We have Erin McMorris on the Jolly Jabber today to talk about her new collection for FreeSpirit called Park Slope! It's very fun, flaunts summery colors, and in my eyes sort of retro grooooovy... :) Just look at it and you'll probably agree! Fat Quarter Shop has it the full line as well as two color bundles, teal and pink. The blooming flowers make it perfect for the season. What are you going to deck out in Park Slope? Be sure to send us pictures so we can see!
I am so excited about Park Slope, my second collection for FreeSpirit, it's a collection that just makes me smile! It's called Park Slope after the neighborhood in Brooklyn where I spent a few weeks housesitting for friends last summer. The collection really started to gel while I was visiting and I can remember getting inspired by being there. I love to travel and sometimes I find I work best outside of my own studio.
I really like flat graphic prints--I'm also a former graphic designer--and other reoccuring themes in my designs, are using linework and dots. I love dots! I love them so much I painted a wall in my house with colored dots! I just think polka dots are inherently fun and instantly make a solid surface happy. I love to use them as patterns within patterns, or create images, like my Leaf Dot in the new collection, that is just designed in the form of a circle, or like the Birds that reads as a small dot from a distance. I use a lot of line work probably because all of my designs start with a sketch on paper and sometimes I like to keep the pencil quality of the line in the final design. Oh, and did I mention I love color?
I always start with a quick sketch on paper, but it is really rough and I usually stop once I can see where I want to go. But I can never fully visualize it until I start working with it in the computer. Then I continue sketching and re-sketching and re-sketching until it probably ends up like something completely unrelated to the original drawing. But that's the fun part! I'm really just using Photoshop as an extension of my sketchbook as it's easier to cut and paste and erase with it. I struggle to try and create modern designs that aren't too serious, because that's really what I like. I think most of my designs look pretty simple, but I can assure you, it takes me forever before I'm ready to let go of a collection. 
And now that I have let it go, I'm looking forward to seeing what amazing products people create with it. That's one of the most fun parts of this job!Labels: Guest Quilting Writers