Welcome to ‘10 QUESTIONS for…’ a series of 10 interviews with 10 designers from around the globe, where I get to share with you their answers to 10 important and interesting questions related to their artistic career in the Surface Pattern Design industry. I hope you find these interviews informative, fun, creative and inspiring.
This week’s ‘10 Questions for…’ interview is with Pippa of @Pippa.shaw
It’s time to grab your favourite cuppa, sit back and enjoy the read. This is the fifth interview in this series of ‘10 Questions for…’ Surface Pattern Designer interviews.
Pippa Shaw is a British artist and designer who currently resides in the beautiful Loire Valley In France.
I first met Pippa in 2017 when she was exhibiting with a group of artists in New York under the name of Four Corners Art Collective. I travelled to New York from Brisbane, Australia for a crazy 6 day trip to see for myself the wonder and excitement of the art licensing and art buying world at Surtex.
Side note: Surtex is the international trade show for the surface pattern design, art and illustration, textile design industry. It’s where buyers, manufacturers, art directors etc..flock to see all the new art that has never been seen on any product before.
I was so impressed at seeing Pippa’s artwork on display at the show. I thought it was very brave to have invested the funds and time to commit and present at this internationally recognised design event. It shows commitment and dedication and I feel you need those in large quantities if you want to pursue a career in art licensing and surface pattern design.
Pippa’s artwork is colourful, dynamic, detailed and structured with a clearly influenced ‘William Morris style’ or ‘Arts and Crafts’ style, yet made modern through her motifs and bold use of colour. It is the colour that jumps right off the page, or screen, or fabric as with her many gorgeous fabric collections through Figo Fabrics. Her collections truly are beautiful and joyful and in my opinion very well considered. Pippa’s designs include large motifs for those statement pieces in sewing, and intricate blender size and small scales much loved by the quilters. There is something for everyone! Pippa’s latest collection is called ‘Happiness’ and when you see it for yourself, you’ll see why. Here’s a link to the full collection releasing October 2022. Also as shown in the image of fabric below.
Q1. How long have you been working in art/design/art licensing? What is your background?
Pippa: I have been a full-time artist and designer since 2015. I studied Fine Art at university in the UK and always wanted to pursue a creative career. I have been a practicing artist since then, and have been lucky enough to travel and work in various countries, including your beautiful part of the world.
Q2. What are your favourite tools to create with?
Pippa: Nearly everything I create starts with pencil on paper; there’s something about the flow and quality of line that you just can’t get working any other way. I definitely wouldn’t want to live without my iPad and apple pencil as they have slowly become a major part of my workflow, but sometimes I do like to go ‘old school’ and use my lightbox to ink up my sketches in black ink (uniball pens are great), or use colour paper and scissors to experiment with collage.
Retro tulip daisy. Copyright Pippa Shaw
Q3. What are some time saving tips you use in your workflow when designing?
Pippa: When making patterns I do find it helpful to sketch out a rough idea of how I want a repeat to work before starting to create the motifs. When I first started designing repeat patterns I would jump straight into drawing or painting the elements and I found that I was not using a lot of them in the final design because they didn’t work in the repeat. When you’re starting out in surface design and time isn’t an issue this is not a bad thing, as you will be finding your style and any unused elements can be used in future designs, but once you start getting regular client work it’s important to be able to work efficiently and keep to deadlines. Another tip is creating your own keyboard shortcuts for actions that you do a lot, and learning the keyboard shortcuts for the Adobe programmes.
Art Nouveau - Damask - Morning Mist Copyright Pippa Shaw
Q4. Do you need to work in collections when you’re planning and designing your patterns?
Pippa: As a general rule, yes, because a lot of my work is for fabric clients and designing in collections is a skill that fabric designers need. I’m usually inspired by a memory, or by somewhere I visit, and then I create sketches and jot down ideas. The more practice you have designing collections the easier it gets to set up your workflow and plan from the start. I’m always learning and I love getting feedback from clients and from makers that buy the fabrics that I’ve designed. There is inevitably an element of compromise involved in designing collections, as maybe you aren’t able to include your favourite colour-way of a certain pattern because it’s too similar to another colour-way in that collection, but as a whole it will be so much better. I do also design ‘one-off’ patterns, because I love to experiment and just create something that I’m inspired to create, and these designs can be licensed to other clients, and because I have a recognisable style my patterns can be pulled together and re-coloured to make a collection. Also, every now and then a client sees a standalone pattern and asks me to create a collection around it.
