Collaboration with boutique homewares brand
Sanctuary Studio is a boutique homewares brand based in Melbourne, Australia. They collaborate with artists to create designs that stand out and their customers just love. So when I reached out to them to collaborate it was an instant match!
I was asked to create a tropical design in deep green tones with a hint of golden hues, and the rest was up to my creative bones to come up with. So I began researching a rainforest style design, gathering tropical references and planning out the design.
A simple pencil sketch for a rough idea of the shapes needed to create the artwork.
I start with a layout sketch, this is how I get ideas out of my head and onto paper. A rough sketch is all that’s needed to work out the shapes and motifs needed. When I design I like to draw as many motifs as I can so there aren’t too many obvious repeating elements. Designing like this will draw your eye around the design and make for a seamless repeat.
Many motifs create more interest in a design and keeps the eye moving around
Creating a large repeat is always abit of a challenge, with so many elements it’s time consuming, but this is what sets it apart from other designs.
Once I created the design we discussed colours and specific elements that might need some final tweaking. One of the key features of this design was to make the main palm leaves have an almost feather-like look. I achieved this through stylised leaf shapes and delicate shading we achieved this while still having an overall tropical design.
Tropical Oasis textile design for Sanctuary Studio
The final design is a botanical tropical oasis of palm leaves, vines and orchid flowers, growing on narrow stem this stylised tropical design is used on homewares, sleepwear, bamboo servingware, and bathroom accessories.
“Michelle creates beautiful hand drawn artwork that expresses her love of nature. Michelle’s attention to detail and her flair for colour produces original prints and patterns that are successful on a varied range of products.
She is a delight to work with and is skilled at interpreting a brief for custom designs.”
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Sanctuary Studio, and I love helping brands bring their ideas to life.
If you are interested in working with me to elevate your brand and products please get in touch to discuss your needs.