Tabi Designs: Textile Artist

Tabi Designs

who the artist is: I’m Tabitha, a 22 year old artist/designer/student from Sydney, Australia. I am an illustrator and I also sew various textile products including bags, purses and tea cozies. I am also studying graphic design and working casually at a fabric store in Bondi.

what's your story: From a young age I have always wanted to do something creative. My mum is an artist, she designs wrapping paper and cards. So my brother and I grew up in a very creative environment as she worked at home and we would do a lot of craft and painting.

I did art, design and textiles in High School. I really enjoyed textiles and decided to go on to study Fashion and Textile design at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney.

Not long after graduating I discovered etsy. I had some bags I made years ago for a school project and thought I may as well try selling them on etsy and it has grown from there. My range then expanded into clothing and art as well. Although, the bags and purses are still my most popular items.

At the beginning of 2008, I decided to go back to college. I have been interested in Graphic Design for a while and thought I would use the opportunity of not being committed to full time work to learn it.

So my work has become a combination of the two things I love, art/graphics and textiles.

I started my business in March 2007. After graduating fashion college, I worked part time in the industry for a few months. It was only a temporary job and I found it difficult to find full time work in the industry afterwards. I soon discovered etsy and decided to have a go at selling my wares, as I had dreamed of starting my own business, and it seemed an easy way to get started.

where: You can find me on etsy at http://tabidesigns.etsy.com
I also have a website http://tabithaemma.com and a blog http://tabithaemma.blogspot.com.

why this artist stands out: {cassandra’s words:}She shows us how to combine simple fabrics and graphics to create a stylish look and into sweet ornamental art pieces that would be a great thank you gift.The artist adds...My work is unique, whimsical and playful. It evokes childhood memories. It is also very feminine. It appeals to a wide rage of age groups.

Tell us about your design process: My process usually starts by sourcing inspiration, being constantly on the lookout for ideas and keeping up with trends. I think it is really important to keep designer mode constantly switched on and never stop looking and taking in your environment.

I then start sketching ideas, writing down words and thoughts. Once I have a design work out and drawn up, I then work out the logistics of it all, creating a pattern and sourcing fabric (sometimes an idea stems from a fabric I find).

I then create a mock up to make sure it works, if there are any problems I fix them up, then go into producing the final design.

You might find this post I did a while back interesting, a bit of a glimpse into my process. http://tabithaemma.blogspot.com/2008/07/behind-scenes.html

 

Comments

[tabitha]

thank you cassandra :)