Dahlias in pink and sage. Copyright Pippa Shaw
Q5. Who are your dream clients that you’d absolutely love to work with and why?
Pippa: This is such a great question Julie! It’s also a moving target as I’ve just looked back at a list I made a few years ago and it’s changed a bit, but there are many that are still the same. I would love to collaborate with Liberty of London and the V&A museum as I’ve been so inspired by their historical designs. I’m a huge fan of the Arts & Crafts movement and one of my favourite things to do is to reinterpret this aesthetic in my own way adding a contemporary twist and modern colour combinations.
I’m particularly obsessed with designing for wallpaper and interiors fabrics at the moment, so some other dream client collaborations would be John Lewis (a wonderful department store in the UK), Heals and Farrow & Ball wallpapers. And of course there are the brands that I think are on nearly every designer’s wish list such as Anthropologie and West Elm. I’ve come across some interesting French brands that I doubt many people would know of outside of France that use some fabulous designs, like Atomic Soda, Maison Thevenon, Pierre Frey and Monoprix, but the French market feels harder to get into for someone that didn’t study at a French design school (or maybe it’s just me?!).
Q6. What advice would you give to a new designer (or any designer for that matter) to help them get their first licensing deal?
Pippa: Share your work online! I wish I’d done more of this earlier, but I hesitated because I was worried about my designs being copied (combined with a lack of self-confidence). I signed my first licensing deal very soon after starting as a surface designer, and it was because the client found those pieces online and contacted me. Looking back now I wish I’d been braver. I’m not embarrassed by any of my early work (but I was convinced that ‘future me' would be), some of those early designs are still some of my favourites. I think a little part of me was worried that I’d peak and run out of ideas or stop making good work, but now with the benefit of years of experience and hindsight I realise that the more I create the more I develop my skills and the more I want to create. Pattern-making should come with a health warning as it’s addictive!
Happiness collection for Figo Fabrics. Copyright Pippa Shaw
Q7. What’s your proudest design achievement in your career to-date?
Pippa: It’s difficult to choose just one thing, but I think being one of FIGO Fabrics original designers has been wonderful. It's so fun to have been with them from the start of their journey and I’m very proud of the collections that we have produced together. I feel honoured to be alongside so many designers that I respect and admire.
Q8. Do you think it’s important to have a design style as a surface pattern designer?
Pippa: Personally yes I do, because I am interested in creating an art brand with a recognisable style that adds value to client collaborations. But I know many designers who work in lots of different styles, mainly as freelance designers in 'work-for-hire' situations, which suits them perfectly as they enjoy creating in different ways and are successful doing so. Every one of us has a different path, so try not to compare yourself with others, and make your journey your own.
Majorelle Doorway. Image copyright Pippa Shaw
Q9. What’s the hardest challenge about being a Surface Pattern Designer today?
Pippa: Whilst being a surface designer can be the best job in the world, it would be remiss of me to not acknowledge that it has its downsides too. It is not generally the best paid industry, and there is a lot of theft (copyright infringement) going on, and it’s upsetting to see others profiting from your hard work. The more success you have the more you will have to deal with this and it can be stressful and time-consuming and have a negative impact on your creative energy.
Q10. Who are you inspired by in the Surface Design Industry/creative industry right now?
Pippa: There are so many hugely talented creative people that inspire me. Artists like Emma Mawston (former head of Liberty Fabrics), Sanna Annukka, Jane Ormes, Clare Youngs, Brie Harrison and Julie Hamilton to name but a few.
Bonus Question: What has been the most successful way that you’ve found clients? For example; exhibiting at tradeshows, directly researching and approaching companies, via Instagram, or Pinterest? Any other methods you use?
Pippa: I have found in-person trade shows to be the best way to find clients, but since the pandemic the market has changed and I haven’t exhibited for a few years, so i’m not certain how great they would be now. They are a serious investment of time and money and there are no guarantees. I have been approached by clients who found my work online but I’m not sure which websites they used to find my work.
You can find out more about Pippa and follow her here:
pippashaw.com
Thanks for your time answering the ‘10 Questions for…’ Pippa. I’m a big fan of the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau style also. I definitely see that shine through in your beautiful work and I love your latest collection called ‘Happiness’. Congratulations and best of luck with the release.
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Next week we’re heading to London!