francisco}

Jake and I are heading out bright and early in the morning to San Francisco! My BFF I've known since 7th grade has finally found her true love after 10 years in med school, and is getting married in the awesome city! I'm SO excited to be a part of her special day. I'm sure I'll remember it forever.

We're only staying one night which is super-fast, but we're hoping to do some quick sight seeing in our spare time. I grew up in northern CA, so I've been to SF a few times - the most memorable time being deep sea fishing in the San Francisco Bay - but I haven't visited for about 10 years. Any of you have some tips of great places we should see, places to eat, or things to do??

From My Shelf: Elle Decoration · April 2011

2011-09-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Blues and greens are my absolute FAVORITE colors. Seriously. If I could cover my house, walls, furniture, etc. in just these colors I would be a happy girl! For many years I've wanted an aqua blue couch..or bright teal...so when I came across these tears from Elle Decoration's April 2011 issue, I just had to take the magazine home with me so I could add the tears to my inspiration library.

I love in this magazine spread how they are taking different fabrics that revolve around a color story and piecing them together for wall hangings, table runners, mix and match pillows and upholstery.

I have a slight addiction, I must admit, to magazines. I think I may have come clean to you in a previous blog post? If not, I'm coming clean now {smile}. It's one of the things Jake and I love to go and do together - sit at Barnes and Noble, grab a stack of magazines and a coffee {ahem - a tall nonfat chai with six pumps of chai and no water - to be exact!}, and search for the best ones to take home with me.

Just the other day I was going through my plethora of magazine inspiration tears - remember this blog post about my organization process, or this one about magazines I've had since 2002? - and thought to myself - 'Wow! I've gathered some beautiful and awesome stuff and it's just sitting in a stack!'...(because I have more inspiration tears and magazines than I have time to tear them apart and create beautiful books out of them). And with that, I thought I'd start sharing with you some of the highlights of my magazine shopping. I hope you enjoy and I hope that the pics I start sharing will inspire you to pick up that magazine at your local newsstand or start an addiction of your own! (Or maybe a slight craving to be surrounded by more beauty cause I don't want to encourage addiction {wink, wink}).

Inspiration Organization: Houzz

2011-09-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE looking at home magazines and dreaming up how I would decorate a room. My many trips to Barns & Noble result in taking home with me magazines such as Ideal Home, Living Etc., Country Living-England, and Country Homes & Interiors UK to name a few - and boy do I miss Domino & Blueprint! To make it even wonderfully worse, I've started a folder where I put all the tears from these magazines of home & decorating ideas that inspire me. You know - for some day!

So you can imagine my happiness when I stumbled across an online home photo organizing website called Houzz! Genius. Dreamy. Addicting. Enough said!

But I'll elaborate, just for you. Here's Houzz in a nutshell:

Design professionals showcase their portfolios, sharing their work with a community dedicated to home and landscape design. 25,000+ professionals have uploaded more than 150,000 inspiring photographs, making Houzz the Internet's largest database of design and decorating ideas.

Homeowners collect their favorite photos, find design professionals in their areas, upload photos of their homes and gardens, and swap tips and questions with other members. 600,000+ ideabooks have been created by Houzz members, and new ones are added every minute.

So, finally - no more finding fab photo's of homes & interiors online, taking screen shots only to clutter up your desktop...and then have to move everything to a folder on your hard drive. No more!

So I've browsed and browsed & created idea books. The great thing is that you can create many idea books (dining room, kitchen, decor, wallpaper, etc.) & also include notes along with each image, such as 'love that coffee table' or 'interesting color combination idea', etc.

I've included some pic's that make me happy. I hope you find Houzz just as fun & inspiring as I do!

{Love the color combination}

{Interesting wall decor. Love the lamp & grass wallpaper}

{LOVE the idea of mix & match upholstered chairs!}

{All images from Houzz.com}

Missoni for Target

2011-08-22T08:33:00.001-07:00

I'm SO excited for Target's new designer collaboration with Missoni!! Missoni for Target will be unleashed starting September 13th and will run until October 22nd and is bursting with over 400 pieces of stylish items in a multitude of categories from women's, men's, children's, home, accessories, lifestyle, and office products. This is Target's largest designer collaboration to date!

You can check out the entire collection here.

Some of my favorites are the home office products, frames, outdoor seating, plates, mugs & zigzag sweaters and and and...What about you? Any specific items on your list?

{Image from InStyle Magazine, September 2011 issue}

My First REAL Vacation

2011-08-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jake and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We decided to take our first real vacation and visit the Grand Canyon. Pretty sad that it's taken us 10 years (and for me, my whole adult life) to actually take a real vacation - which to me is a vacation that doesn't revolve around visiting family or friends or to get a new job, but one where we can turn off the electronics and just BE.

It was quite breathtaking and spectacular, and a nice shake-up of warm weather from the dreary one we had been having in the Seattle area this year. I was kinda hoping to be a little sun-kissed by the time I got back so I could bask in the sunshine's warmth for a little while, but that SPF 60 really did it's job! Bummer - although I am glad I wasn't a crispy fry, like usual.

We slammed out the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in one day. Our brand new camera we bought was having technical difficulties and wouldn't snap a pic if it's life depended on it, so we were stuck with cell phone snaps on day 1 (although the pics above turned out pretty well, yes?). Low and behold we finally got it fixed (thanks to a brand new firmware download that just came out which saved our frustration level and camera-chucking-out-the-window reflex from happening).

So, since we had 4 days left to spend on our vacation we visited the North Rim and Zion National Park. Let me tell you - Zion stole the cake! It was breathtaking and beautiful. Instead of looking out across vast amounts of canyon we got to be down in the canyon looking up. Although I'm not an outdoorsy kinda girl, I could definitely appreciate the beauty!

I think this has definitely taught me to take more real vacations in my life and more regularly. I'll have to start compiling a list of places to visit. Anyone have any favorite spots for weekend getaways or real vacations? I'd love your recommendations!

On another note - 10 years of being married has been such a wonderful adventure! I'm such a lucky girl to be married to my best friend and favorite person in the world. I remember on our first anniversary saying 'I can't wait till our 10 year' - and here we are - time just flew by in a wink. Looking forward to the next 10+!

My Summer Stamps at Impress

2011-07-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I swung by Impress in Tukwila to see their wonderful samples, and see if I could snap some pictures of any cards they made out of my latest stamps. I did some Spring images that I just love (and haven't blogged about yet...), and my Summer designs just hit! It was fun to see their store front display utilizing my designs of lemons, citrus slices, summer drinks, and flip flops!

One of the many things I love about Impress is their clean, modern take on stamping and paper crafts. Their company is infiltrated with talented people who dream up fantastic samples, classes, and new uses for the latest products. Their owners and employees are also very up-to-date with the latest trends in tools, supplies, colors and the like. Every time I go in there I just want to make beautiful stuff and find a reason to throw a party so I can hand-make the invites.

These citrus colors make me SO ready for Summer! I also love the combination of the graphic zigzag with the black & bright yellow.

If any of you are paper-crafters head over to Impress' website and Facebook page to learn more about fun projects, classes and to make a purchase.

Just Dandy Interview & Give Away at Fat Quarterly Blog!

2011-07-05T14:53:00.001-07:00

{Blog header I designed for Fat Quarterly Blog for the spirit of the interview & give away}

Head on over to the Fat Quarterly Blog to read my latest interview and to enter to win Just Dandy fabric bundles! Robert Kaufman is giving away Just Dandy bundles to a few lucky readers. All you have to do head over to the Fat Quarterly Blog and leave a comment, letting them know which is your favorite print from my Just Dandy collection. They will randomly select a winner some time next week.

If you aren't familiar with Fat Quarterly, it is a new e-magazine written by modern sewists for modern sewists. Fat Quarterly is released 4 times per year, and each issue features a vibrant mix of content by some of today's most exciting sewists. Fat Quarterly has a blog, an e-magazine and a newsletter. Pretty fun stuff, don't you think?

With the interview, I was asked to design their blog header, which was a lot of fun! Head over to learn more about my design process & to enter to win!

Good luck everyone!!!

What's Your Path?

2011-07-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

{This photo is from a hike Jake and I went on earlier this week - one that is about 15 minutes away from our house. That's the beauty about the Seattle area - nature's all around you and right outside your doorstep! What's great about this trail is that it leads down to a rocky beach and ends right at the ocean. I love how trees on all sides surrounded us!}

Recently I had the opportunity to catch up on visiting some blogs - not pretty ones, but informational ones. I first went to Scoutie Girl (I haven’t been there in years!), and then found myself clicking here and there for hours, discovering the rest of them. I got something out of each of these so I thought I'd share them with you, just in case they have the opportunity to inspire you:

1. SCOUTIE GIRL - Where passionate creatives connect, converse & commune

2. WHITE HOT TRUTH - by Danielle Laporte. Because self-realization rocks

3. TARA SOPHIA MOHR - Wise Living. Life Coach

The common thread between the above influencers is that they each dedicate their lives to living them with purpose and to be wholly who they are, and to help others determine what their true gifts, strengths and calling are. To stop trying to be someone else, figure out who you are, and be the best you, you can be. Each one of us has something unique to offer this world in a way only you can - to the people who are around you, to a small platform or a large one.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for Myers-Briggs or Keirsey personality profiling. Just mention it a little bit or start questioning your life's purpose around me and you've got my attention for hours. Oh my poor friends! If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend taking the 20 minute test through Keirsey and then reading your profile to see what resonates with you. I also recommend taking the test Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham who has written a series of awesome, life inspiring books - one of my personal favorites being Strengthsfinder 2.0.

{from A Thoughtful Place blog}

I get quite a few e-mails and direct questions here and there about textile design. What’s interesting to me is that many people think they want to be a textile designer, but have never drawn in their life, or they want a quick answer and don't want to put in the time to learn it or become great at it. It seems they may perceive the life and job of a textile designer to be glorious and therefore want to be/have that even though it's not who they are and not their true passion.

I’ve even had conversations with people who decide to take the textile design path, but when I ask them what their true passion is, they tell me and it’s completely different, and something quite uniquely them and wonderful. But they are afraid to take that path and follow their heart and don’t know how they could make a living doing it because they have not yet plugged in to people from that industry or done the research.

{from Pennywishes on Etsy}

I guess, on a lighter note, haven't we all done that? Haven't we all looked up to someone or some profession and just admired and longed to be that? I know I have, to be honest. But there comes a time when it's time to stop dreaming and DO. To realize who you are, what your gifts and strengths are, what makes you excited and what drains you, and to find a career, purpose or mission that suits YOU.

