spotlight fabric design comp winner announced

Oh hello there, frankie fellows! You may remember that we recently teamed up with our pals at Spotlight to run an extra-special competition: one clever fabric fancier or textile designer would have their Palm Springs-inspired print sold through Spotlight stores nationwide. Pretty neat, huh?

Well, we thought we’d spend a little time introducing you to Julie Lamb, the lucky winner, and find out the story of how she came to her desert-themed design.



Please tell us a little about yourself and what you do. I have been a textile designer in the accessories industry for 10 years. I love fabric, colour and pattern. I’m most happy when I’m drawing or painting. I moved to Melbourne from the UK two years ago and I have loved seeing the work of so many amazing artists here!

What sort of creative process led to your design? Talk us through your thinking. The first stage of my design process was research; I used resources such as Pinterest to look for ideas on colour, icons, and drawing technique. From this research I sketched a rough layout of the design and the icons I wanted to include. I then scanned the design into my computer and used Photoshop and Illustrator to draw the elements and put the design into repeat. Creating the repeat was important to me as I needed to make sure that the design flows well.

What was the theme or feel that you wanted to get across? For this design I felt that I wanted to combine a geometric element with the natural shapes found in the foliage. When doing my research it was clear that the retro geometric concrete tiles gave Palm Springs a unique feel that was not present in any other tropical or summery subject matter.

Have you been to Palm Springs before? If so, how does this represent your experience? Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to visit Palm Springs before, however a good friend of mine had recently been and at the time I was binge watching Mad Men, so I drew my retro influences from there.

Is this the first time you’ve designed a pattern for fabric? What did you need to keep in mind? I have designed for fabric in the past. I usually try to ensure that the repeat has a natural flow and that there is even coverage of pattern, icons and colour. This is important so that the fabric can be cut at any point and the design still makes sense with no blank or patchy areas.

How do you think people should use the fabric you’ve designed? I will definitely be making this fabric into cushions for my outdoor patio! It is fun and colourful and will brighten the space perfectly.

Keep an eye out for Julie's design in Spotlight stores early next year.