Pinwheel Print

In the Fall of 2010 (the beginning of my senior year at University of Michigan), I filled a moleskin journal with many hand drawn patterns that eventually resulted in my thesis project . I only used a few select patterns for the overall project but had many others sitting in that journal waiting to be used in the future. Luckily for the Pinwheels, that time was a cold day last February, while designing the Mata Traders' Spring '13 collection. 

From left to right - Dahee Dress, Garden Party Dress & Shanghai Shift Dress. 

After sifting through colorful and complicated designs, we realized that what we were lacking was a simple, monochromatic print that was playful and quirky but also sophisticated. I brought in a few ideas from my moleskin journal from college and we all decided that the Pinwheels would translate effortlessly from paper to fabric. We loved it so much that it was paired with 3 different garments (2 of which are almost completely sold out!) 

This has also been a popular pattern to be blogged about. Check out these three posts by Walking with Cake,  Birds-of-a-Thread and LindaLind.

Bloggers who have featured the Pinwheels print from left to right: Walking with Cake, Birds of a Thread and  Lindalind.

Korean Design Inspiration

While designing for the Spring '13 collection for Mata Traders, we noticed a trend in simple geometric shapes and clean lines. I suddenly remembered a book I own on traditional Korean pattern design and the more I thought about it, the more I believed we could use some of the designs for the collection. These patterns are so traditional and incorporated in Korean design & culture, that it makes it possible for us to use without needing copyrights or licensing!

The great thing about Korean pattern designs is that they are extremely simple and feel very modern. After combing through the book multiple times, we had to narrow our list down to 3 patterns to work with. Here they are in their original designs.  

Once we selected these 3 patterns, we began to play with color. By doing this, we automatically changed the whole appearance and vibe of the prints. These designs are traditionally in black & white or at least in just two colors. We used one print in it's original state but also gave all 3 prints a contemporary feel by using the bold & bright colors in our color story for Spring '13. 

Korean Dots Print. Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. Garments by Mata Traders.

Let's start with the Korean Dots print. Here we created 2 different color variations for 3 garments. On the left, we worked with a bright pink and dark blue color combination (on the Garden Party Dress Polka Dot), giving the print a playful edge. On the right, we reversed the black and white from the original print, which sometimes plays tricks on my eyes (used on the Obi Crescent Dress Black and Yin Yoke Skirt Black). You might notice that both prints, look slightly different aside from their color. That is because the print on the right is a block print and needed slightly thicker lines in between each dot, while the print on the left is a screen print and can have daintier lines. 

Korean Blocks print. Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. Dresses by Mata Traders.

This Korean Block print is a block print that we decided to use both the original print as well as a colorful version. The original black and white is used in the Shibuya Dress and is paired with the monochromatic block printed Korean Dots print. The blue and green version is used in the Obi Crescent Dress Blue. This use of both colors incorporates the white of the fabric and really makes the dress pop. Both dresses have hand stitch details that really add the special element of hand crafting to the garments. 

Korean Hexagon Gone print. Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. Garments by Mata Traders.

The Hexagon Gone print  was my personal favorite to work on. Playing with placement of colors, and so many of them, was a thrill. Here we have 2 versions of the Hexagon Gone print, and they really do transform the feel of the garments from simple and traditional to vibrant and playful. There is a slight edge to each garment (on the left Kyoto Color Block Dress Blue, middle is the Tea and Honeycomb Dress and on the right is the Singapore Sweetheart Top Blue). These products can be found at Mata Traders and the majority of these garments are on sale.

These prints are a wonderful example of modernizing traditional styles and elements with color. I hope to be inspired and possible use more Korean patterns in the future because I believe these really did turn out great. 

Battling the Bedrock Print

Let me introduce you all to the Bedrock print.  This was yet another print that has been in the works since I was an intern at Mata Traders in the fall of 2011. I had just finished my thesis project and was obsessed with hand drawn doodles. The Aztec/Southwest trend was at it's peak and I decided I wanted to make a pattern that merged the two ideas! 

This turned out to be a bit more difficult than I thought. Not necessarily drawing the pattern and getting it into repeat, but the color combos drove me crazy! We had our color story ready and nothing worked well together. Should we use 4 or 5 colors? Should we stick to similar colors or go crazy and use complimentary colors? Is this even the season to use this print? It was a lot to handle. I had never had this problem before, but then again this was the first time I was designing for mass production!