{originally found on Kind Over Matter}

Blogging for me is quite uncomfortable. I'm such an introvert and not good at small talk when I meet with people – and I really dislike ‘tooting my own horn’. I feel fake, and I don't do fake well. I live with honesty in my heart and being, and have to believe it in order to be it. I live with conviction. I'm more the girl who enjoys sitting with a friend and talking about life and hard things that are going on, for hours. Depth. Meaning. Purpose. So, after some soul searching I have found that in order for blogging to be more exciting and less scary to me, I've got to learn to force myself to open up a little bit and release more of me, post more than pretty pictures - because I'm not being fair to myself or to you by holding myself in.

{from The Notebook Doodles}

I have quite a few friends, including myself right now going through this - discovering how to be the best you, you can be. They have lived their lives on a track for many years, and awoken to their passion and purpose - or realized that what they were doing in their lives truly wasn't them anymore or was suffocating their heart. I'm surrounded by quite a few people in my life, including myself, who have left their corporate jobs to work for themselves - all of us on the road to discovery.

I am now doing what I love and continue to discover more of my loves as the days go on – I love pattern on any surface and now my focus is to create artwork and design solutions for a variety of companies. I’m still figuring out the rest on this new journey – the part of my life that will give it meat and meaning and purpose. Perhaps I will be learning for the rest of my life – but the least I can do is answer the call of my heart and take baby steps towards it and learn to spread my wings little by little. Sure, artwork is beautiful and joyful to create – but to me, it’s not the same as pouring into people who need YOU.

Have you figured out your life’s path already? What is the path your life is on? What is your purpose? What makes you excited when you get to work on it, and what is so boring that you find yourself procrastinating time and time again? What is your personality type and what did you learn?

Resort 2012 - Stella McCartney

2011-06-30T08:26:00.001-07:00

The last Resort 2012 collection I'm featuring is Stella McCartney, as her white-washed tropical prints in mirrored prints just HAD to be talked about! Keep your eyes open for these two key trends that are going on and will be trickling down the pipe even more: tropical themes and mirrored prints.

I remember when mirrored prints were being used as an 'easy way' to put artwork into repeat or by those who hadn't yet mastered the allover repeat in their pattern designing. Now, however, mirrored prints are on trend, making a statement and being created in a very controlled and meaningful way. This technique is being used in allover prints and in placement designs. It brings beauty and a calming symmetry to the design, and makes it better than it would have been originally. I feel it makes the artwork more captivating when done right. What do you think?

I hope showcasing the Resort 2012 collection has been inspiring to you! Fashion definitely has an influence on me and my work. It just makes my heart skip a beat when I look at the collections. Sigh. I just love looking at beauty, color, and fresh, forward thinking. It's one of the things that really moves me and inspires me.

What inspires you?

Resort 2012 - Missoni

2011-06-30T07:24:00.001-07:00

Missoni's Resort 2012 collection was packed full of color and psychedelic prints that were teamed up with their signature space-dyed raschel knit technique. I also just love the background they used for the photo shoot! It adds such a punch of juicy color and texture and makes me ready for summer!

Check out the wavy-heeled platforms! As a tall girl already, I will only be admiring these beauties from afar - well that and the price tag, of course!

{Images from Style.com}

Resort 2012 - Matthew Williamson

2011-06-27T06:56:00.001-07:00

Another one of my favorite fashion brands is Matthew Williamson as he always has unique prints and fabulous color stories! This Resort 2012 season he incorporated inspiration from the Far East including traditional Japanese motifs and paintings.

Be sure to keep your eyes open for the return of Japanese prints and inspiration from the East - but done in a new way. There has been a lot of designers including this inspiration in their lines over the past couple of seasons.

{All images from Style.com}

Resort 2012 - Emilio Pucci

2011-06-27T06:37:00.001-07:00

I've always been a huge fan of Pucci prints. What's really fun about following this iconic fashion house on the runway is seeing them breathe new life into their signature prints or bring something new in completely that still sits perfectly with their brand's vibe. I absolutely love what they've done in the photo's above with the white-washed prints and over-scale ikat with Pucci movement!

{All images from Style.com}

And check out those shoes! Gorgeous!

The Emilio Pucci book is at Amazon, and features hundreds of gorgeous photo's, drawings, and candid shots from the family archive of this amazing fashion brand. What's also fun about this book is that it is bound in original Pucci fabrics, offering over a dozen different covers!

To see more photo's of the inside of this book, head over to Taschen!

Resort 2012 - Marc Jacobs

2011-06-24T09:37:00.001-07:00

What I love about Marc Jacobs' 2012 Resort line is the faded quality of the prints and the soft washed out and barely there colors. To achieve this worn-in and faded quality in the prints, Jacobs and his team printed the daisies and wallpaper prints on the reverse side of the fabrics. LOVE the effect, don't you? Makes me want to pull out some of my fabric, turn it over and see which prints will be most effective for this sun-faded look!

{Images from Style.com}

Resort 2012 - Anna Sui

2011-06-24T09:25:00.001-07:00

I love the Deco inspired prints from Anna Sui's 2012 Resort collection. She takes the tribal trend and flips it into something feminine and refreshing with her clean cuts, bold prints and de-lish color stories. Truly my favorite designer season after season!

{Images from Style.com}

Resort 2012 - Emanuel Ungaro

2011-06-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

I just love these brightly colored, fluid dresses from Emanuel Ungaro. The one above reminds me of rainbows in a blue sky. Just gorgeous. Love the photography here too! What a beautiful setting of contrast for such bright, printed frocks!

{Images from Style.com}

Resort 2012 - Tory Burch

2011-06-23T08:07:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd go ahead and share with you some of the Resort 2012 runway shows that are super-inspiring! First up: Tory Burch. Her southwest & Santa Fe inspired color story is just delicious! I love that colors are starting to warm-up. I don't know about you, but I'm just about ready to give-up my wardrobe of greys and neutrals and head for some fab color!

Keep your eyes peeled for the comeback of patterned pants, maxi-dresses becoming a closet staple, and the rise of rusty clay red.

{All images from Style.com}

Book Review: Decorate

2011-06-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

I have finally got my hands on the long awaited book 'Decorate' by Holly Becker, founder of the Decor8 blog, and Joanna Copestick. It's a highly enjoyable visual feast! One of the many wonderful things about this book is that instead of focusing on one decorating style, they have concentrated on ideas that offer fresh insight on how you can transform your home.

Another of my fave's about this book is the area devoted to 'Setting Your Style', which offers ideas for 8 different decorating styles: Simple, Natural, Modern, Flea Market, Colorful, Floral, Eclectic & Modern Glamour Style. I myself think my decorating style is a cross between 'Modern Glamour', 'Eclectic' and 'Natural'. I love color theme's, pattern, lush fabrics & textures mixed with natural elements such as woods & metals. If you have the book - which style(s) fit your decorating style?

There are 4 sections to this book:

SECTION 1: SPACE MATTERS
From Using your Space to Linking your spaces

SECTION 2: SETTING YOUR STYLE
Simple, Natural, Modern, Flea Market, Colorful, Floral, Eclectic & Modern Glamour Style

SECTION 3: ROOM BY ROOM
Covering Kitchesn, Bedrooms, Bathrooms to kids rooms & creative spaces

SECTION 4: ATTENTION TO DETAIL
From mirrors and lighting to pillows and table settings

Over all, the book is chocked-full of beautiful photo's of so many different homes - it's a book that integrates eye candy with advice & ideas in a way that makes you want to look through it time and time again. If you love decorating, I'm pretty sure this book will be right up your alley!

Just Dandy! on Print & Pattern Blog

2011-06-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

HUGE thanks to Bowie Style at her fabulous Print & Pattern blog for posting about Just Dandy! Head on over to her blog for some luscious pattern inspiration and to see all the Just Dandy images!

Just Dandy! Project Ideas

2011-06-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

I've uploaded the patterns I've used for my 'Just Dandy!' photo shoot to my website's inspiration page, and I thought I'd share with you the details in a blog post. This way you could hear a little bit more about the patterns I chose, and have the links to click on in case you wanted to find the patterns quickly. Are you ready for some spring sewing?

To get ready for my 'Just Dandy!' photo shoot, I researched the web for some cute patterns for kiddo's. This is my first photo shoot with kids, and let me just tell you - they are SO fun and balls of energy! The funnest part was having one of the girls put on her outfits and say 'I just feel so cute'! That right there is what makes this so fun and rewarding!

As I was madly preparing for Surtex, and working full-time at the time, my wonderful friend Karin sewed all of the garments for me, which enabled the photo shoot to actually happen and be successful.

I found a lot of the patterns on Etsy, and I wanted to share them with you today.

{'Darla Jumper' by Kati Cupcake Pattern Co}

First up, one of my absolute favorites, the 'Darla Jumper' by Kati Cupcake Pattern Co. We used my Just Dandy! fabrics in the 'Blue Jay' color combo for this beauty. I just love how it turned out in the blue and green color story! Perfect for Spring.

{'Rosie Posie Ruffle Pants & Top' Sewing Pattern by Pink Fig}

The second pattern I want to share with you is the 'Rosie Posie Ruffle Pants & Top' Sewing Pattern by Pink Fig. I bought the light pink tank at Old Navy and we applied the ruffles to it. The ruffled bell-bottoms are just so gorgeous!

{Romper by Simplicity, pattern #2380}

{Jumper by Simplicity, pattern #2380}

Next up are the romper and jumper by Simplicity, pattern #2380. These styles are just so on trend right right now, so I was really happy to find a pattern for them! The romper being in the dark navy color really looks stylish - I just love that navy and gold dot as an accent! For the jumper, we used my ditsy floral and a hot pink grosgrain ribbon, which I think keeps the jumper looking pretty cool.

{'The Stripwork Skirt' by Pink Fig}

Another of my fave's is the 'The Stripwork Skirt' by Pink Fig. This skirt just turned out so cute! My friend Karin hand-stitched the athletic numbers 23 on the front of an aqua colored tee, to pull the outfit together. I just love the mix of sporty and girly together!

{Drop waist dress Simplicity pattern #2574}

{Modified dress using Simplicity pattern #5243}

Out of the last three dresses, the two drop-waist dresses are made using Simplicity pattern #2574. The last dress is made using Simplicity pattern #5243 which Karin used as a base and applied ruffles all around the dress to add a bit more interest to it.

{Drop waist dress Simplicity pattern #2574}

Just Dandy! is now in stores and ready to be used for your Spring and Summer sewing projects! You can find the Just Dandy! fabric line at these e-tailers:

www.fabricworm.com
www.hawthornethreads.com
www.pinkchalkfabrics.com
www.sewmamasew.com

Happy Sewing!!

