I'm still working on designs for Summer 2009. Having done a few more masculine florals which are typically more tropical- things like hibiscus, I'm now ready to do some more and pictured are couple of inspirational images I'm looking at. The image on the left is a lady's handkerchief from my growing collection of vintage floral textiles. I scour flea markets for interesting fabrics and buy them if they are inexpensive, this one was a dollar. The image on the right is typical of something I might find in a collection of online botanical ephemera like the one at Kew Gardens here.
What I look for is ideas for color combinations -I love the combination of teal red and white in the image on the left or the peach ground and red tinged leaves in the other. What's important in a floral print is also how it 'moves' so I also look a for ideas on how to achieve this. The one on the right looks like it would move well on a larger area- say a voile dress whereas the other might look good in a constricted one like a cushion cover or as a border trim.
I have no idea or control what happens to a print after its sold- it could end up on bedsheets and greeting cards. There's no real telling how a print could develop either- I'm already thinking that the one on the right could be very prety as a monochromatic print-no fruit just leaves and flowers, black on white perhaps and the one on the left could look interesing as a single colored enbroidery on a heavy woven linen- maybe less leaves and a different flower. Who knows how this will end up - but here is where it starts.
