Designer Tidbits: Molly Hatch

We would like to welcome Blend Fabrics newest fabric designer, Molly Hatch. Born to a painter and an organic dairy farmer, Molly was raised to be creatively industrious. Molly's designs have expanded to various lifestyle products, ceramics, and now her first fabric collection, Tea Garden! Tea Garden features beautifully hand painted designs of porcelain plates, tea pots, antique silver spoons and cups. Watch our Quilt Market video and read on to learn more about Molly's inspiration.

Q: Tell us about the Tea Garden Collection. What were you inspired by?
Molly: Tea Garden was inspired by my career as a studio potter and ceramic artist. I love historic ceramics - traditional blue and white. I wanted this collection to feel simultaneously familiar and new. 

Q: How would you describe your style?
Molly: My work always reflects my hand in some way. All of my surface designs are generated by hand and colored by hand - which gives them a unique look that is very much my own. I love traditional imagery, historic source material is always a part of what I do, but I always reinterpret the original to make it suit my own contemporary lifestyle. Traditional yet modern! 

Q: What is your design process when beginning a new collection?
Molly: I start each collection with a story - thinking through who it is for and what the story is behind the designs. I often sketch and develop concepts on paper before I start any design work and research historic material through museum collections and in my own library. I love that when people design fabric collections, they can be complex in the groupings of patterns and they still work well together in the larger collection. 

Q: Do you have a favorite print from the Tea Garden collection?
Molly: My favorite print is the Devonshire Tea pattern - the teacups and teapots were so much fun to draw! I feel this pattern could be used for so many things. 

Q: What projects do you hope to see made with Tea Garden?
Molly: I hope to see everything! I can't wait to see what people do with this collection and I can't wait to sew some of my own projects. I have a five year old daughter, so I think she and I will get to making some fun things together.