Just Dandy! Inspiration Images

2011-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

{All photo's by Natalie G| Photography}

Now that my Just Dandy! fabric collection with Robert Kaufman is in stores, I have finally got around to uploading the photo's from my photo shoot to Flickr. The photo's are also now easily accessible on my blog's left hand side.When you have the chance, swing on over to Flickr to see the fun we had that day!

I have also created a Just Dandy! Flickr group and would absolutely LOVE it if you would upload any projects you create using any amount of my Just Dandy! fabrics! I didn't do this for my Glam Garden collection, and wish I had because so many of you contacted me with such fabulous projects & photo's! This time I didn't want to miss the opportunity of you being able to share with everyone just what you're up to. So please, don't be shy!

If you are selling your creations, blogging about them, or anything else that you want to share, please feel free to add the web link to the photo you upload in the Just Dandy! Flickr group.

Thanks so much everyone, and I look forward to seeing what you create!

My Booth at Surtex 2011

2011-05-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from Surtex 2011! What a show! Here's a pic of me with my booth on day 3. Pattern & color explosion! Just the way I like it!

Surtex was just amazing. I walked the show last year, which was very helpful, and I would recommend to any artist out there who is thinking of exhibiting. Putting together a booth that represented my work was very fulfilling to do. There were a lot of fabulous companies walking through the show which was really exciting.

I was so grateful for my friend Holly who came to help me set things up, including constructing those amazing paper flowers! They took us about 9 hours to complete - quite a job, but well worth it. My wonderful friend Karin sewed the table skirt and chair covers for me too, out of my new fabric collection 'Just Dandy!', which is shipping this month!

I met and introduced myself to lots of fabulous artists during the show, such as Robin Pickens, Kate Spain, Erin McMorris, Patty Young, Genevieve Gail, Laurie Wisbrun, Jessica Swift, & Bj Lantz who was across from me and gave me great advice as a first timer.

{Paper Flowers we made out of my patterns}

Holly and I had a great time in NYC! We went and saw Spiderman on Broadway, which was absolutely phenomenal!!! I would definitely recommend it!! Thanks to some locals, we ate at a tasty & beautiful Thai restaurant called Room Service. Also, one evening ordered doughnut ice cream sandwiches from Holey Cream, and had them delivered to our hotel room, after a long day. I thought they would be gross, but they were quite amazing! I ended up eating at one of my favorite breakfast spots The Barking Dog 3 times while I was in NYC. It was a great place to catch up with my good friend Diane Kappa before she went back to Budapest.

Now that I'm back home in the Seattle area, I'm reaching out to all the fabulous contacts I've made and working away doing what I absolutely love!

SURTEX 2011 - NYC - May 15th-17th

2011-05-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let you know that I'll be exhibiting for the first time at SURTEX, and will be in booth #651! The show is May 15th-17th 2011 in NYC at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

If you would like to set-up an appointment, please e-mail me at Josephine@JosephineKimberling.com.

As I'm leaving for NYC in 1 week, I've been working away getting everything together, which has been really fun and exciting. My banners for my booth have arrived, and I'm putting the finishing touches on my portfolio. Postcards have been mailed out and tonight I picked-up office supplies and tools for my booth set-up. It's all coming together!

A good friend of mine is coming along to help me set-up and run the show, which I'm SO very grateful for!! I think between SURTEX, shopping and seeing Spiderman on Broadway, we just might have a blast!

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated and post pictures of my booth 'in the works'. Stay tuned for blog posts at the end of May!

For those of you out there who aren't familiar with SURTEX, here's some information from their website: SURTEX is the only show dedicated to original art & design for sale and license, attracting art buyers, licensing executives, art directors and product developers representing manufacturers, marketers and retailers from around the world.

New Licensed Product - iPops

2011-05-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

{all photos by Natalie G. Photography}

I wanted to let you know that my artwork can now be found on iPop product lines!

iPop's are the amazingly strong magnets that go 'click'! You can find my artwork in their 4-pack Clicks, 2-pack Rectangle Clicks, Big Clicks, Paperweights and Necklaces! These are such fun products to be a part of, and what's fun is they are at such a great price point and come in great packaging!

{4-pack Clicks}

{2-pack Rectangle Clicks}

{Big Clicks}

{Paper Weights}

I'll be sure to keep you posted once I know where and when you can find them in stores.

My New Job

2011-05-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

After 10 years of dreaming, wishing, planning, learning, growing, freaking-out & finally letting go, I decided to take the leap and leave my full-time job in order to work for myself. Today is my first day at my new job, and let me tell you - I'm LOVING it!

What will I be doing you ask? Well, for one, creating artwork that I love, to license on a multitude of wonderful products that are out there. I absolutely love pattern in all forms and on all surfaces and am excited to be able to be available to do just that! I've been working as a Textile Designer in the fashion industry for 10 years - and will definitely be keeping my hands in that industry because I just love it! I am excited to broaden my horizons and to be able to learn and grow in new ways.

This was a huge decision for me - and I'm sure it's a huge one for everyone who faces this urge and decides to follow their passion - whether it be working somewhere spectacular or working for yourself. It's been on my mind for 10 years, and on my heart for 3. Most recently it's been on my legs, pushing me to jump! I kept holding back in fear until the passion got so huge I just couldn't contain it anymore.
A good friend of mine quoted this to me when I was on the border of trying to make my decision, and I came to the point in my life just recently where this quote rang very true for me - the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to boom.
I'm one of those girls where I have to have my ducks-in-a-row. I'm super responsible and I have to have a plan and a couple of back-up plans too. If there's something I think I need to know to be successful I'll read a book on it, listen to a class, reach out to someone with wisdom. So, I've got a few plans & got savings built up to help me on my way. I'm sure it's not going to be easy - but it will be worth it. With all the planning, on the flip side, I'm focusing on keeping my mind open, being realistic and keeping my expectations loose.

Thanks so much to my husband Jake who has been asking me to leave my day job for quite a few months now, has been listening to my flip-flopping with this decision, and has been there for me over those 10 years of dreaming. Thanks so much to all of my wonderful friends who have been very encouraging and for believing in me. And thanks to all of you!

I am aspiring to blog much, much more now that my day job is working for myself! I'm also having a booth at Surtex May 15-17th in NYC to just get myself out there to meet people. {More on that later!}

So here I go! Leaping towards passion, towards the unknown, towards trying to discover more and more my purpose and to grow to become the best version of myself - to do the best that I can with the talents I have.

Chopsticks Quilt in 'Just Dandy!' Fabrics by Julie at Jaybird Quilts

2011-05-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

Julie Herman over at Jaybird Quilts designed and sewed-up this gorgeous Chopsticks quilt - and used my 'Just Dandy!' fabrics! I just love the modern design of the triangles against the solid color! What a breath of fresh air! Beautiful work Julie!!!

These photo's capture the quilting by Angela Walters just wonderfully!

Please head on over to Jaybird Quilts to read all about how she created this lovely - including her impressive time captures! Both colorways of this Chopsticks quilt are also featured on Robert Kaufman's website.

If you are going to Quilt Market be sure to stop by her booth, #2644, to see Chopsticks in person! Also, this pattern will be available after Quilt Market.

Happy sewing!!!

Just Dandy! Fabric Give-Away!

2011-04-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to give you a heads-up about a chance to win some free fabric!!

Head on over to QuiltingDaily.com to enter to win a fat quarter bundle of my 'Just Dandy!' fabric line! Leave a comment there about how you mix and match bold fabrics for your chance to win! A winner will be chosen on Tuesday, April 26th.

A huge thanks to Lindsey Murray of QuiltingDaily.com for interviewing me, and to Robert Kaufman for their generous give-away.

**Please note I am not hosting the give-away on my blog, I'm just letting you know, so please head over to QuiltingDaily.com to enter to win!

Good luck everyone!!

Just Dandy! Fabric Sneak Peak

2011-04-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

{Photography by Natalie G Photography}

I just got the pictures back about an hour ago from my Just Dandy! fabric collection photo shoot, and wanted to share a little sneak peak with you! This time I had kiddo's in my photo shoot which was wonderful as they were so joyous and full of energy! The photo above was the last picture of the shoot of me with the girls. We had so much fun!

My Just Dandy! fabric collection is a celebration of modern prints with vintage nostalgia that bring about whimsy and joy.

{Robert Kaufman has just posted my Just Dandy! fabric collection on their website, which is ready for you to see!} **Correction** The collection is not ready to see yet - oops! Thanks for your feedback! I'll keep you posted when it's up and ready!!

What's really exciting about this collection is that it is printed on a lighter weight 100% cotton fabric, which is great for clothing.

I'll be sure to post more pictures from my fun photo shoot on my website soon, and will do another blog post that will be much more in-depth. Please stay tuned!!

And I feel compelled to say "thanks" to everyone out there who has been using my fabrics and sending me pictures! You are such a support and encouragement to me! I hope my new collection is a fun one for you to work with and inspires you to dream up new projects!

New Valentine Stamps at Impress!

2011-01-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

{Card 1: Peacock Feather stamp, Card 2: Sailboat Combo stamp}

Last weekend I stepped into Impress in University Village, and took some pictures of the cards they made using my new Valentine stamps. It was so fun to chat with the girls working there that morning, and to see the different ideas they came up with using my stamps! It was really fun to see how they translated my sailboat stamp, as that was exactly how I pictured it!

{Card 1: Rose Wallpaper + Happy Valentine's Day stamps, Card 2: Folk Flower + Flourish Border stamps,
Card 3: Flourish Medallion stamp}

What's really fun too, is that Impress is giving you more bang for your buck by creating some stamps to be two in one! For example, with the Sailboat Combo stamp, you get both the sailboat illustration AND the words, which are on the side of the stamp. For the Cross My Heart combo, you get the stitched, crossed argyle stamp AND the words 'cross my heart' on the side. Nice treat, huh?

{Card 1: Flourish Medallion + Happy Valentine's Day stamps,
Card 2: Peacock Feather + Happy Valentine's Day stamps}

{Card 1: Flowery Heart with Swirls + Happy Valentine's Day stamps, Card 2: Cross My Heart combo stamps}

For those of you who create your own valentine cards, treat bags, and the like, you can order a variety of fun stamps and supplies online at Impress! Happy stamping, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Working with Pantone Color Standards - for Fabric

2011-01-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

With some new projects that have come my way, and new clients I've been working with, I finally had a huge need to have my own Pantone library so I could communicate color choices across the globe by digital means.

