Project Selvage

Project Selvage

Yesterday marked the deadline for Project Selvage, a joint collaboration between Spoonflower and Michael Miller fabrics to find Michael Millers’ next licensed fabric designer. The required entry was an original baby boy print, and the grand prize is a contract with Michael Miller and a trip to the International Quilt Market in the Fall(!!!). If any contest in the world ever had me written all over it, it was this! Not only do I have years of experience designing prints, but I’ve spent years designing baby boy’s prints while at babystyle! (I still haven’t finished my print portfolio yet, but I have hundreds of prints to sift through! I did design the print of the background of this website though, to give you an idea) And a dream of mine is to have my own print line à la Anna Maria Horner and Amy Butler. The primary reason why I’ve taken up sewing and quilting is to specifically understand the way that a print is utilized as an end product! It’s an interesting thing to consider. I want to work out of my own home studio, and have (more) little ones crawling around; I just don’t see the need to work anywhere besides my home with the line of work I do, especially while I have children under 5!

A few sketches of foxes I did for the print.

Admittedly, I knew about the contest for about a month but I had so many other things going on that I didn’t get to work on it as much as I would have liked–I only had about a day. Really, I shouldn’t need more than a day, but I would have liked some more time to finesse the repeat. Repeats can be SO tricky, especially with conversational prints like this. Also, I totally understand why MM chose a baby boy print specifically to find their next designer; the most difficult prints I have ever worked on have always been the baby boy layette prints. You’d think they’d be so easy! But they can’t be too sweet or they become “girly” and they can’t be not sweet enough, because then it is no longer “baby”. There is such a fine line! I did know I wanted to do a fox print, and I knew I also wanted to incorporate foxtails (the plant). I enjoy the play on words and the wispy wheat-like motif they add. I think I did well with what I came up with, it certainly makes me smiley and happy and I even giggled a few times when I was drawing them in Illustrator (always a good sign).

Foxtail Print

Close up! :D

Isn’t he so cute? He would make a great plush! I wish I could share the cute plush I’ve been designing lately, but I will have to wait till they hit the stores, I think. :) Anyway, of course I have my reservations about what I’ve submitted now, and I wish I could revise a few (or many!) things, but alas, contest is over. I just have to hope I make the first cut to the 75 prints they choose for the contest, and then the second round to the 10 semi-finalists. Then I will design 5 coordinating prints which would be SO much fun and I already have tons of ideas! And, the winner gets to design a GIRLS line too! That would be ah-mazing. So if you don’t here about this contest again, it means I didn’t make the cut, and oh well, I’ll move on to developing my own line of prints for development. But if I do, be prepared to endure some shameless self promotion in asking for your vote! (I apologize already, but this is the quilt market we’re talking about!)  xoxo

Here it is over at Spoonflower.

3 Responses to Project Selvage

  1. min says:

    Cute! And foxes are so “in” right now. You’re right on topic! I submitted a design too. More rustic and just on white. Somehow I liked the crispness on print. Anyhow, look up Minelliott on Spoonflower and see the Gone Buggy and that’s my entry. Good luck to us both. :)

  2. becky dodson says:

    are foxes IN? i thought to myself before reading above comment “wow. jesyka could totally make foxes cool w this print”

    proof that im just out. though, i did decide that i wanted to start wearing birkenstocks again and apparently they’re hot? whatever…ive always had them, so maybe i’ll just get cool by chance every twenty years.

  3. Yeah foxes have been rising in popularity as owls have reached their peak. I actually didn’t even make the semi-finalists! I’m sad. I think it’s because there was another print called fox tails which did make it, and it was more colorful, or they just liked it better. Oh well. I know this print was more solid than quite a few prints that did make it, but they can’t be over assorted in fox prints, lol. But now I don’t have to worry about Michael Miller owning my fox design that I really think reads more as a plush anyhow!

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Welcome

Welcome to Visual Vocabularie! My name is Jesyka, and I am a designer, artist, mom to Laelia and Luca, wife to software engineer and UX designer Tyler, coffee lover, and all around enthused person. This is my blog; here I share my personal projects, whether it's a furniture makeover, a new painting, a birthday party, an invitation I designed, or a favorite outfit for my little. You’ll also catch a glimpse into our family life in Los Angeles.

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