The lovely Lara of Kirin & Co has been printing up patterns of her own on fabric, which she sells at her Etsy shop.

She also designed the Pattern Tester, a nifty little Flash-based application that lets others play around with the colorways of her fabric, from the background color to the ink of her prints on the fabric. The application was conceived so that her prospective buyer could describe and determine the colorway that they liked best when ordering a larger quantity of fabric, and thus the Pattern Tester was born!

I really like the idea that you could instantly see the color combination for the design that you choose. It certainly saves a lot of time, and you can see the different combination of colors instantly — which makes it easier for others to decide on the colorway they like best!

Carly Schwerdt’s new range of fabrics produced under her label SproutDesigns is simply lovely. A woman of many talents, she runs Nest Studio, a art studio for kids, and she sells her own wares as well. I ran an interview with about her new designs and Nest Studio recently and this is how it went:

When and why did you start Nest Studio?
Nest Studio started as an idea many years ago when I was working for a largish design firm. I had this strong desire to teach art to children, so my then boss sent me to America to live with a lovely family and I taught art in a local elementary school (with no teaching background mind you, only art & design, they were very generous). I fell in love with it and enrolled to study teaching straight away (back home in Australia), I couldn’t believe I was back at University again!

It wasn’t until back in 2003 (coincidentally when Lily was born) that I started feeding that idea to the point of buying the business name. I started testing my ideas with a little stall at the Prospect Markets, then I shared a space to teach art until finally in December 2005 I moved into my own studio space (which happens to have a shop front).

You run two businesses – a design business and an art studio for kids (and Morphe, a soft toy exhibition!). How do you get in enough hours for the day?
That is a very good question! I don’t. I constantly feel like not enough is getting done or that something is being missed (that is usually the housework, we have piles of things that need doing here at home). Gradually over the years with Lily I am learning to have a sense of accomplishment even if one ‘to do’ has been ticked off my never ending list. Funnily enough if something doesn’t get done today, it doesn’t miraculously do itself, so it is always waiting patiently for me. One thing that doesn’t wait patiently is Lily (neither should she) so I actually spend most of my time hanging out with her, she is a trooper… she comes to business meetings with me and hangs out in the ‘art room’. Fortunately when you run your own business, especially one that relates to children, no one minds if there is a child about. She is my constant source of inspiration, Nest Studio would not exist if it were not for Lily. I am slowly learning how to balance everything.

What was the inspiration behind the new line of fabrics for SproutDesign, and what was the impetus to design your own fabric line?
SproutDesign’s range to date are mostly reproductions of a range of children’s textiles designed in the 1970’s by Pamela Walker. I have redrawn them and SproutDesign has updated the colourways and sizing for todays market, plus I have added 2 new designs (the Skipping spot & Skipping boy) to the range. SproutDesign intends to add many new designs to it’s bold and ultra funky range over the years as well as reproduce more of Pam’s golden oldies!

One of my main inspiration for Nest Studio (besides my daughter) is fabric, vintage or new, when I see a great design I just have to make toys or something crafty. I think it was inevitable that I at some stage I got into textile design, I absolutely love it, I am one of those sickening people who say “I am so lucky, I love my job”. I test out all of my textile ideas on my trusty Gocco, in fact I now even teach others how to print up metreage of their own designs to fabric.

What was the design and production process like? Was it difficult designing fabrics for the first time?
The designing stage is a joy however the production side has definitely been a huge learning curve. There is so much to learn, fortunately my background in design for paper translates quite well to textiles, for example they use the same colour system, but I will be the first to admit there has been some trial and error along the way and I know I still have plenty to learn. All of SproutDesign and NestStudio printing on fabric is handmade so I have no idea really about the machine processes, that would be fun to learn.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
I can see myself doing exactly what I am doing now but I am sure Nest & Sprout will have grown even bigger and brighter. I have what feels like a hundred balls in the air but fortunately I can choose which ones they are now, which ever one I am holding will be a fantastic adventure I am sure. I am working on illustrations for a children’s book and a new pattern book at the moment so maybe they will be complete by then!

What are the challenges in having a crafty business (or businesses, in your case!)?
Keeping a balance and not losing sight of where you want to go as opposed to where you may be side lining to… taking the side road can be good to learn a lesson and test out ideas but never lose sight of your big picture. I am very passionate about children’s visual communication and visual education, so that is my beacon, I will always be heading in that direction. And when things get you down (like people stealing designs & selling them! Grrrr that annoys me) chin up and move on, buy some fabric and make a toy, that always makes me feel better!

Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe

As one that has never been schooled in fashion, I’ve been an avid fan of how-to books that teach you how to sew. I’ve amassed quite a collection of books about sewing and patterns in general, and I simply had to get a copy of Sew U by Wendy Mullins and Eviana Hartman when it came out in September 2006.

The book is an elegantly spiral bound book that lies flat – easy to refer to and work with at the same time. The back holds three full Simplicity patterns printed on brown tissue paper, which unfortunately, I found a little flimsy. There is a work-around this though, and I find myself copying my size onto other paper, as I would need to refer to it often and didn’t want to risk tearing the originals. The pattern offers sizes from 0-12, and XS-L, so if you’re looking for a pattern for larger sizes, you might be a little disappointed.

Wendy, who is the founder of Built By Wendy, an independent womens and menswear designer based in NYC, aims to take the fear out of sewing a complete outfit for beginners, and starts off with introducing the machine, preparing your workspace and getting to know the tools of the trade. Her tone is short and clear, making it a no-frills book that’s easy on the eyes. The book progresses through making a skirt (beginner), a shirt (intermediate) and pants (advanced).

Her instructions are broken into clear points, with lovely illustrations showing every step of the way, which I really appreciate. The book is priceless for the basics alone, a lot of which are covered in the first few chapters. The patterns are simple, but the strength of the book lies in Wendy’s no nonsense lessons that are suitable for all levels of sewing.

The book is not entirely crafty, as the projects featured are limited. But for beginners who are looking to sew an outfit and are boggled or just mystified about how it should go, the book is a godsend. The most important thing to me is that she offers lots of other ideas to jazz up your creation, and inspires by encouraging others to try and build upon her basic patterns. With this in mind, how far you can go (or sew, for that matter) is entirely up to you!