It was one of those moments where I was kinda surprised that I've been doing my own thing for a few years now, and haven't needed to communicate color yet. I've been a professional in the fashion industry for over 10 years, and working with color standards is one of the tools that you just have to have - right up there with having art supplies to create with. So, after doing some online shopping around to find a good price, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a variety of Pantone books that would fit the multiple needs and product categories that I work with.

{Picture of the Pantone Fashion + Home Cotton Selector Books}

I ended up purchasing the Pantone Fashion + Home Cotton Selector for all my fabric/fashion/textile needs because I wanted to be able to remove the colors from the book and place them next to other colors to see how they work together, when choosing colors for my artwork. I would much rather have purchased the Pantone Fasion + Home Cotton Swatch Files books, but that price tag was waaay too high! However, having the ability to work with color chips individually would have been quite dreamy, as this is what I'm used to in my professional environment. I also purchased a variety of Pantone books for paper as well, which include the Solid Chips and the Process Chips.

{Picture of the inside of the Pantone Fashion + Home Cotton Selector Books}

EXPLANATION OF PANTONE & COLOR STANDARDS

For those of you who aren't familiar with color standards or Pantone, let me give you introduction to what it is, and the importance of working with color standards to communicate color accurately. First off, a 'color standard' is a standard language for accurate color communication, from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer, across a variety of industries. Since color is seen and interpreted differently by individuals, a color standard allows for us all to communicate the same.

There are two major companies out there who produce color standards for the fashion industry. They are Pantone and Scotdic. Pantone is more globally known and used because they also produce color standards for the graphic design industry, web, plastics, etc., and because of this have become the leader in the industry. For this blog post, I'm just going to focus on Pantone.

When using a color standard, and communicating color to a manufacturer, it is important to use the correct type of color standard for the type of product you are working with because the same color will look different when printed on paper vs printed on fabric, etc. This will also allow for the color you are expecting it to look like, to actually be able to be achieved.

CHOOSING THE CORRECT PANTONE STANDARDS
Here are some examples for you regarding working with and choosing the correct Pantone book. Example 1) If you are working with textiles, you would use the Pantone Fashion + Home standards, as the standards are made out of cotton, therefore the colors are achievable on fabric. Example 2) If you are in the graphic design industry, and are printing out a 2 color brochure, you would use the Pantone Solid Chips book, and then choose between the coated and uncoated books, based on the paper your brochure will be printed on. This is because 2 colors are cheaper to print than '4 color process', which uses a mixture of the 4 ink colors 'CMYK' or Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Example 3) If you are in the graphic design industry and working on a menu that has full color photo's of the entree's as well as multiple colored graphics, then you would use the Pantone CMYK coated or uncoated books for process color, so you could achieve multiple colors using 4 color process printing.

PANTONE'S DIGITAL COLOR LIBRARIES
Also, within digital programs such as Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop, you can open up digital Pantone libraries and work with colors that way, so that the colors used in your document are able to be used as a communication tool to your manufacturer. This is how the graphic design industry works. It's a bit different in the fashion industry, and I won't go into that now, however Pantone did come out with a digital color library for Fashion + Home colors, which I did purchase but haven't used yet. I'm curious to explore this further and see how widely this becomes used in the fashion industry in the future.

Ok, are you still with me? Hopefully this is helpful and not too much information that is causing your head to spin!

WORKFLOW: FROM DESIGN TO PRODUCTION
I also wanted to chat about workflow from design to production, when working with color standards, and when working directly with a manufacturer. Let's say that you design a pattern that is going to be printed on fabric. You pull out your Pantone Fashion + Home color standard book, and begin choosing the colors you want to be used by the manufacturer in your design. You communicate to your manufacturer that the light pink in the artwork is to be Pantone 14-1419 TCX. (Always include the latter part of the number 'TCX' to make sure you and the manuf. are using the same version of Pantone books!).

If the manufacturer doesn't have the Pantone TCX standards on their end, and they only have TC (older version of Pantone colors, before TCX came out), then you have two choices. Communicate colors to them in the TC version, or purchase individual Pantone TCX standards or 'SMART color swatch cards' for each color you want to use in your print and send them to the manufacturer for them to use. If you do this, be sure to cut them in half first - one half for you to keep and the other half you send to your manufacturer, so you have a record of the color.

On a side note - another avenue to all of this is the light source or 'color evaluation tool' - you want to be sure that the light source you are reviewing color in is the same light source that your manufacturer is reviewing color in. This way your communication is very accurate. If you are looking at color under a very yellow bulb from your desk task lamp, and they are looking at color under a fluorescent light source, then the color will look very different, and you will not be communicating about color the same.

Next, the manufacturer will begin creating a strike-off, which is your artwork printed on fabric, and will send off for you to review. When you receive this, you pull out your individual Pantone standards, and compare them to the strike-off under the agreed upon light source, and make your color comments. If the color is off, then you make your color comments to your manufacturer on what they need to do to correct the color. For example, 'reduce red'. Once all of your colors have been commented on, your manufacturer will then make those color adjustments and send you another strike-off. Each strike-off is usually a 2-3 week turn-around. So, if colors aren't coming out as accurate as you would like, and your deadline for production is fast approaching, you will need to either accept a strike-off for what it is or drop it from your line if you think the coloring will not sell.

Once all your colors have been approved, your manufacturer will then begin printing 'bulk' or production yardage of your artwork!

EXPECTATIONS
If you are working with a fabric company, many times they are handling this workflow internally. Sometimes you can opt in to be a part of the approval process, in which some of this would fall onto your plate. If that is the case, then it's very important to be sure to be on top of communicating on the strike-offs ASAP so you can be sure to be a part of hitting the production timelines. It's also important to remember that getting 100% color accuracy is nearly impossible. Color standards do indeed make accuracy and communication not only possible and achievable, but there are so many factors that come into play about why a color is not able to always be achieved.

That's one case when you need to throw off your designer diva hat and throw on your business hat, partner with your fabric company/manufacturer to make the best decisions together to ensure that the product is sell-able. Remember, you are one of the only people who have seen the original artwork & color intention, and will need to look at the fabric from another angle and ask yourself "Is it still sell-able?", "Does it still look good?", "Does it still set with the other prints in the line?". If so, then you have achieved success, not perfection, but success, and that's the best we can hope for!

Ok, this was a loooong post! I know many of you come from a variety of backgrounds and have your hands in all different types of pots, so I'm not sure if this information is interesting or helpful at all, but I thought I would try to bring you some of my professional background and experience and help give you some info, for those of you who this is relevant to. Hope this helps! If you have any questions, let me know, and I will try to answer.

Of course, with all of the above, there are so many other pieces of information that I didn't go into, including monitor & printer calibration, because that would make this post never-ending, and much more of a 'class', which I opted out of : )

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2010-12-23T05:27:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the end of another year. I don't know about you, but they keep going faster and faster, don't they? This year has sure been full of fun people, community, and great new clients. Thanks to all of you who have swung in, commented on my blog posts, and contacted me to let me to let me know what you've been up to with my fabrics and stamps - your support fuels me to continue putting one foot in front of the other and press on with my dreams.

I have been quite a stranger as of late - so sorry about that! I've been busy working and working away, which usually mean new things are happening, but not able to be chatted about yet. I'll be able to share some exciting new projects with you in the coming year. Stay tuned!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! May 2011 bring many wonderful things your way!!

Inspiration: Pinterest

2010-11-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

{Photograph by Steven Meisel for Vogue, from KelleyMooreCreativeMedia.Blogspot.com}

I've been subtly addicted to the website Pinterest as of late - well, me and some of my friends that is! What is Pinterest you may ask? It's a social catalog service. Think of it as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and "follow" collections created by people with great taste.

{Image from Selina Lake, Stylist}

So, as I've been researching online, or just browsing for fun, I "pin" an image that I like to one of my "boards". It's been a great way to visually catalog and organize the things that inspire me, that I want to capture. Also, the source website link is attached to each image, to take you on a web browsing extravaganza! So far, I've got boards called Books Worth Reading, For the Home, Pattern Savvy, Letterpress, etc., and the list keeps growing! I've added a link on my blog, on the right hand side that says "Follow my pins on Pinterest"

{Chair from Anthropologie}

Swing on over to my Pinterest boards, when you're looking for some eye candy! There's a whole network of other people's boards there too for loads of inspiration!

Around Town: Seattle

2010-10-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

This Friday, lucky me, my friend Tobe of Two Tall Blondes came to Seattle. I took the day off of work to show her around the non-touristy parts of town and to do some fun boutique shopping. We spent most of our time in Ballard and Fremont. I snapped some pic's of our adventure, and thought I'd share some of my favorites with you. If you're ever in town, in addition to going to the Space Needle and Pikes Place Market, I highly suggest checking out these two neighborhoods.

Our first stop was for breakfast at the Wild Mountain Cafe in Ballard. Their breakfast specialty is Eggs Benedict, so I braved them for the first time in my life - and they were de-lish! It's cozy atmosphere is thanks to the home it occupies.

Next, we headed over to Ballard Ave to hit-up a string of cute shops around there. My all time favorite is Camelion Design, which has such amazing home decor items that are right up my alley. Natural textures meets modern design = LOVE! If only I could just "copy" and "paste" these looks and items directly into my home!

Lucca has a distinctive European flair to it, and carries such an eclectic mix of unique treasures that they mix with vintage for a dark French flea market atmosphere.

Venue is a work studio and boutique, which is such a clever shop idea! The boutique carries product from over 40 different local artists. There are 8 artist studio's in the back, and much of what those artist's create, shows up on the boutique's selling floor. At times, you can even get a glimpse of the artists hard at work.

Romanza kept us busy for a while, as we couldn't keep our hands off everything! So many delicious smelling candles and fragrances in gorgeous packaging! The pictures I have below is from the baby section. Be-U-TI-ful!

Now, two of my favorite coffee shops in Ballard are Verite Coffee (which sells the TASTY cupcake concoctions of Cupcake Royale!) and the organic coffee house Caffe Fiore. Since it was a bit too early for a cupcake, we opted for Caffe Fiore, which makes a mean and spicy chai tea latte!

We then continued our adventure in Fremont, stopping at the sustainable sandwich shop, Homegrown, for a DELICIOUS lunch. I love their logo and the chalkboard menu lined wall!

Burnt Sugar has long been one of my favorite's, and not just because it has the BEST name ever and a rocket ship mounted to the front of the shop. It carries a great mixture of handbags, jewelry, shoes, accessories and beauty products, all under a painted pink ceiling. Dreamy!

Essenza is such a beautiful and charming shop! Chocked-full of stunning jewelry, soaps, fragrances, beauty products, baby items, home decor and the like! I was ogling over the owls I have snapped a picture of - may just need to go back for those cuties!

