Armstrong Industry Journal

Creating

I find the creation process has changed for me in these last few months.  One of the hardest is not having a place to work and having lost so many materials.  But the up side is I have so many ideas-it is like a cleasing or something-starting over again.  We have been so busy with the rebuilding of the studio, we have to do a lot of the actual work ourselves, the insurance is still fighting about everything.  But with the help of friends we have been able to work on a few new shirt designs.  The boys have come up with some great designs for the shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArmstrongIndustry

Fabric Design

This has been screen printing summer.  SA has been so busy and has fie tuned the light, time, images and all those little details that go with creating a screen.  We have made great progress and now beginning to print our own items.  I have so many designs it is hard to pick each one and put them together to create a our now product collection.  In researching color and concept I have found so much lovely inspiration.  This is from Patricia Bravo Art Gallery Fabrics.   Great color groupings.

                             

Fashion Friday

I love the layers in this look. This designer is so full of color and fun in her designs. Gudrun Sjoden's site is full of lovely information and images of travel and design.  The company has a good business and environmental policy as well.

"My basic belief is that the first step towards reducing negative environmental impact is to minimize the use of resources. Which is why I think we should think long term and wear clothes that are hard wearing in timeless designs".

Print Design

Looking at a lot of print designs, while working on our new product line, I have found so many interesting colors and patterns.  Print and Pattern is a great on line resource for such things.

This is Rachael Taylor,her layering of pattern and whimsical hand drawn look is a favorite for me.

                         

Gallery News

 

 I have been working on a big new project at the Red Thread.  My friend Sasha is joining me in opening the Knitting Knook inside our existing shop.  I has been work and a learning experience for me.  I am not a real knitter, I play with yarn for embellishing my fabric work.  I do love all the texture and color, and it feels like this is going to be a great addition to the studio with all the slow down of the economy in this area.  We have been successfully selling a small line of hand spun yarns and will now be offering more classes and studio work space for artisans and design.

                                 

Printed Fabric

I love the layers of color and texture.

 

Grotta & Company

Surface Design

My studio work is going in many directions, now.  I am working to combine my techniques of deying and printing on the fabric and wood, and manipulating the fabrics with other fibers, stitching, engraving to create texture.  I am working on a shop update for mid February, in the mean time we have a few items our wood store. 

I really love color, but in a very specific way.  The color has to be just right, sometimes it can be a little too much, for me it is one ofthe hardest parts of being a independent designer putting everything together and accetping when it is done, finished, complete.

                                     

                                               

Production

I have just finished a large project for a women's group. 30 silk scarves, dyed in a similar color way and printed with their logo.  I have not worked with large orders in a while.  It has helped me focus on my direction to go in working with wholesale accounts in the future.  I really like working on a wholesale line, the planning give you the direction and helps stay focused.  This is so important to me since I teach one day a week and run the gallery.  The studio is in the gallery but you are always interrupted with a variety of things throughout the day.

Collaborations

Since I have moved all my studio to the Red Thread it has brought a lot of new opportunities to expand my creative work.  I am an very independent and usually have trouble asking for help from or working with other people.  But I have decided it may be inspiring to collaborate with other artisans.  I am working on a new product line with a quilter friend.  The process has been interesting and productive.  We have different strengths and somewhat different styles, but have found a way to showcase our own creativity and still offer a cohesive set of products for next spring.  The financial aspect should be helpful, we can combine purchasing to save money in these tricky times. The marketing is the next part, I hope it will be a similar experience, and will write more as things develop.

Cloth Texture Color

We are discussing different types of fabric in my design class.  It is difficult to find, in local fabric shop, a variety of natural fiber.  The independent quilt shops offer cotton, but silk and wool in a pure form (not blended with man-made fiber) is getting harder to find.  I order my fabric on line which is easier, but if I tell my students to look at the shops, it is the "faux" silks, linens, etc.

My work is in silk, linen, cotton and love all the texture that can come with just these fabrics.  The dying and printing is a little different for each but not a big change in process.  The silk does take the dye so well and presents a great color range.  I found this artisan Pamela Tang on line a while ago and have loved her designs, they have a feel of my own style and color favorites.  Her work and the photography is so lovely, more can be found here. 

Pamela Tang Quilt