People often wonder how I go about picking artists and designers to work with. Truth is, there is no plan, outline, guide or method: I will see something I like and zero in, or possibly someone will send me an email with a link to a website portfolio; some people I've had an eye on for years, some are friends, some are introduced to me through someone else. Some designers are experienced with surface design, others are not- indeed, before I contacted a few of them, they hadn't even really considered it. Really, it can be a combination of any and/or all of these circumstances. I like it this way, too! Keeps it exciting and each partnership is unique.
For our next introduction, painter and graphic artist, Rob Bancroft's portfolio was shown to me by his lovely and talented wife Alexia Abegg who along with Rob, make up
Green Bee Patterns and Design at the last fall market. Flipping through his rather masculine, yet playful, Mid-Century influenced graphic designs, I felt immediately compelled- which is always a great thing! Plus, I have a soft spot for couple teams... (I keep trying to get my husband to join me in some sort of collaborative project!) You can expect to see a peek of Rob's November release sometime this summer.
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Rob Bancroft is an artist turned illustrator, whose love of painting and drawing was born at a young age, but fully formed only in recent years. The transition from painting to print and pattern design was a natural evolution. He and his wife, Alexia Abegg, and their two dogs, Soda and Olive, live in Nashville, TN under a giant oak tree on a hill. Together they are
Green Bee Design and Patterns.
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Some of Rob's influences include Paul Klee, J.D. Salinger, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Alexander Girard, Amedeo Modigliani, Cy Twombly, Mid-Century Design, and the movies of his 70's childhood.
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His first commercial foray into surface design is with Cloud9 Fabrics.
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| various patterns from Rob's portfolio |
Rob Bancroft is an artist turned illustrator, whose love of painting and drawing was born at a young age, but fully formed only in recent years. The transition from painting to print and pattern design was a natural evolution. He and his wife, Alexia Abegg, and their two dogs, Soda and Olive, live in Nashville, TN under a giant oak tree on a hill. Together they are Green Bee Design and Patterns.
Ooooh! I love the patterns in his portfolio! They'd make a terrific quilt.
ReplyDeleteThat last image of patterns is very exciting! Can you tell us if these will be quilting cottons or another weight? I'm already imagining really grown-up blouses...
ReplyDeleteQuilting cottons. Possibly some canvases!
DeleteSign me up for that top middle one!
ReplyDeleteThe bottom middle one, in voile, would make a beautiful Wiksten Tova top.
ReplyDeleteI love the top middle, top right and lower left. They are all good!
ReplyDeleteHow completely exciting is this? I'm excited for what's to come. First Rashida (which I learned in KC, YAY!) and now this? Amazing. AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful!! Mature and unexpected, the colors he chose are beautiful. Love the bottom left!
ReplyDeleteThese are PERFECTION. I've been looking for fabrics to make a quilt for our living room, but something I AND my husband would like. Now I found them! But I have to wait until November?!?!? WAAAh!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see the new line! His work looks amazing!
ReplyDeletelove all of the images in the portfolios. I see wallpaper in the top left, bottom/top rights.
ReplyDeleteOUTSTANDING!
ReplyDelete