And there you have it! Hope you've enjoyed getting a little sneak peak of some neighborhoods and a few fun shops in Seattle from our weekend trip! I keep adding Seattle websites to my Delicious bookmarks, so feel free to check them out if you're curious. If you've been to Seattle, what's your favorite shop or area??

I Spy: Glam Garden!

2010-10-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

{Cover of Quilters Home Magazine | Oct/Nov 2010 Issue}

This weekend, I visited one of our favorite hang-out spots - Barnes & Noble to peruse magazines and books while sipping a Chai tea latte. I started in the women's interest section, then the home magazines, the computer section, and then the sewing and crafting section - piling on magazines at each stop. As I was in the sewing section, pulling out the Quilters Home magazine, I spotted something that looked a bit familiar. Looking more closely, i-spied some of my Glam Garden fabric being used for a featherweight cozy cover on the cover of the magazine!!! The COVER? Seriously? I teared up on the spot, rushed to my husband and shook the magazine at him (gently) with my one free hand. His huge smile and my teared up eyes made for a happy moment.

Teri Coffman? You made my day, week, month! {Thanks for using Glam Garden! Gush!}

As you could probably guess from my exuberant thanks, Teri Coffman is the designer behind this Fab Featherweight cozy. Check out her blog to read up on her story regarding this cozy cover, and many more fabulous things and sewing adventures on her blog. There's a variety of fabric prints mixed in with Glam Garden {in case you are having trouble spotting}, but that does not for one bit change my excitement!

Just thought I'd share with you my happy moment {blush}.

Glam Garden Discoveries: Part 2

2010-09-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

{Photo's courtesy of Danielle Bryson Photography for Loblolly Lane}

I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful projects that have come my way! First off, thanks to those who have answered my call to send me pics of projects you have made using my Glam Garden fabrics! It's so delightful to see the beauty you are creating, and to be able to share it with people. I hope you all enjoy seeing what these peeps have been up to!

{Photo's courtesy of Danielle Bryson Photography for Loblolly Lane}

Eunice Carter over at Loblolly Lane sent me these fab pics! Loblolly Lane has made a variety of beautiful dresses, skirts and tops for women and girls out of Glam Garden prints! These beauties are for sale and you can head over to their shop to check them out! {Thanks Loblolly Lane for using Glam Garden in so many of your products!!}

{Photo's courtesy of Danielle Bryson Photography for Loblolly Lane}

{Loblolly Lane}

{The Sewing Blonde}

Check out this amazing dress from The Sewing Blonde! Fantastically beautiful! She created this fab dress using the Analise pattern from Portabellopixie. Her daughter wore this number for her first day of school - talk about a grand dress for a grand occasion! Isn't it striking? You can read all about her sewing adventure of creating this dress on her blog here.

{The Sewing Blonde}

The photo of the back of this dress makes me swoon! Such beautiful and hard work went into this beauty!

{The Sewing Blonde}

She also created this cute hair accessory out of one of the flowers from Glam Garden as well. Great idea, don't you think?

{The Thrifty Quilter}

Meghan over at the Thrifty Quilter blog, made this absolutely STUNNING hexagon quilt out of Glam Garden! I love how she mixed in the bright solids with the prints!! You can tell a lot of hard work and love went into this project. SO fun!

{The Thrifty Quilter}

{Sophie & Lili}

Jennifer Vallez over at Sophie & Lili sent me this photo of the absolutely fabulous dolls they make - and this one has Glam Garden decorating the back! LOVE! Aren't these dolls cute?

{The Organized Shopper}

This Original Hands-free List Maker / Coupon Organizer is made by The Organized Shopper who makes these great designer coupon organizers and sells them on Etsy. I heart organization, you?? What a great idea! I love the labeled tabs inside.

{The Organized Shopper}

Whew! What a round-up of beautiful things! Thanks so much to everyone who sent me pictures of your fabulous projects, and thank you so much for using Glam Garden! I really appreciate it!

FREE Pattern Download: Glam-O-Ruffle Pillow

2010-09-01T16:39:00.001-07:00

After MANY months, I have FINALLY compiled the sewing instructions for my ruffle pillow that is featured in my Glam Garden photo shoot. I am calling it the "Glam-O-Ruffle Pillow", as a play on words to "Glamorous" - which is fitting for the Glam Garden fabric collection, don't you think? I absolutely LOVE this pillow! It sits cheerily in my studio and makes me smile each time I see it.

The pattern download is available on my website. Just go to my website, click on the Inspiration page, scroll to the bottom, and it's there for you under "Free Downloads". Just click on the little photo icon and it'll be ready to download. Yay!

I made this pillow one night when I was sewing away my weekends in preparation for the photo shoot. I got all my garments done and had an extra evening before the big day, and the over-achiever in me decided to create another thing off the top of my head. So off I went cutting and sewing this pillow together on a whim, writing down measurements as I went, to make my sewing instructions easier to put together for you all, in the future.

OK, so as a disclaimer, you just need to know that I am an artist and not a sewing genius. I tried with the structured side of my mind to write the instructions as best as I could, so if you come across any crazy talk, then just e-mail me and let me know what to fix, K? Thanks everyone!! I hope you are able to try it out, and enjoy!

Fall 2010 Runway Inspiration: Ralph Lauren, Prada & Dries Van Noten

2010-09-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, here's my LAST fall 2010 runway inspiration post. I promise! To keep it my last post I thought I would put a few shows together to round it up. First off are prints from the Ralph Lauren fall runway show. The first two images I am showing you here are from a magazine, (Bazaar, I think?) which showcase the Ralph Lauren printed dresses in a beautiful way! So I thought I'd include them!

Dark grounded floral prints were all over the runways, from a variety of designers, so keep a look-out for them this fall!

{Ralph Lauren Runway Show at Style.com}

The prints from the Prada runway were exquisite and are paving the way for fall print trends. What's beautiful about these prints is the hand-sketched quality that revives a classic lace and plaid. The print in the center is twisted rope, which we've been seeing for a bit now. But now that Prada's showcasing it, the trend will now have more legs to stand on.

{Prada Runway Show at Style.com}

What I absolutely love about the prints from the Dries Van Noten runway, is that they look like they have been over-dyed with a dark color which is causing the colors of the print to adopt the over-dyed tone and offer very little contrast. These prints look completely fresh to me, and I even like how they appear tropical in a not-in-your-face tropical way.

{Dries Van Noten Runway Show at Style.com}

I hope all these fall runway posts have offered up some beautiful & fashionable eye candy to you, and you were inspired by print and color!

Fall 2010 Runway Inspiration: Missoni & Etro

2010-08-28T11:59:00.001-07:00

I absolutely adore Missoni's stunning and famous sweater designs! Talk about inspiring! Patchwork sweaters anyone? Me? YES, thank you! I really enjoy their mixing and clashing of color and design all in one garment. Beautiful, don't you think?

{Missoni Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

{Missoni Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

{Etro Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

This color story really makes me happy! I love the ethereal tones of soft color mixed with the charcoal gray and black.

{Etro Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

{Etro Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

What I enjoy about Etro's fall collection, is their creative placement of their paisley prints on the garments. I also enjoy this color story as well! Another fall collection that is sporting the autumnal oranges with denim blues. I think we'll definitely be seeing more of this color story as fall rolls in.

{All images from Style.com}

Fall 2010 Runway Inspiration: Kenzo

2010-08-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yet another runway favorite of mine is Kenzo! Check out these beautiful wallpaper florals in soft colors or autumnal colored grounds! Their color stories are absolutely inspiring!

Love the autumnal oranges with camel and denim blues!

Love the taupe with a mauve undertone mixed with the dusty purple, bright blue, teal and berry!

{All images from Style.com}

Using Glam Garden in a project?

2010-08-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm gearing up for the Glam Garden Discoveries: Part 2 blog post!!! Send me your pics of your projects using my Glam Garden fabrics by Friday, September 17th. You can e-mail your photos to me at hello@josephinekimberling.com. Include your name, a short sentence or two about your project, and website link if you have one! Let your friends know too.

I'll try to feature as many as I can very soon thereafter, as I'd love to point people to you and what you're up to. Yay! I'm so excited to see what you creatives are up to out there, and thanks so much for using my fabrics in your projects - such a delight!

Fall 2010 Runway Inspiration: Basso & Brooke

2010-08-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

Next up, of my favorite Fall 2010 runway collections, is Basso & Brooke. Digital prints galore! Each season they continue to maximize digital printing and come up with new and innovative solutions for how print interfaces with a garment.

I love the digital patchwork and collage of images, and their clever use of trompe l'oeil such as printed sweater patterns, fabric textures and ruffles. Oh yes, look closely (click images to view larger!), and you will see it's all faux...and SooOoo wonderful! What is also beautiful is one pattern morphing into another, as well as the digital swirls of rich color. Pattern heaven!

{All images Style.com}

Color Inspiration: Fall 2010 Runway

2010-08-22T13:08:00.001-07:00

{Image from Style.com: Kenzo Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

Another reason why I love plugging into the fashion circuit is for the color inspiration. I find their uses of color are very inspiring for artwork collections I am creating as well as for projects. I absolutely love playing with color and seek to continually evolve my color palettes in my work, to introduce something new and fresh. I have put together these images with color swatches to show you an example of how I glean color palettes from images.

{Image from Style.com: Alice + Olivia Fall 2010 Runway}

{Image from Style.com: Anna Sui Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

I also personally put together what I like to call "color binders", which contain a plethora of magazine tears that I find colorfully inspirational. I pull these tears from a variety of sources such as fashion, home decor, crafting, etc. and put them all together into binders. When I'm in search for a new color flavor, I will turn to these resources to inspire my color stories. Although they usually don't work directly, they do help inspire my color choices, so I don't get stuck in a rut.

{Image from Style.com: Anna Sui Fall 2010 Runway Collection}

I hope these color stories inspire you and your projects!

Fall 2010 Runway Inspiration: Anna Sui

2010-08-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

Before fall officially kicks-off, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite 2010 Runway inspirations, chocked full of beautiful & colorful print! I'll be sharing my favorites in a couple of separate posts this time, instead of one huge one.

First up, my favorite designer, season after season: Anna Sui. I'm always excited to see what she's going to come up with next, and every time "next" comes, she never disappoints! I absolutely love her color palette's and her amazing mix of pattern and texture in head-to-toe looks. This fall season her theme's contain a collision of American Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and Biba inspirations that equal one awesome collection.

