Designer Spotlight: Creating Textiles from Marine Ghost Netting

When I learned of the work of textile designer Carmen Machado, I was immediately drawn to the unique textures and bright colors in her furniture designs. I was even more impressed to learn that Carmen's work is improving our beaches and waterways by retrieving and utilizing abandoned marine netting. Carmen Machado's  environmental efforts and contemporary outdoor furniture designs absolutely deserve the spotlight. Continue on to read our recent chat!

Jacquin: Did you enter into art school knowing that you wanted to focus on textiles? How did this interest come about?


Carmen: Yes, growing up I was always interested in textiles. My father had a carpet store where he imported all types of beautiful carpets from around the world. I took my first weaving class while pursuing my Bachelors in Fine Arts at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and this is where I decided to focus on learning to weave experimentally and on different types of looms.

Jacquin: Many readers may not be familiar with the impact of abandoned fishing nets in the oceans. It's actually a very serious environmental issue. How did you become aware of this issue? What made you decide to address this issue through textiles and design?

Carmen: I grew up on the coast in Puerto Rico and would regularly find stranded pieces of tangled fishing line and rope washing up on the shore near my home. In 2011, I started picking up and collecting things I found, mostly out of curiosity and interest in the sun bleached and vivid colours the netting came in. This led to me researching into overfishing and reading about how large of an environmental issue this is and the deadly effects it has on marine life. I decided to pursue my interest more seriously, combining my love for weaving with this environmental issue. I am currently pursuing a Masters on this topic at the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London.

I grew up on the coast in Puerto Rico and would regularly find stranded pieces of tangled fishing line and rope washing up on the shore near my home. In 2011, I started picking up and collecting things I found...

Jacquin: What came first? The general idea to use recycled fishing net and recycled materials -or- your idea for the specific furniture design used in your stunning chairs? Also, tell us about the concept for your recent chair designs?

Carmen: Once I refined my textile designs to incorporate found ghost netting I began thinking about ways to use the final woven material. As it is 100% plastic I naturally thought it would be well suited to be used outdoors. I wanted to make a sustainable product and like the concept of taking the materials from being outside on the beach, then repurposing them into something a person will again value and put it back outside. I have a big interest in interior design and furniture, particularly Danish design. 

Jacquin: How do you go about continuing to source and retrieve dangerous, abandoned netting from the ocean?

Carmen: I regularly visit the coasts here in England and Wales. My family also actively beach cleans in Puerto Rico. I have quite a few beaches that I revisit often because I know I will sadly always find tons of washed up gear on them.

Jacquin: What would be a dream project for you involving both textiles and recycled fishing net (or other recycled materials)?

Carmen: Long term I want to scale up the amount of fishing line/netting that I am retrieving off of our coasts and the amount of fabric I am able to produce. Another dream project would involve designing fabric/furniture for the interiors of an eco resort. I would like to get involved with more Marine Conservation groups and see if I can incorporate my work into their offices. 

Jacquin: Have you been able to find a community of like designers interested in working with recycled materials? How can readers help your cause and support healthier wildlife and waterways? 

Carmen: Yes, I have found a wonderful group of people through Instagram- @2MinuteBeachClean, they are big advocates for doing regular beach cleanups and are always showcasing the work of designers who work with marine waste materials. I have made a few connections through this group who send me parcels with their finds! 

As for what people can do to support healthier waterways... Apart from every individual doing their own part to clean up our coast lines, I recommend cutting single use plastics out of your life as much as you can. It makes a huge difference! 

Visit CarmenvMachada.com for the latest information on her textiles and furniture designs. 

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Designer Spotlight: Ponyo Porco of Taiwan

Ponyo Porco, based in Taiwan, is a print & textile design company focusing on fine art, fashion, and graphic design with the intention of their painterly prints being used across the spectrum. Ponyo Porco's hand-painted print designs lend themselves to uses from home decor to fashion and more and has landed the brand a coveted spot in New York Fashion Week this year. Take a look at our recent interview with Crystal Lupa and Larry Chen, the creative design duo behind Ponyo Porco.

