I recently discovered the beautifully earthy textile designs of Kate Miller, founder of elworthy studio and I knew I had to share her work with you! Kate effortlessly combines neutral shades with bold designs, making her collections of fabric and wallpaper designs desirable for a range of interiors. I had the opportunity to interview Kate Miller and learn more about her design inspiration and road to success. You can find the interview below.
Textile designer and elworthy studio founder Kate Miller at home in her living room.
Jacquin: I
really love your textile designs' earthy and sensual color palette.
While the color palette is more neutral, the designs are still edgy,
yet sophisticated. I think home owners would really like your
collection! Tell us about how you developed elworthy studio's 'Decay Collection'.
What was your process?
Kate: Thanks! You are totally right, the palette incorporates some soft jewel tones
but overall, it is quite neutral and can work in so many different
spaces. To create these designs, I used a rust-dyeing process
and it was actually quite experimental! I wrapped rusted
objects with pieces of fabric in a variety of ways, then allowed them
to oxidize for a few days. The impressions left on the fabrics
were textural and organic, but I felt they needed some refinement, so
turned to the computer (Photoshop and Illustrator) to develop the
patterns and incorporate a more varied color palette.
elworthy studio sells wallpaper, fabric, and throw pillows.
Home of elworthy studio founder & designer Kate Miller.
Jacquin: How was your experience decorating your home?
Kate: We’ve
been in our current apartment for three years, and it is always
evolving! It’s been fun and challenging to incorporate
elements from our spacious, lofty apartment in Shanghai (we
accumulated a lot of furniture over there and ended up having a
container shipped over) into our smaller, San Francisco-style
apartment, and combine those pieces with new ones from local
designers and artists plus textiles and accessories I’ve picked up
while traveling. Our home is definitely eclectic and I think
that reflects our personalities well! We come from different
countries and have each lived in multiple places and traveled
extensively, so it is fitting that our space combines a variety of
styles.
Kate's favorite elworthy studio element at home is her custom armchair. Fabric shown: Desert Alchemy.
Jacquin: What is your favorite elworthy studio element in your home right now?
Kate: The
upholstered armchair in our living room! (shown above) A friend in Shanghai
who worked in furniture distribution gave me this chair as a gift
many years ago…she was working on producing a new style and this
was her first prototype. I got to choose the upholstery…a
vintage-inspired sage green floral. It wasn’t a true
upholstery fabric, and I have a cat who uses furniture as scratching
posts. As you can imagine, the chair needed some love, so I had
it reupholstered in Desert Alchemy, one of the designs from the Decay Collection. I love how the fabric’s design and colors work
with the rest of our living room.
Jacquin: I
come from an environmental law background, so I was excited to see
that your textiles are eco-friendly
and
sustainable. How has your experience been developing a textile brand
with an environmental focus? Has it been challenging to execute your
designs while sourcing natural dyes and fabrics, along with the
various other business decisions that go along with an
environmentally-friendly business model?
Kate: More
challenging than I expected! I chose digital printing for my
textiles and wall coverings because it is actually more eco-friendly
than other printing processes. Digital printing also happened
to be the best printing method to capture the detailed textures and
color range of my designs, so it was a good match on both levels.
Sourcing eco-friendly fabrics has been more difficult. At the
moment my fabrics are made with all natural, sustainable fibers, but
I am always searching for completely organic fabrics that work well
for a variety of end uses and print well.
Just
a couple weeks ago, I launched my accent pillow collection, which
features the Decay Collection fabrics and exclusive inserts filled
with alpaca fiber. I am the first designer to use alpaca in
decorative pillows, and this came about because I wasn’t able to
find an insert on the market that met all my requirements.
Sometimes it takes some extra work and creativity to find the perfect
solution, but it is well worth it…I like knowing that my pillows
are completely safe for my clients homes!
Jacquin: You
have a really interesting career background! How was your experience
working at Bloomingdale's instrumental in launching your business
today? What are some key things you learned while working in visual
merchandising and the buying office for Bloomingdale's?
Kate: Haha,
yes, it has been an indirect journey! My time at Bloomingdale’s
was such a great foundation. I learned how to run a retail
business, how to edit a collection, and then how to sell product
through marketing and visual display. My experience with
in-store styling and creating seasonal installations was a great
education in color theory, combining patterns, and creating a
cohesive overall effect. I draw from all these lessons on a
regular basis.
Jacquin: How was
your experience pursuing graduate studies in textile design? Were you
surprised by anything when re-entering school for textile design or
was the educational process as you expected?
Kate: It
was a mixed experience. I went back to school with eight years
industry experience under my belt…I hoped to learn specific
technical skills, yet was in a three year program which included
liberal arts requirements, portfolio development, and learning to
work as a team. Not the right fit! I switched out of the
MFA program and into Continuing Education so I could focus on taking
the just courses I needed. After three semesters, I’d
finished those courses and was eager to start my own line.
What
I did love was learning various textile printing and digital design
techniques, then having the total freedom to experiment and develop
my own style. That said, nothing compares to learning on the
job!
Photo Credit: Gina Benedetti
If you'd like to add elworthy studio's textile designs to your home decor, you can shop Kate Miller's latest designs at the elworthy studio website.