SO Beautiful, don't you think?
{All Images from Style.com}

I came across news from the blog Stylelist that she will be coming out with a hosiery line this August which will be available in major department stores! I will definitely be looking for her treasures in leg-wear, as her pattern work is so innovative and lovely.

Fall Fashion Inspiration: J. CREW

2010-08-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

My goodness! I was perusing online and stumbled across J. Crew's new Women's Fall Lookbook and just HAD to share the gorgeous photos and beautiful fashion with you! Jenna Lyons is J.Crew's creative director and has taken women's wardrobes by storm with her classy clash of feminine and masculine, dressy and casual looks that look oh-so-modern.

{LOVE the mix of neutral shades (and the hot magenta lip!)}

Here's what I'm LOVING about the fall fashion in these photo's:

1. The return of the sock! I have to say, smirk as you'd like, but I think these slouchy socks mixed with open-toed shoes are absolutely fabulous! Great way to bring layering from your head to your toes.

{LOVE these key fall pieces: Tweed pant, leather jacket, stand-out skirt, cape, fedora, army green color & booties}

{LOVE the longer cardigan peeking out from the jacket and the fingerless gloves}

2. The short for fall. Wear the short with thick tights or thigh-highs and treat it like a mini skirt, for a masculine meets feminine feel. This look was all over the fall runways as well. I can see myself combining opaque tights with thigh-high socks and over the knee boots for a really layered look that's extra cozy & warm.

3. Layers of Texture! Tweed, fur, fabrics with shine, marled sweaters, leather, denim...& accessories with bling to dress it up!

4. Mixing of Lengths. Loving the mix of long sleeves under shorter sleeved tops & jackets. Shorts with thigh-high socks. Socks with open-toed shoes. Talk about trans-seasonal dressing!

To be honest, I'm not much of a J.CREW shopper, because the fit isn't my cup of tea and I'm not one to own khaki pants and button down shirts. However, I see the absolute BEAUTY in this stylish dressing, and I'll for sure be taking key ideas and incorporating them into my own style.

These pics make me SOooo happy to welcome fall! You??

New Holiday 2010 Stamps at Impress

2010-08-01T11:01:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share with all of you some of my 2010 Holiday rubber stamps that have just arrived at Impress! They held a Christmas in July event, and sent me some pictures of the beautiful cards they made using my stamps! It's always so fun to see what ideas others come up with!

{Snowfall and Snow Swirl Stamps}

{Outline Brush Snowflake Stamp}

{Snowfall, Deer Couple and Peace Script Stamps}

I'll be sharing more images as Christmas gets closer, but wanted to give you all a little sneak peak! Stamps are available now to purchase from Impress either online or in one of their 3 Washington locations. I hope these designs inspire you to get a jump start on your Holiday card making!!

{Snowfall and Tree Scape Stamps}

{Tree Branch & Sprig (Sprig comes with the Tree Branch Stamp!) and Pine Cones Stamp}

{Snow Fall, Peace Script, Lg Brush Snowflake and Outline Brush Snowflake Stamps}

Glam Garden Discoveries

2010-07-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

{Created by Melissa from Punkin Threads}

I wanted to share with you today some fun projects that I've stumbled across on the web, of talented creatives using my Glam Garden fabric collection to make wondrous things! Such a joy and inspiration to see.

Melissa from Punkin Threads put together a hip and girly birthday party for her one year old daughter Melody using Glam Garden fabrics for the decorations! I absolutely love her creativity and how she put it all together. Isn't it FAB?!

The ambitious Mama Mel has created 9 quilts already this year! And lucky me, Glam Garden was one of the fabric collections she chose to use : ) {Thanks Mel!} Isn't this quilt fabulous??! I LOVE the modern simplicity of the back design too!

Spotted this cute dress over at Bee and Me made out of my {favorite!} Glam Garden print! Comes in sizes 0-4 for the little cuties. LOVE!

Found this beauty on Flickr, made by SewFunByMonique! I heart!

Fun things, yes? I love seeing what you are all up to! Send me pics if you are using Glam Garden for a project, and I'd love to post it!

Glam Garden finds on Etsy

2010-07-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

{Coffee Cozy by PinkGasoline}

Ooh, this one captures my heart! Glam Garden + Starbucks = fabulous combination! Yes, I am a Seattleite...need I say more??

I wanted to share with you some Glam Garden finds on Etsy! It's always so fun and fulfilling to see you guys make things out of my fabrics!

{The Busy Mom Organizer by Monkeycheeks}

{Yoga/Pilates Mat by impromptudesigns}

{The Busy Mom Organizer...Floral Burst by Monkeycheeks}

{Lacy Cathedral Mini Portfolio by ElizabethDavidDesign}

{Make-Up Pouch by KaraMiaSofia}

{Potholders by lmkquilts}

{The Gadget Pouch by KaraMiaSofia}

{Dog Collar by GoneDoggie}

{Ouch Pouch by PillowSewCute}

Here are some Etsy shops carrying some of my Glam Garden fabrics as well:

SpiceBerryCottage

AimeeReeseFabrics

WhipstitchFabrics

FabricLuv

PatriciasQuilting

mtquilter33

sewfunbymonique

I'm Loving Pink!

2010-06-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

{left to right: Topshop snood, J.Crew Necklace, J.Crew dress detail, J.Crew coat, Anthropologie cuff, Topshop Louise Goldin shoe.}

While aqua blue will always be my favorite color, I must say that I haven't met a color that I hate...well, black isn't a fave of mine, but more on that later. And lately a color I find myself drawn to is PINK! Yes, pink - in all shades, from neon pink, hot pink, blush, champagne and the like my closet has been filling up with these colors. It all started with a dress from Topshop, then a necklace from Forever 21, then a top from H&M...you get the picture. The next thing I know I find myself wearing it a lot and being drawn to it a lot.

{from left to right: Anthropologie knob, coin purse, skirt, H&M dress, Matt & Nat bag, Mulberry bag, Anthropologie bootie.}

I've always found that hot pink is a color that creatively inspires me. I just like being surrounded by it! However, since I'm a blue and green girl I never do just that. It seems strange to me that I'm attracted to this color, especially with being a redhead, as it doesn't quite work.

Which makes me remember that when I was in high school, in a home economics class we did this experiment where we were trying to see how different colors look against the face and to see what 'season' we were (remember that?). So each person in our group had the chance to have a ring of fabric swatches put against their face to find out their magic colors. Low and behold, for me, each color was a no...most girls had 5+ colors that looked stunning on them, but not moi! The color that had everyone stopping when it came to me? Baby pink. And the funny and sad thing? That pink was SoOooo NOT hot back then. It was like the kiss of death! ha ha! So in the end I guess I was happy that at least one color worked!

So, about black - just because I said "more on that later". I've had such a bad relationship with black. I think it likes me but I don't like it. Once I got into fashion and started working with color, for years and years and years I did everything I could to not buy black. Why would I buy a color that was the absence of all colors? Why choose black when there are so many beautiful shades out there? Why wear black pants with a top when I could wear taupe or sage with shoes in a pop color? Um, ok I think you get the picture!

So, now black and I are on speaking terms at least. I find it's a good color for when I'm not feeling super-duper pleasant. With my black wearing friends, I have put much effort into trying to inspire and turn them to the color side. Oh yes, it's a good day when I see them wear color! Makes me absolutely HAPPY!

SoOoo, anywhoo! That's that about black - and pink! Loving it! (pink, not black). I hope it sticks around for a while! You?

My Organizing Journey

2010-05-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the urge to organize my studio - as in open up every file folder and magazine that I own and throw things out or catalog the information - organize. I don't quite know what came over me, except that I hope it sticks around for a little while till my studio is complete, as well as create new habits that will help me keep on track and not drown in inspiration.

First, I realized that I had a 2 foot stack of magazines that I had purchased over the past few months - not counting the ones I subscribe to (yes I am addicted to pretty inspirational images, I admit it!). Which then led my eyes to the magazine file's that are stuffed with my back issues of HOW magazine...and when I looked at the dates, and saw '2002', I knew it was time to adios them and make room for something more relevant. 2002? Yes, really! BUT I can't just recycle a perfectly healthy magazine full of inspiration without pulling out the pages I love, now can I? NooooOOooo! So my Friday night turned into a night of tearing out inspiring tidbits of design information, which left me inspired in the process!

I re-discovered artists' work that I love, such as Illustrators Jess Volinski, Katie Daisy, Ann Field, Nate Williams, and Susan Black who sells her work at her Etsy shop 29 Black Street. Also PopMats from PubliqueSHOP which are unique paper place mats that feature stylish scenes that pop off the table. And the list goes on and on and on!

Once I tore the pages out, I 3-hole punched them and put them into a binder labeled 'Design Inspiration'. What's quite fulfilling at the end of this little inspiration-tear-out-and-organize journey, is that now I have a 2" binder full of things that I love instead of a 2 foot stack.

While going through an old Real Simple magazine, I came across this quote about de-cluttering and organizing, "If you don't know what to do with it, or where to put it, or why you ever bought it in the first place, or if looking at it depresses you, throw it out. Never keep anything that makes you feel heavy or weighs you down". So, may that be my motto! The article went on to say to throw out 50 things (and 50 magazines actually count as ONE thing). By golly, I think I'm going to do this! I've already thrown out and recycled things that I've had laying around to "someday fix", or things I just "didn't know how or where to put them", and feel so fabulous about it!

In addition, since I was discovering so much inspiration, I started adding my inspirational bookmarks to Delicious so I can track them from my laptop and my desktop, as well as share them with you. I have added them to the right side of my blog.

I hope you enjoy and they allow you to discover new things to inspire you as well!

My Spring 2010 Runway Fave's!

2010-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

{Anna Sui at Style.com}

The spring 2010 rtw runways have been out for a while now, and with spring teasing us here in Seattle, I thought I would post some of my print favorites from the runways - as I'm sure many of you are already enjoying a beautiful spring!

{Anna Sui at Style.com}

ALWAYS a favorite of mine is Anna Sui. Actually, I think she IS my favorite runway designer. Her print mixing, color stories and texturally interesting fabrics make my mouth drop every time. Always feminine. Always earthy. Always inspiring. This season captivated me for sure, because I heart the 60s inspired prints!

{Anna Sui at Style.com}

It goes without mention, that Basso & Brooke is another favorite of mine. They do amazing things with digital printing that always captivate me! I LOVE the geometric star-like patterns with fluid distortion, and how they mixed them with black and white contrasting prints! Just beautiful! From my runway research, stripes are definitely trending forward - stripes with movement and painted stripes being the fresh new focus.