Ponyo Porco at 2016 New York Fashion Week.

I saw your runway show at NYFW this past fall, is this the beginning of Ponyo Porco being a part of the international fashion industry?

Lupa: It was really a good start for us to share our concept and creations around the world as we are a very new team. It’s not easy but we are working hard on developing our brand to be more connected with the international creative industry.

How did you become interested in working for the fashion industry?

Larry: Ironically, we started our careers not that interested in the fashion industry but we both liked to create and design with prints. And since Lupa graduated with a focus on fashion design women’s wear, we combined our specialties to create a brand that is not just about fashion, but more so a print lifestyle brand.

Artist Crystal Lupa, one of the creative forces behind Ponyo Porco.

I noticed that each collection has an excerpt or poem that goes with it, what came first as inspiration – the writing or the collection?

Lupa: You're right. Each print has it’s own poem and original artwork. The poems are always written once the artwork is complete and serves as a description. 

Original artwork for Ponyo Porco prints.

Original artwork for Ponyo Porco prints.

Since your designs have a fairytale aspect (especially with the use of writing) are their any childhood stories, folktales, and stories etc. that inspire the design process?

Lupa: My painting style is definitely inspired from childhood stories and folk art. I often create characters with self-invented logics about the world, and love to express a glimpse of cold, dark charm in the style of naïve amusement. I’m especially attracted to seemingly inanimate organic forms. While trying to endow them with personified characteristics, I also like to demonstrate an event or scene narratively.

Original artwork for Ponyo Porco prints.

What is each of your favorite pieces, or favorite collections you have worked on?

Lupa: My favorite pieces are the prints of WITCH&CROWS coat and the POOL pleated dress.

Larry: I like the printed coats in all prints!

Do either of you have a fashion icon that you find inspirational?

Lupa: Frida Kahlo

Larry: Yves Saint Laurent

Since, Ponyo Porco is based in Taiwan, how does that influence your work?

Lupa: Although we founded the brand in Taipei, most of the education in art and working experience is in London. So I can say that there is a mixture of cultures in the creation. Taiwan is a beautiful island filled with oriental visual inspiration as well as various foreign influences, both of which greatly impact our work.

How does Ponyo Porco want their buyers to feel when they wear your collection?

Larry & Lupa: Unique, bold, delicate, and playful!

How much does the type of material and fabric influence each piece? Is there a specific way in which you select them?

Lupa: For Ponyo Porco the textures and characteristics are very important. Before we confirm the fabric for each piece, we digitally print on more than 15 kinds of materials for samples. We use 100% polyester fabric for pieces that need to be pleated, because the cotton won’t stay in pleats after a few washes. And for the coats and bomber jackets, we use 100% cotton with a satin finish to bring a subtle glow for more formal occasions.

What do you hope to see Ponyo Porco to become in the future?

Larry: So far we have developed our print ideas into a diversity of products such as clothing, accessories, paper products, and packaging. As we move forward we look to cooperate with brands, manufacturers, and studios from various fields to develop creative products in even more forms. There will also be a great 2017 calendar and a menswear capsule collection. Overall, we hope to become a strong design team and feast for the eyes of the print lovers around the world.

By Jamie Lee, Interiors by Jacquin intern

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Designer Spotlight: A chat with Caroline Cecil Textiles of Los Angeles

In a world of beautiful textiles and patterns I find myself wondering about how these fabrics and unique designs are manufactured. Today our designer spotlight lands on Caroline Cecil of Caroline Cecil Textiles. Caroline shares her creative motivation with us and an inside perspective on more traditional textile production methods. She has also been involved in some exciting community initiatives, which we chat about below. Follow along as Caroline's gives Interiors by Jacquin readers a peek at her newest collection called 'Balinesia'.

Jacquin: How has working in textile design pushed you creatively?

