You readers are in for a real treat today on Indie Fixx, textile designer Michelle Engel Bencsko shares some of her fellow textile designers. More & more textile designers seem to popping up and and I am personally delighted by this trend. I hope you are too!
Plus, make sure to check out the Tutorial Tuesday post today for an idea on how you can use some of the fabrics from the featured designers.
by guest contributor Michelle Engel Bencsko
Being a textile designer by profession for nearly 15 years, I thought that fabric would be the last thing I wanted to do when I finally branched off on my own. After a year of modest success on Etsy with a paper goods-based line, I quickly realized that I was denying my true talents and calling. So, when I came to the realization that I needed to redefine myself to suit my skills, I did what any good business person would do; scope out the competition- or as I’d rather refer to them, my contemporaries
And, oh, what a wonderful world of textile-y goodness I found. I have been so incredibly impressed with all the talent. There’s a boom of independent textile designers upon us and terms like “hand printed”, “digitally printed”, “art fabric”, “exclusive”, and “limited edition”, are part of the crafting vernacular these days. There are designers who print for their own wares, as well as those who print in order to sell their fabrics- or more exciting still, both! As a result, the hand crafted market has benefited nicely with the ability to truly have one-of-a-kind items and uniqueness.
Most designers seem to favor the mid-weight fabrics in a variety of fiber contents like pure or blended options of linen, cotton and hemp… and it’s of no surprise that many designers embrace the green movement and offer organic, sustainable or eco-responsible print methods.
There are obvious benefits of being small. These designers market to themselves and therefore have a very specific focus, which alternatively, makes this particular market as a whole more diverse. Within each shop you can find many color options and dense variety of selection and a higher rotation of goods. Basically, the designers can do what they want! No big company to answer to, or market voids to fill, or someone “designing” over their shoulder. It’s a lovely arena, and I am proud to be a part of it. Here are just a handful to pique your interest.
1. Daisy Janie
2. Phat Sheep
3. Jezze
4. Of Paper and Thread
5. PataPri
6. Skinny LaMinx
7. Moontea
8. Kirin & Co
9. Hollabee
10. Auntie Cookie
11. Umbrella Prints
12. Summerville
About the contributor: Michelle Engel Bencsko is a textile designer and graphic artist for Cicada Studio, her self-owned and operated company. You can find her exclusive textile print collections in her Etsy shop and her licensed quilt fabric collections at Henry Glass & Co. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and two sons. She’s also dedicated to her blog, Cicada Daydream, which she keeps up daily.
** It’s Jen again. Here’s one more for ya!
I love this Fabric
I love your blog.
These fabrics are amazing!
I adore the Kirin & Co fabric 🙂
Bye for now…
x
thanks for featuring Michelle- I love her fabrics and her blog!
and thanks, Michelle, for putting me in such wonderful company!
(kristin from Moontea)
What a great article and insight. I love Michelle’s designs and her blog.
Oooo! I really love the fabric in #1 🙂
Glad you guys liked Michelle’s guest blog post so much. We have another in the works. 😉
what a great selection- thanks for sharing!
I adore every single one of these! Thank you so much for the article and being a true inspiration:)
One of those professions I dream about! Thank you for your personal insight into the industry.
I love them all…I am bookmarking this post!
Michelle’s work is really wonderful. I enjoyed reading about her perspective on textile design and all the fabric choices.
What a great list! I love indie textile designers and I’m planning to incorporate their fabrics in my bag designs. Most that I’ve discovered like on this list, are in the US, Australia or UK. Being from Canada,I’ve been looking for Canadian ones, but holy moly that’s proven to be hard. There must be some! But where are they hiding?
Thank you, Jen, for giving Michelle the opportunity to contribute to your lovely blog! And thank you, Michelle, for shining a light on this category – very well-written and a terrific collection of designers! Hands down, all of my favorites. Glad to be included.