Textile Designer Brittany McLaughlin Creative Director, Rose Valley Textiles Nepris Session November 10, 2015

Education Philadelphia University BS cum laude Textile Design University of the Arts MFA Sculpture

Work Experience Knoll Textiles/Suzanne Tick | Designer/PM M. Finkel & Daughter | Sales Associate Philadelphia University | Assistant Professor Woolrich | Merchandising Analyst Larson Design Group | Marketing Rose Valley Textiles | Creative Director Guildery | Artist

Textile Design & Surface Design Textile designer is knowledgeable about fibers, yarns and fabric constructions (weave, knit, nonwoven), trends, color, cycle of the seasons, as well as pattern design & development Surface Designer creates patterns to be printed on a product (fabric, wallpaper, stationery). Less knowledge of textile constructions and properties.

Job Responsibilities Trend Research Market Research Pattern Design & Development Handweaving Website development Marketing (traditional and social media) Sales

Rose Valley Textiles www.rosevalleytextiles.com

A Good Designer: Skills & Attributes Artistic & Creative Ability Technical Skills – hand & digital (drawing, painting, sewing, Adobe) Awareness of audience Keen sense of observation re: color & style trends Have a good eye for materials and understand their specific applications Communication skills – ability to share ideas and have a dialogue Environmental and economic understanding of designs An openness to new ideas Be a Team Player – no one works alone Ability to separate self from work Confidence Strong business sense – understand budgets, marketing, sales are vital to getting designs produced and sold

How long did it take you to learn how to use the technology needed for designing? Lifelong learning…

Where are textiles printed?

5 Types of Textile Printing Block Printing Rotary Printing Screen Printing Heat Transfer Printing Digital Inkjet Printing

Block Printing

Rotary Printing

Screen Printing

Heat Transfer Printing

Digital Inkjet Printing Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSuJU7QF_Sk

Is there a future with textiles in the US? Other applications for Textile Designers

Textile Design Schools Philadelphia University – www.philau.edu/textiledesign http://www.philau.edu/mssurfaceimaging/ RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) http://www.risd.edu/academics/textiles/ SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) http://www.scad.edu/academics/programs/fibers

Designing for Spoonflower

Spoonflower Design Tools www.spoonflower.com/design_tools Color Map Color Guide The Spoonflower Handbook Swatch Cards for Fabric Samples www.spoonflower.com/help

Designing for Spoonflower File Resolution = 150 dpi File Types = .tif .jpg .png .gif Design for finished repeat size – Design in a square format Examples (inches” x 150 dpi = repeat size) 4” x 4” = 600 x 600 px 12” x 12” = 1800 x 1800 px 24” x 24” = 3600 x 3600px Consider your fabric width when determining repeat size – be sure it is divisible for complete repeats

Know your apparel fabrics Performance Pique – yoga tops, polo shirts, sporty dresses Cotton Poplin – shirting, skirts, dresses, pjs Poly Crepe de Chine – blouses, flowy dresses, lingerie, scarves Cotton Ultra Lawn – lightweight apparel Silky Faille – dresses, blouses, scarves Performance Knit – athletic apparel Modern Jersey – T-shirts, dresses, maxi skirts, headbands Minky – lounge wear Organic Cotton Knit – T-shirts, dresses, baby clothes Organic Cotton Sateen - Clothing Sport Lycra – Athletic apparel Silk Crepe de Chine – dresses, blouses, pjs, lingerie, lining

Designing Fabric Designs in Illustrator Illustrator CS6 and CC (Creative Cloud) have the ability to make repeat patterns easily. Other versions can be used too with another technique. I’ll show you both.

Q & A

Contact Information Brittany McLaughlin brittany@rosevalleytextiles.com www.rosevalleytextiles.com www.facebook.com/rosevalleytextiles www.instagram.com/rosevalleytextiles www.pinterest.com/rosevalleytextiles www.twitter.com/rosevalleytext Rose Valley Textiles