Caroline: I’ve spent the past 11 years of my career learning about all of the different ways you can put patterns onto things--from fabric to towels to rugs to shower curtains to wrapping paper and everything else in between. Throughout the process I’ve learned many different techniques and applications which have pushed me to evolve creatively. The limitations that arrive based on the selected printing method have really pushed me to be more creative in my approach. For example, with screen printing the more color we print, the more expensive it becomes. So within these confines we find ways to create gorgeous single color prints that still provide depth, texture, and narrative.

Jacquin: Tell us about your journey launching your brand, Caroline Cecil Textiles. What has been the hardest part?

Caroline: I wanted to have my own company ever since I was a little girl. My grandmother was a watercolor artist and made a living selling her paintings at a time when it was very unusual for women to be independent and have their own business. My father was also an entrepreneur who started many businesses throughout his life, those experiences are at the foundation of why I always wanted to launch a brand.

I’d say the hardest part of launching Caroline Cecil Textiles was the process of building something from scratch. The journey of bringing something to life that starts in your head and turn it into a full fledged business that includes a sales team, products, sampling, an online presence and operations has been overwhelming at times. The hardest part is the balancing act that’s required once the company starts coming to life. Managing competing priorities like product development and branding while always keeping long-term goals that support growth in mind requires constant learning and strategizing.

Caroline Cecil's sketches for textile designs.

Jacquin: What's an average day like for you, Caroline?

Caroline: In the morning I always try to take time to make breakfast for my husband as well as play with our little Pomeranian and Chihuahua. After that it’s off to the races - answering emails, reading industry news and outlining the focus for the day ahead. Lately the team and I have been expanding our showroom presence, so a lot of my days have been spent outlining which designs are going into what showrooms, overseeing production, coordinating shipping with our Operations Lead, and talking with our PR team at REVELE. I also spend a great deal of time looking at the travel calendar and supporting brand growth through online marketing. My days are predominantly left brained, so I always carve out time to paint or cook or do something creative to balance things out. I find that time to be SO important.

Caroline's fluffy dog in front of her vibrant textile design.

Jacquin: I love that you worked helping budding young creatives through Designer Camp. It really sounds like a fantastic program for the youth. How was your experience? What do you think the kids who participated got out of it?

Caroline: I absolutely loved collaborating with Designer Camp and look forward to doing it again next year! The founders of Designer Camp are very hands-on and they were so supportive of my ideas for the textile workshop. It was the first time they ever had a textile designer participate in the program and it was exciting to see how interested students were in the new category. Textile design is something most people don’t think of when you’re asked what you want to be when you grow-up. Considering how did that pattern get on that shirt is not something young artists usually think about. This is one of the reasons I love mentoring young people who are discovering it for the first time. I am so happy to have the chance to give back to the creative community as I remember how important it was for me when I was growing up. I still remember the influential people and artists who really inspired me to explore my creative voice. It’s great to have a chance to do that for today’s youth.

Jacquin: How have you utilized your local creative community as you've grown your business?

Caroline: Los Angeles is an incredible place to own a company and design a product because it offers many different kinds of resources. Being around so many creative people every day has offered a lot of inspiration. Los Angeles has a very expressive and visual community. People put a great deal of thought into how they present themselves and I find that to be very inspiring. In addition, I have the pleasuring of knowing a vast network of manufacturers who constantly inspire me. Being in Los Angeles has given me the opportunity to see the manufacturing process across many different industries which i find completely fascinating. My line of fabrics simply wouldn’t exist without the people who print our fabrics and sew our samples and I truly value those partnerships.

Caroline Cecil painting an original textile design.

Jacquin: What is one thing about about the textile design process from production to marketing that many people may not know about, or may be surprised by?