{Basso & Brooke at Style.com}

{Basso & Brooke at Style.com}

I really loved what Diane von Furstenberg did this season as well! Such an inspiring mix of beautiful, nomadic and feminine prints! Each one with it's own personality and story to tell.

{Diane von Furstenberg at Style.com}

{Diane von Furstenberg at Style.com}

I love how Etro uniquely mixed-up the layout of their beautiful paisley's and florals by including borders, larger motifs and unique placement concepts.

{Etro at Style.com}

{Etro at Style.com}

{Etro at Style.com}

Dries Van Noten did an absolutely stunning job mixing eclectic, ethnic prints together for a fresh look.

{Dries Van Noten at Style.com}

Kenzo gave a fresh update to classic prints such as stripes, plaids and dots, keeping in trend with the ethnic & nomadic traveler theme. And I love the mosaic tile medallion print!

{Kenzo at Style.com}

The Spring 2010 runways were overflowing with print inspiration! What excites me most is the opportunity for print to continue strong into 2011 - YAY! I hope these images get you inspired and excited about spring!

{Click on images to see them super-large and to see the prints up close!}

My New Spring Stamps at Impress!

2010-04-07T20:10:00.001-07:00

My new spring rubber stamp designs are out at Impress Rubber Stamps! Today I swung over to their University Village location, and in the window I saw the cards they made with my stamps, as well as large window decals of my designs. I about DIED! They did such a spectacular job!!

I went inside to see if I could sneak some pictures of the beautiful cards they made for their displays. After shyly explaining who I was and how I would love to take pictures of the cards they made out of my stamps, thankfully the girls were completely sweet and let me snap away!

The teams at Impress do such a BEAUTIFUL job creating their display samples! Their cards exemplify a great mix of modern style using the latest techniques, colors and doodads! I always love peeking inside their stores, and never leave empty handed.

Speaking of which, their annual ONLINE sale is April 1st - 11th, and for those who live in the Seattle area, their annual IN STORE spring sale April 15th - 18th! This includes all new spring goodies! So, if you're on the hunt for some new spring stamps {hint hint ; )} or some new supplies be sure to check them out online!

Glam Garden Fabric Giveaway at True Up!

2010-03-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick little post to let you know that Kim Kight over at True Up is hosting a Glam Garden fabric giveaway! Kim graciously invited me to guest blog post about my creation and inspiration process behind the creation of each Glam Garden print as well as the photo shoot {thanks Kim!}.

Robert Kaufman Fabrics is sponsoring this guest blog by generously giving away two fat quarter packs of the Glam Garden fabric collection –- one fat quarter pack for each colorway, Spring & Summer!

To enter, please name your favorite print and colorway from the Glam Garden collection in the comments. You can see all the prints with their colorway info on the Robert Kaufman website. Winners will be drawn randomly next Wednesday, March 31, 2010, around 3pm Central US time. This giveaway is open to readers worldwide.

Good luck everyone!!

My Print Inspiration & Research Process

2010-03-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

I thought I would go ahead and share with you my print research and inspiration process! Things you've got to know about me are that I am a researcher. I live for research - well print and color research that is! It fuels me and inspires me and I love to review and collect information.

I work in the fashion industry, and for about six years my job entailed researching print and color trends, and then creating prints for our line based off of those trends. My responsibilities involved predicting trends for our product lines 8+ months out, creating color palettes for our buying team to choose from, designing color boards and print trend reports based on my findings, and then I would present this information as well as supporting prints, to our team and buying team. Ok, that's the backstory of where my obsessive researching all started! : )

With that said, I looooove books and magazines! Jake and I frequent Barnes & Noble, and with chai in hand, I sift through the new magazines that come out each month. Sometimes a few come home with me, if there is enough amazing print or color inspiration inside them!

I subscribe to a bunch of fashion magazines: Vogue, Bazaar, InStyle, Lucky, Teen Vogue, etc. and always pick up Boho mag from the newsstand as soon as it comes out. Other magazines I frequent on my trips to Barnes & Noble that usually come home with me are: Marie Claire Idees, Ideal Home, Living Etc, Do It Yourself by Better Homes and Gardens, Sew Hip, Computer Arts, Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings. There's a TON more magazines that catch my eye that I pick up and sift through too, but these are the ones that are always in my arm, heading to the table to peruse.

Years ago, I found myself saving whole magazines when there was juicy print inspiration inside. I would tag the pages, and then never go back to them because the following month's magazine would be out and I would be on to something new. Of course I didn't want to toss my magazine stash, knowing that there were goodies still inside! So after having to move my magazine library a few times, I finally decided - I would rip out the pages I wanted.

That was a very fun and freeing feeling! I would rip out the pages, then recycle the rest of the magazine. Suddenly my load was much much lighter! But then my stack of magazine tears started climbing high, so I started organizing them into different categories. My print inspiration categories include things such as hand-drawn florals, graphic florals, geometrics, medallions, paisleys, stripes, plaids, wallpaper prints and the like.

Well, of course I couldn't live with them in their stacks! Sifting through pages and pages of inspiration, when the inspiration would only be a small portion of the page just seemed like it wouldn't be very inspirational after all, and would take so much time to find anything.

What I end up doing is clip out the part of the page that has the inspiration piece on it that I like. I purchase a ream of white cardstock (cheap but sturdy), tape, comfortable scissors, sheet protectors and binders. I then organize my clippings on a page and group them by color, hand or print feel and tape them down.

Once a page is done, I stick it into a sheet protector and then into a binder. My binders are organized by print theme, so when I am ready to start creating a "wallpaper" print, I'll pull my inspiration (clippings, books, etc) for a reference and begin drawing away!

Mind you, I am a stickler for going off on my own and creating original artwork. I am totally against copying someone else work - that practice outrages me! I have my style and create what I like according to my style and personal interpretation. When I look at inspiration I may be inspired by the concept, such as for a wallpaper print "Oh, I like how there is an outside element that wraps around the center design, and how the outside element has a texture inside of it". Then I go off and draw my own motifs keeping in mind what inspired me, and then deviating from that path as my print develops. Inspiration is used as a starting point, and I always recommend pulling inspiration from 3-8 different sources.

I've been creating my print inspiration binders for about 5 years now, and have a few binders and a hundred plus pages full of beautiful inspiration that makes my mouth water whenever I go through them! I'm still in the process of getting my binders up to speed, as I'm tearing out more inspiration than I'm categorizing! I think my goal will be to spend time building my inspiration library once a month so I stay on top of things and don't get inundated with tears, like I am now!

I also do this process for color, and will be sharing that with you soon as well!

How do you organize your inspiration? What type of inspiration drives you? What are your favorite resources? What tricks have you found that help you keep on top of it all? I'd love to hear!!

Alexander McQueen's Final Show

2010-03-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

{all images from Style.com}

The world was able to see Alexander McQueen's final Fall 2010 runway show, after all, and for that I am very grateful. I wanted to share his final collection with you as it is exceptionally exquisite and has such an awe inspiring medieval beauty and romanticism to it. I will let his work speak for itself. I hope you enjoy the beauty he created. His creativity will be greatly missed.

The review of McQueen's show, written by Sarah Mower at Style.com says, "Sarah Burton, his right hand, described how, in beginning this collection, McQueen had turned away from the world of the Internet, which he had so powerfully harnessed in his last show. "He wanted to get back to the handcraft he loved, and the things that are being lost in the making of fashion," she said. "He was looking at the art of the Dark Ages, but finding light and beauty in it. He was coming in every day, draping and cutting pieces on the stand." The 16 outfits shown had been 80 percent finished at the time of his death."

That in itself is inspiring to me - to take time to turn away from the Internet and to spend time creating from within yourself...to return to the handcrafts you love and that are becoming lost.

Glam Garden Photo Shoot Process

2010-03-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

Now that the Glam Garden photo shoot over, I thought I'd share a bit about how the day went, what I've learned in the process, and the people who have helped me along the way!

First off - Sewing the garments in the fabrics
To be honest, I'm not a huge sewer. Since I work full time, I have limited time, and that time is spent creating artwork. However, since I've designed fabric collections, I have jumped right in and start sewing away! I knew that if I got into fabrics that I would absolutely need to sew them into garments because I feel compelled to tell the complete visual story of the collection.

With Glam Garden, my friend Cheryl (who sewed almost all of my Hot Blossom samples last time) sewed 2 of the 8 garments for me, which was a huge help! Then I tackled the other 6. I have to say, this time around I was getting faster and understanding the terminology much better. Still far from being pro, but I was able to get through them with minimal seam ripping (=growth)!

Here's what I learned how to do this time:
Put in an invisible zipper and a regular zipper, gathering and ruffles, pleats, sew on sequin trim, sleeves and armholes, put in an elastic casing, inset and applied necklines, and lined bodices. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it. I think my sewing brain grew 8 sizes during those 3 weeks of sewing!

The week before the photo shoot, I had a "free" evening and wanted to make an extra prop, so I designed and sewed together this ruffle pillow. Someday I will put together the instructions for you and offer it as a free download on my website.

So I wanted to take a minute to answer some questions that I seem to get often. It's always fun for me to see what people are interested in. The questions? "What sewing patterns do you use for your photo collections?", "Do you design them yourself?", "Where can I find them?", "What do you do with the garments when the photo shoot is done?". So, I thought I'd answer those questions right here for you.

"What sewing patterns do you use for your photo collections?" and "Where can I find them?".
I actually use Simplicity sewing patterns because they have more modern designs such as Project Runway and Cynthia Rowley (which I HEART!!). If you go to my website, I have posted all of the sewing pattern numbers that I used in both the Glam Garden and Hot Blossom collections, under the Inspiration page. All of the sewing patterns can be found at your local sewing store.

"Do you design them (the sewing patterns) yourself? They look so hip!"
Why thank you! As mentioned above, I don't design them myself. However some day if I can make it in this industry I would absolutely LOVE to design sewing patterns and put out a line that is modern and feminine for the younger generation (20's & 30's)...someday. I would definitely need to be partnered with a fabulous technical designer who can write the instructions, do the technical drawings and grade the patterns. {Any takers?}

I do spend a lot of time deciding which pattern I will use and which fabrics I will use with that pattern. I scan in the pattern's technical drawing and put my fabric designs in them, in Photoshop, so I can plan out my "line" before starting to sew.

"What do you do with the garments when the photo shoot is done?"
Well, sadly for some, they sit in my closet. However, I do think that I will pull some of them out this spring to wear them. To me they are like things I would put in a hope chest or something just because of the memories, and being able to see and keep something sewn-up in my fabrics is quite sentimental to me. I work in the fashion industry so I do get to see my artwork on garments already, but this is a bit different because the artwork that is on the fabrics I was able to create myself without an art director.