Sometimes it really is better to take a deep breath, acknowledge that you have a great start on something and then put it away for a little while. We brought out the Bedrock print a season later and began to rework it in a different color story, with a new selection of garments and most importantly, fresh eyes.

Here we have the Bedrock print in three different garments. On the left we have the Singapore Sweetheart Top, in the middle the Kyoto Color Block Dress and on the right the Patterns and Pockets Skirt. All three items are now on sale on the Mata Traders site! Check out how Laura, from the Mata Traders Blog, found the Patterns and Pockets Skirt at Loufest and Dus, from Cuddly Cacti, wears and styles her Kyoto Color Block Dress.

Don't these ladies look great wearing the Bedrock print?!

Piecing together the Leaf Puzzle Print

The Leaf Puzzle print was one of the first prints I designed for Mata Traders as an intern in the fall of 2011. I had hopes that it would make the cut for the Fall '12 collection (like so many prints), but it had to wait until Spring '13 to make it's debut. 

The story behind this print is interesting because it deals with restrictions. Mata Traders works with a few fair-trade cooperatives in India and Nepal and each one has their own restrictions on what they can produce. A designer might get frustrated by not having the freedom to create anything their heart desires. However, I love a challenge and believe that by learning how to work with these restrictions and guide lines, my designs get stronger each season. 

This particular print was manufactured in a cooperative where I, as a designer, was only allowed to use two colors in addition to the white of the fabric. In the past, the designs Mata Traders had created for this cooperative, were small amounts of two colors and a whole lot of white as background. While that looks nice with one or two pieces of clothing, having too many garments with that color formula gets mundane. Also, I don't even have THAT many clothes with a white background in my wardrobe. I decided that I would challenge myself to design a print that is dense and minimizes the amount of white you see. My goal was from a distance, the eye would blur the shapes and colors together so that the overall print wouldn't seem to have any white at all.

Jin Ju Ruffle Dress pink/blue and Pagoda Pocket Dress yellow. Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. 

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! After playing with a few shapes, scale and the spacing, I believe my goal was accomplished. I focused on leaf and geometric shapes that together looks reminiscent of fabric from the 40's and 50's. 

This print was manufactured on two different dresses in two different color ways. The Jin Ju Ruffle Dress on the left and the Pagoda Pocket Dress on the right are now on sale through Mata Traders. 

Tools of the Trade

I have really enjoyed going telling the stories and processes behind each print in the Mata Traders Fall '13 collection and decided I should go back and do the same for prints created for Spring '13. The great part is that these next few prints I will write about are now on sale, and let's be honest, who doesn't love a good sale?  

Tools of the Trade print - Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. Dress by Mata Traders.

This print is called Tools of the Trade and I believe it is one of the funkier prints Mata Traders has created (so far). I introduced the design team to the beautiful artwork by Dan Funderburgh, a brooklyn-based artist. Funderburgh's art focuses on organizing illustrations or silhouettes of everyday objects in a way that references traditional ethnic designs. These two pieces are my favorite of his. Take a good look at the image of the hand on the right; It's made up of interesting shapes such as hangers, spray bottles and shoes, just to name a few. 

Left - Chinatown Flat Ball. Right - La Mano de Dios. Byan Funderburgh. 

The design team was just as inspired as I was and we went to work creating our own version. Nora Slavin Howe (the super talented mother of the creative director) sketched a single image combining retro geometric shapes and sewing supplies. Can you spot the scissors, bobbin, spool of thread, pencil, needle & ruler in the first image? Even the Mata Traders logo got hidden in there!  Once I got her original drawing in my hands, I began reworking it (just like I did for the falling floral). I started to flip it, turn it and pieced it together until finally it all fit, looked balanced and felt just right. 

Tools of the Trade print. Dahee Dress on the left and Shanghai Shift Gray on the right.

This print comes in two different dresses as well as two color combos. On the left is the Dahee Dress and on the right is the Shanghai Shift Dress in Gray . Both are on sale now! Plus, check out how Laura, Mata Traders' fashion blogger, styles the Shanghai Shift dress with current fashion trends!