Caroline: I think people would be surprised by the amount of labor involved in producing a line of textiles. Fabric doesn’t weave or knit itself! While machines have industrialized the process, it’s still a very tactile manufacturing process. At Caroline Cecil Textiles, we work with artisans to produce our line. Most of our ground cloths are imported from Belgium and come from a mill that has been weaving linen for centuries. Our designs are then hand printed onto the linen at our printing facility in San Francisco. The process takes a very long time and it’s a very old fashioned way to print fabric, but I believe it yields the most beautiful quality, one that mass manufacturing simply cannot match. In general, most people probably don’t think about fiber content or weave structure or whether or not something was yarn-dyed. I think most of the world of textiles would be surprising to people!

Caroline Cecil textile swatches from her 'Balinesia' collection.

Jacquin: What's on your life bucket list?

Caroline: I’ve always dreamt of traveling the world and documenting the different textile process from different cultures. For a few years now I’ve wanted to tour different mills across the world-- lace making and the Chanel textile factory in France, linen production in Belgium, block printing in India, indigo dyeing in Japan, back-strap weaving in Guatemala. I’d love to document the process and make it into a video series and coffee table book!

Shop Caroline's 'Balinesia' textile collection and more on her website Caroline Cecil Textiles.

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Unique & Inspiring Furniture Design From Dubai's Khalid Shafar

Illusion Pearl Chair designed by Khalid Shafar. 

Since the launch of this eponymous brand in 2010, Emirati designer Khalid Shafar has been focused on bringing a truly international flavor to an aesthetic born in UAE's desert nation. Quitting his corporate role in marketing and communications, Shafar followed his passion in design and has built a furniture and lighting décor line that presents his experiments with shapes, motifs and forms borrowed from his home country. While wood remains the predominant base for most of his designs, the signature pieces from his line include materials such as marble, textiles, metal and locally sourced leather. Traditional crafts from the region are expressed through his work in elements such as palm leaf weaving and reinterpretation of the egal, the black headband from men’s traditional Keffiyeh attire.

Octa Dress vanity set with vanity table, mirror, and stool by Khalid Shafar.

Among his furniture collections is the ‘Decohaus’ collection, inspired by the international design movements of Art Deco and Bauhaus of the 1920s. The collection reinterprets local materials, in this case camel leather, and combines it with the octagon shape found in Middle Eastern and Islamic designs. The range features items such as the ‘Octa Dress’, a vanity table designed on a modular system with side drawers handcrafted from leather.

2:4 Seats Collection by Khalid Shafar.

Another limited edition collection is ‘Puzzle’, which features three unique editions of handmade wool rugs woven in Afghanistan.

“These were designed by me and woven in collaboration with FBMI (Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative), a social initiative dedicated to provide women in Afghanistan with employment and to offer them and their families critical social services in healthcare and education,” explains Shafar. 

Puzzle Collection of wool rugs by Khalid Shafar.

The collection’s puzzle design is inspired by the patterns, which allow any two or all three rugs from the collection to come together and form a large piece. The collaboration with FBMI also involved contributions in design by the Afghani weavers who chose variations of the ‘mauri gul’ motif, which is typically woven by nomads in Afghanistan's western province of Herat.

Talli Collection of rugs & wall hangings by Khalid Shafar.

A new carpet collection created with FBMI will be launched by Shafar during the upcoming Dubai Design Week this October 2016. Looking ahead, he aims to continue his experiments with recreating signature patterns in three-dimensional forms. There are multiple collaborations with lighting installations and homeware designs on the horizon as well. “I would like to focus on my furniture line and working with multiple silhouettes and patterns. Early next year I am looking to launch a new collection, which has already been developed and is at the prototyping stage,” says Shafar.

Furniture designs from Khalid Shafar career from 2010-Present.

This article was written by journalist Manika Dhama, featured here on Interiors by Jacquin in 2015. I am so glad Manika brought my attention to this world-class designer. Khalid Shafar's designs are quite impressive. My favorite designs from Shafar include his gorgeous 'Illusion Pearl Chair' and 'Octa Dress' vanity, both shown above. We look forward to seeing Shafar's new collection of rugs this October 2016, which will be launched during Dubai Design Week.