I also wanted to let you know who helped contribute and make the photo shoot possible to offer them a BIG thanks!

For a free pattern for the Glam Garden fabric collection for Robert Kaufman, I collaborated with my friend Karin {fashion designer} on the Luscious Bow Tote which is on my website as a free download, and also on Robert Kaufman's website. She wrote the instructions and did the technical drawings for me, which was a lifesaver!

Tina Michalik designed the Big Zag free pattern download for Robert Kaufman for my Glam Garden fabric collection launch. Not only that, but Tina graciously sent me her quilt so I could use it in my photo shoot!

Danielle Howarth from Dani Bags Boutique contacted me and offered to make me a bag from her Sophia Collection for my photo shoot, which was awesome! It turned out SO beautiful!!! Now SHE is an amazing sewer. It looks completely professional!

{Dani Bags Boutique - Handbag from the Sophia Collection}

My friend Amelia just opened up her home to teach yoga in Seattle, and offered her home to me for the photo shoot, which was perfect because she is quite the minimalist so the house was like a blank canvas for us to use! And if anyone is in Seattle and looking to do yoga, find Amelia. She can do things I didn't know were possible and is quite the amazing teacher!

My aunt and cousins came over one night to make the adorable tissue paper pom pom's that you see in the photo shoot, which turned into a really fun time being able to catch up with the girls and be crafty at the same time!

Natalie Grummer from natalie g. | photography did my photo shoot again. I absolutely love the lightness and airiness of the photo's! My cute friends braved the modeling adventure again, and my wonderful sister-in-law came to help set-up and offer support.

And of course, last but definitely not least, my amazing husband who jumped on board to do anything and everything that was needed to make it all possible and not have me fall apart in the process. I am so thankful for his eagerness, positivity and support. {Thanks Jake : ) }

So, yes, it took a small village to pull things off. I did learn however that I will need to get a bigger village to help the next time - that was my big lesson this time around. Ask. For. Help...even if it's hard to do so!

Perhaps next time I would like to solicit some help from people who are great and fast at sewing-and of course to be able to contribute to another person's business {love!}. If you or someone you know are avid sewers, please do e-mail me at hello@josephinekimberling .com along with your contact information, photo examples of your skills, and price so I can keep you on file and contact you in the future! You. Could. Save. My. Live. Seriously!

For more behind-the-scenes information about my Glam Garden photo shoot, stop over to Robert Kaufman's blog The Swatch and Stitch.

Well, thanks for coming along and reading along about my journey! I hope you enjoy my new Glam Garden fabric line, pictures, free download and inspiration!

Take A Color Personality Test!

2010-02-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

Jeanee over at Shop Dirty Laundry Blog, contacted me for an interview a few weeks ago {blush}. Jeanee and I both worked at Hallmark and I remember seeing her fabulous design work in their exhibits, as well as her personal creations of cupcake bath fizzies and super-cute aprons {psst...check them out at her website!}. This girl has talent!

Anywhoo, for those of you who know me, you know how much I LooOoVE personality tests. And while I was on Jeanee's blog I came across some super-fun {and addicting} color tests that I thought I would share with you as well! {Thanks Jeanee for the tip!} And in addition, I thought I would force myself to share a little more about me by letting you know my color test results...which weren't a surprise but ReeEAly fun to see!

This quiz is from Color Career Counselor. Take it, take it, and let me know what YOU are!! Here's my results....

BEST OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY

You're a CREATOR

Key Words: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

2nd BEST OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY

You're an ORGANIZER

Key Words: Self-Control, Practical, Self-Contained, Orderly, Systematic, Precise, and Accurate

These conservative appearing, plotting-types enjoy organizing, data systems, accounting, detail, and accuracy. They often enjoy mathematics and data management activities such as accounting and investment management. Persistence and patience allows them to do detailed paperwork, operate office machines, write business reports, and make charts and graphs.

Um, yeah, soooo me. Right and left brain delightfully at fun-creative "war" with each other.

And now, take this Color Quiz!

I'm Yellow:
You are quite the powerful thinker. It’s this talent that allows you to overcome a plethora of great obstacles. Luckily, this doesn’t affect your ego and you give off a pretty easy-going appearance. You enjoy the finer things in life and also have an attraction to art. If you can help it, you try not to rock the boat. But you also can’t stop yourself from searching for new ideas, methods or styles.

So, that's me in a wrap!

What are YOUR results?? Do share, pretty please?!!

My Newly Designed Website is Up!

2010-02-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

{new website}

Well, this week marks a huge V for victory for me and at that, I can feel tears welling up in my eyes while feeling absolutely exhausted! For months and months I have been working away every spare minute I physically can to work with a website company to revamp my website, create artwork for new collections, sew Glam Garden garments & prepare for a photo shoot...all after I get home from work and on Saturdays. Granted I absolutely LOVE what I get to do and feel very honored that I have the chance to do it - so there's noooo complaining there!

So on the joyous side, I want to share with you all that has been taking place behind the scenes over these past few months! I'll break things up into 2 posts. This one which will talk about my new website, and the next one will be about the Glam Garden photo shoot.

{goodbye old website! you will be "missed"}

- New Website -
My first website (the one you all know), I designed myself. As in, pick-up a manual and teach myself Adobe GoLive and how to make it all work on the web, myself. I spent a lot of time creating it and much of that time was spent in frustration and tears. I really didn't enjoy the process. (And yes, literal tears).

Funny, my first job out of college was as a website designer - I lasted 4 months. Thankfully, a new job at Nordstrom saved me! I had no training except for my boss handing me a huge 400+ page book and telling me to start reading. And the way we did it? By html coding only. I tried really hard, but it was sooo painful!

The reason(s) for my new website are that I am trying to get further into the licensing industry and needed to refocus my website to really say that, instead of saying/showing that I just do fabrics. I also needed to add in my second fabric collection, Glam Garden. All in all I needed more functionality to my site that my web skills didn't equal, and knowing that I am not a web developer I thought I'd better leave those tasks to the experts - which equals more time for me to spend on the things I enjoy! So I spent time researching and researching and researching web companies, and after many conversations and loads of questions, I finally chose Deluge Studios in Memphis.

We started working I believe in October/November 2009 on the site. I was really happy that I had the opportunity to design the site myself, to be able to keep with my artistic style. Which turned out to be much more work than I anticipated, but soooo well worth it! They've been hard at work adding in cool functionality, handling all the coding, and everything else fantastic that they do that I'm glad I don't have to do! The team at Deluge has been such a pleasure to work with, and my site is so much more than my initial vision & expectations, which is a dreamy plus. (Thank you so much guys!!!)

When you get the chance and feel inspired to, head on over to check out my new website and have fun clicking through the pages! I really wanted to create a site that captured my artistic style, clearly explained my focus, and allowed people have an enjoyable experience.

Friends, I hope you enjoy! : )

Liberty of London for Target - March 14th!

2010-02-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

{photo from InStyle magazine}

If you haven't heard already, Target is teaming up with Liberty of London with a new store-wide collection to come out March 14th. This is to be Target's largest designer collaborative collection, with over 300 items in 25 prints extending past women's clothing to men's & childrens clothing, home decor, stationery...even a bike! Almost all items well under $200. Liberty who is known for their fresh floral prints is sure to bring their beauty to these products - perfect for spring!

I'm so excited to see this collection!! Anytime there are beautiful prints...and especially beautiful prints on lots of items I just get so excited! It will be fun to shop around Target and see the whole collection. The trick will be keeping a lot of things out of my basket, and narrowing them down to a thing or two. Already, I've GOT to check out that trench like...CUTE! If you like Liberty + Target, be sure to check the collection out March 14th!

And just for some added inspiration - below are some pictures of some Liberty fabrics from their website. {Keep in mind that these are prints from Liberty's collection and are not necessarily the ones that will be at Target}

Hot Blossom finds on Etsy!

2010-02-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

{apron by TerraceHill}

I was perusing through Etsy once again and came across some super-cute items made out of Hot Blossom fabrics that I thought I'd share with you! If you have been wanting to make something, but just haven't had the time, here's your chance to support other artists. I just love seeing what people create!

{dress by abushelandapeckbiz}

{dress by JiS1}

{handbag by sandmanquilts}

{wristlet by JustAnotherHangUp}

{handbag by affordablebagdesigns}

{handbag by affordablebagdesigns}

{handbag by craftymamacreations}

{shopping cart cover by bellamorganboutique}

Tribute to Alexander McQueen

2010-02-11T19:43:00.001-08:00

{all images from Style.com}

Icon. Creative Genius. Inspiring. Extraordinary. Today I received the sad news that fashion icon Alexander McQueen died by committing suicide at the age of 40. I thought I'd share some pictures from his spectacular Spring 2010 & Spring 2009 runways. Every time I would see his print collections I would feel awe-inspired. Digital printing & photographic prints at their finest. Prints that push the edge and are like nothing you've ever seen. Stunningly beautiful. Other-worldly.

So sad & tragic. I hope these pictures of his work inspire you.

My Work Published in 'Exciting World of Pattern Design'

2010-01-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

Last spring I was contacted by the team of people working on a new book for Zeixs, who asked if I could send them some of my work to be included in their upcoming book 'Exciting World of Pattern Design'. That was pretty exciting and flattering!! So off I sent my pictures, not thinking much of it, and low and behold last fall the book was published with photo's of my work included. Me? Seriously gushing with excitement!

I thought I'd go ahead and share the pages I'm on with you, as well as turn this into a book review to share with you some of the other fabulous work included in this book.

First off, this book is like a brick! It's about 5.25" square, and about 2.25" thick, jam-packed with more than 700 patterns inside it's 653 pages! The book categorizes the artwork into 7 sections: Objects, Animals, Typo, Human, Geometric, Abstract & Floral. Each page is flooded with images, the only wording on the page is the artist's name & website information - which is also included in a list in the index in the back.

There is such a plethora of inspiration and different styles captured in this book! The images I've included are just a small sneak-peak as to what is inside. Some of the pages even include showing the pattern on a product, which is so fun to see it come to life.

My friend Diane lives in Budapest, Hungary and was able to find one in a bookstore over there. She picked me up a copy and brought it to me when we were both in NYC this January. {thanks Diane!!} Speaking of Diane, she is also featured in this book! Check out her beautiful work and adventures in Budapest by visiting her blog.

Diane's featured artwork

If you are a pattern lover, and are able to get your hands on one of these German books I would say go for it! It's absolutely stunning and full of beautiful work! I haven't been able to find this book in the US, but you can purchase it online directly from Zeixs.