Textile Designer Amy Butler is an inspiration to anyone who carries a passion for fabric and textile design as well as all of those who love creating beautiful crafts and clothing with beautifully designed fabric and paper. Amy has been an inspiration to myself and many others for quite some time and I simply fell in love with her style, her creativity, and her charm after reading and drooling over the fabulous photography of her home and textiles that are featured in her book “Midwest Modern: A Fresh Design Spirit for the Modern Lifestyle”. If you have never heard of Amy then you are in for a textile and pattern treat. Her designs are filled with creativity, color, pattern, and a style that fuses traditional patterns and artistic values and hues that results in magnificent fabrics and stationary to create many lovely things with!
Be sure to check out her website where you can not only find her latest Spring 2008 Collection, but where you can also find free patterns and shop her products that includes pillows, bags, and stationary. You can also pick up a bottle of her fragrant fabric wash called SOLA, which is bottled up in a lovely and decorative bottle. Amy took some time out to share a bit of her creative inspiration with us. Heres Amy:
JuBella: Why is creativity important to you?
Amy: I think as an artist I couldn’t live without it. It’s the core, unwavering ingredient in my personal make up, it’s that part of myself that I can’t question or doubt, it just is. But I also believe you don’t have to be an artist or designer to get in touch with your creative side. Creativity is a part of all of us, it’s a common thread and a unifying trait that brings us together, it’s something we can share. I think we need to nurture this part of ourselves and give it as much space in our lives as we can. For me, I need to honor time away from the ” business ” side of what I do each day to give myself the opportunity to free my mind and tune into creative solutions both in my artwork and with my daily challenges. Creativity is important to me because it’s the energy and impetus behind everything I do.
JuBella: How would you describe your most creative spot / room / atmosphere?
Amy: My most creative spot is on the bike path behind our house. There’s something about walking and being in the woods, maybe it’s the moving meditation but I always get a bunch of good ideas when I hit the path. Dave walks with me a lot and over the years we’ve come up with some of our best ideas for the studio while hiking along. We always giggle when our financial planner asks us what our 5 year business plan is and we say we have to hit the trail to figure that out!
JuBella: Favorite Craft & Design magazines, books or shows?
Amy: Oh I have loads! Favorite magazines: Selvedge, British Elle Decor, Australian Vogue Living and Inside Out.
Favorite Books: Ilse Crawford’s the Sensual Home, Tricia Guild’s Pattern, Christian Lacroix, The Diary of a Collection, Barbara Bestor’s Bohemian Modern- Living in Silver Lake, Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and The Greater Perfection: The Story of the Gardens at Les Quatre Vents by Francis H. Cabot.
Favorite Shows: Sundance channel’s documentaries on haute couture designers and Project Runway.
JuBella: How would you describe the character/ decor of your studio / design space?
Amy: My studio is in the lower level of our 1970’s modern bank ranch home. The studio is very cozy and bright. The windows are north facing, so I always have the perfect light for working on designs. The furniture is an eclectic mix of vintage modern and old farmhouse. I collect most of my furniture at flea markets or the salvation army, I bring home the un-loved pieces with loads of personality. Everything is new again with a little padding and a fresh slipcover! Changing out the fabrics on my furniture serves two purposes, it allows me to see how my prints translate in home decor and keeps my space kinetic and fun. I love the new energy that’s created when I change things around.
I’m surrounded by all the things I love, loads of fabric, notions, antiques, ephemera and books. I made two big benches that are padded with cushy foam and slip covered in my Forest fabric. I push the benches together for napping with the cats, a little luxury I try to take advantage of as often as I can.
JuBella: What do you love most about being a textile designer?
Amy: I love that I get to create artwork for my designs and that they are enjoyed by so
many people. I love what I do and I feel this energy is translated in my work and passes onto others. It’s pleasure that keeps paying forward. I’m just a starting point, folks work with my patterns and fabrics to create and then pass that happiness onto the person on the receiving end. It’s a very cool cycle of joy. I’m so fortunate that folks respond so sincerely to what I do which is incredibly humbling and fulfilling.
JuBella: and do you have favorite textile designers?
Amy: Kaffe Fasset has always been a great inspiration to me. I admire him because he is first a fine artist who eloquently shares his vision for color and design through his work with great warmth and passion. I get lost in the color combinations in his fabrics!
I am also a huge admirer of Harmony Susalla from Harmony Arts. Harmony is leading the way for organic printed fabrics. She is the real deal, an amazing artist, designer and passionate supporter for the organic fabric movement. She is a visionary with an unwavering heart, and her fabrics are delicious! Harmonyart. I’m constantly inspired by Tricia Guild’s philosophy and her spirited use of color and print. Her designs are sophisticated and approachable at the same time. I love her books, they are put together so beautifully…. a total feast for the eyes!
JuBella: Do you have a favorite line or print that you have designed thus far?
Amy: I’m always in love with my Nigella home dec fabrics for Rowan. I describe this group as having a neo victorian vibe, with a mixture of modern elements and feminine details, it’s very romantic and rich looking.
JuBella: What is your process like when designing a print?
Amy: I’m always dreaming of future fabrics I’d love to sew with or use in my home which is always the underlying motivation for specific prints. I keep things fresh and lively by keeping my inspiration kinetic. I’m always excited about a new ” color” or colors. I keep an on-going color idea stash where I save snips of colors I love which eventually get worked into my palettes. My taste and interests continually change and are reflected in my design choices. I am always in the process of collecting inspiration in all kinds of forms.
For example, when I start working on a new fabric collection I pull my color palettes together by building color ” stories ” intuitively by making a collage with coloration and textures I love. I then match color chips to my color stories and complete my palettes. I almost always make way more palettes than I need, but I love have as many options as possible to react to. I trust my gut and go with my top 3 -4 favorites. For my prints, my base inspiration comes from antique documents that I re-design, scale and color to fit the story of the collection I’m building. Once I’ve developed my core designs, I create the artwork by hand coloring each print in all it’s possible variations in each palette.
JuBella: What design tools and software could you not live without?
Amy: I couldn’t live without my imac, stapler, xacto knife, Viking sewing machine, white out, cutting mat, and microsoft word.
JuBella: The most creative and inspirational city/ country that you have traveled to thus far and why?
Amy: One of the most moving trips I’ve had in the past couple of years has been to England. I travelled with my husband David and our two good friends Kevin and Chuck. We completely absorbed ourselves in touring historic gardens in the Cotswold region. We also spent a couple of dreamy days in London visiting the Victoria & Albert museum and the Chelsea Garden show. The combination of the english countryside and design sensibility are very inspiring, it’s more a “feeling” that is absorbed and translated later when I am back in my studio. My design collection called ” Charm ” was inspired by this trip in particular.
JuBella: Most unique gift that you have given to someone?
Amy: Original paintings or fabric collages. Dave and I often make each other artwork for gifts. These are my favorites!
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