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Designer Spotlight: Fashion and Interiors on the Mexico Border

Megan Feuille is a fashion and interior designer living in El Paso, Texas and the founder of Paloma El Paso. Fueled by the cultural influences of living in a border town where the sister city is Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, Megan's designs have a distinctly light and airy Mexican essence. Rebecca Quinones, one of the fantastic interns for Interiors by Jacquin, recently connected with designer Megan Feuille and had the opportunity to learn more about Megan's passion for design and her creative connection to Mexico. Check out this culturally inspired interor design and fashion brand - Paloma El Paso.

PHILOSOPHY:

Megan's philosophy on design (for interiors as well as fashion) is the importance of keeping the design fun and accessible. She also tries to remember that nothing is ever THAT big of a deal, and that there is always room for improvement.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP:

As I asked Megan how she built her business from the ground as an entrepreneur, she said that before Paloma El Paso, she had never even thought of owning her own business.

Megan graduated with degrees in Religious Studies and Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin, but was always interested in design. After graduating from college, she taught preschool in Austin for 5 years, then started a design blog for her own enjoyment.

One day, Megan received an email from a friend asking if she owned her own design business, asking for her help. Instead of answering immediately, Megan sent in her paperwork to the state comptroller, claimed herself a business owner the very next day, and got to work. Megan and her husband then made their move to El Paso, desiring a change of pace. She ran her blog for a year, took a break, did fashion styling and worked for a nonprofit organization called Ciudad Nueva. During this break, she asked herself… "What if I worked with women in Mexico to make traditional Mexican clothes for the American marketplace?" 

She envisioned something easy, feminine, and of course, accessible. Megan sent her lacey, airy, and casual designs to Southern Mexico to her old roommate and friend from college, Candice Leigh, the founder of Oh Fox Creative. Megan loved the results, but put everything on hold when her and her husband got the call for their adoption and started their beautiful family. Once she got back on track, she designed her own website, new ideas, and is even her own model.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS:

One of my biggest questions for Megan was "How does it all work?" Once Paloma El Paso started back up again, Megan sent more designs in, and what she received next were samples of her own designs. If something isn't quite right, she makes the edits for the item to be re-woven and the process begins again.

Megan expressed just how grateful she is for the women in Mexico and the collaboration they've forged in addition to being appreciative of everyone who visits her site. Everything Megan designs for Paloma El Paso is hand woven with love and care on a traditional loom. Megan describes her designs as "handmade works of art", which is completely accurate. She wants people to appreciate and enjoy how beautiful these hand creations are, all while protecting the makers' integrity. 

CREATIVE INSPIRATION:

"I like to follow designers I admire, like Kelly Wearstler."

Megan uses photos from other great artists to inspire her designs. She also loves to travel and to see pictures of where other people go. This is represented in the cultural influences of her designs as she admires Latin American textiles from Mexico, Peru and Guatemala. Megan also takes influences from Morocco, where she's also had the opportunity to visit. 

INTERTWINING PASSIONS:

Working in two different industries, fashion and interior design simultaneously, has both varying and intersecting elements, but the foundation of both are style. Megan balances working in these industries by keeping a relaxed approach and remembering that it's really all connected. Besides making her job fun, Megan's number one piece of advice for young designers is having "good basics and crazy accessories". She loves to mix high and low. The same applies to interiors. It makes sense to spend more money on items that last forever (like a sofa), and selecting these more expensive items in neutral tends to make sense. However, you can go crazy with a bold rug or throw that can easily be switched out and still create a colorful interior. It's all about balance. 

Megan also loves to mix silhouettes in fashion and interiors and believes that confidence is key when pulling off any look. Megan's take home point... "As far as fashion:anything goes. There aren't as many rules as people think there are." So have fun with it!

Visit Paloma El Paso to catch Megan Feuille's latest designs!

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