I have had the chance to hang out with Joanna Figueroa, a talented and charming quilt and fabric designer, at a few quilting events lately.  I told her I have been interested in the "inner workings" of how a fabric and quilt designer does "her thing"-.  She agreed to share her story and be a guest writer on Quilter's Buzz. Over the next few days, we will get a chance to learn more about Joanna's design processs as she guest writes here.

Here is Joanna:

Greetings Quilters Buzz readers-

My name is Joanna and I am the owner and designer behind Fig Tree Quilts. We design quilt patterns, our Fresh Vintage™ quarterly publication and design several lines of fabric a year for MODA fabrics. 

I have to start off by giving a quick “sorry” to all of you to whom I promised that this would be a February post. I really have been trying to find time to sit down and compose something that might be interesting to read since then… 

Some of you might remember reading a little something about me in a Quilters Buzz post last November, when Stephanie interviewed me after we met [for the 3^rd time I think] at Pacific International Quilt Festival. I have to admit that that was one of my very first “blog” experiences.

In fact, my friend Jackie of “wrensnestdesigns” had just been explaining the whole blogging world to me last fall while we were sitting in our hotel room during Houston Quilt Market. I just couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. When I got home from Market, I began to look around at the blogs, the conversations and the flow of information and I was amazed at the intricate community that existed online, one that I had never even been aware of. Well, I was hooked and needless to say have since spent countless hours pursuing blogs and following discussion! But enough about that….(Editor note: Joanna just started her own Fig Tree blog!)

What Gina asked me to share with you today is a little more about how I get inspired and the process of designing fabric.

As a [dare I say it] “young” mom of three small kids [ages 8, 6 & 2] people very often seem amazed that I am able to be regularly creative with both fabric and quilt designs.

I usually try to come up with a modest & sincere answer but the truth is, is that I really can’t help it. It’s just what my mind does. I do, however, believe that all of us are meant to be creative.

Many people just haven’t found their medium. Julia Cameron in “The Artist’s Way” said something to the effect that creativity isn’t something we do, it’s something we are, a part of how we are made. I guess that comment has always stuck with me. I can be inspired by the most random things at the most random times.

Part of it is a matter of training yourself to look at things differently, taking time to notice what kinds of design elements you enjoy, colors that you are drawn to; images that make you smile or make you wonder.

I can spend hours digging through bins in a antique shop or flea market, looking at greeting cards in a boutique card shop, “fondling” bolts & bolts of fabric, sketching flowers at the local arboretum, sitting in my favorite chic store, Anthropologie, gathering ideas. Inspiration really can be found anywhere.    

All of our fabric lines for MODA begin with a vintage drawing, an antique piece of fabric, a little French watercolor. One of my favorite lines, A Day in the Country, was designed around the inside lining of an old hatbox that we found one day while flea marketing. Another line started with a tiny French children’s illustration. Another began from the colors in an old pottery vase.

Once the inspiration has hit, the next step is to make sure that the colors represent an entire palette. Out come the paints, the colored pencils, the fabric swatches. Finding a few colors that you love together is not nearly as tricky as coming up with an entire palette that works well together and still communicates the feel that you want it to. Next come the designs- the drawings, the sketches, the computer images, the vintage fabric inspirations. A solid line will have all of these elements.

A teacher in a class I took always said “Your end product will only be as good as your resources.”  Matching good “resources” to the color palette you are inspired by is that final task in the design process. Of course all that work in the studio is just the beginning of the actual fabric creation process. But for the designer, the bulk of the work is done.

In my next post, I will share with you what happens at MODA fabrics once the designer submits her palette & designs to the design department.

And in my last post, I will take you on a brief “field trip” through the MODA offices and warehouses, where you can see behind the scenes of the best [in my humble, completely unbiased opinion] quilt fabric company in the US. 

Thanks,

Joanna

Thanks for the insights and inspiration.  Look for Joanna's next blog writings in the next few days. 

(Photos and graphics thanks to Fig Tree!)