Pattern Pulp

Our Favorite Patterns from 2012




It’s no secret we’re big fans of texture here at Pattern Pulp. Though we see thousands of patterns every year, here are some favorites that struck a chord from 2012.

What were some of yours?

1. Jonathan Saunders: “The drugged-up housewife has changed into a very wealthy, eccentric young lady.”

2. Mr. Porter’s collection of pocket squares.

3. Soft, organic watercolors that are reflective of nature.

4. Folk Clothing‘s spring prints for men.

5. Fun, arty-farty wallpaper from Minakaniwalls.

6. When plaids take a translucent turn.

7. Custhom’s embroidery; specifically, their CMYK stitched posters.

8. Buki Akib‘s Fela inspired bags (and wallpaper) at The Darkroom.

9. Carolina Herrera‘s fluidity and whimsical watercolors.

10. Insley & Nash‘s bespoke patterns.

 

Gifts for You Design Minded Folks




Since the season’s in full swing, I’m assuming most of you are already crossing gifts off your lists- particularly if you celebrated Chanukah. With pop up shops on every downtown corner, I figured I’d jump in and offer my two cents. I might continue adding more to the mix, but to kick off, here we go:

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1. Fold, Unfold, Tablecloth by Hay & Margrethe Odgaard, $160
2. Patterned Paint Roller, The Patterned House, $15 GBP
3. Sitting Bull Pixel Bean Bag, $313
4. Little Bits Holiday Kit, $49
5. Green & Gray 15″ MacBookPro Laptop Bag, $49.95
6. Revenge of the Nerds Onesie, $18
7. The Napsack by The Poler, $130
8. Blueprint Paper Placemats, $26.50
9. Detachable Conductive Smartphone Friendly Glove Pins, $11.99

Fashion, Friendship & Morgan Carper




I don’t always share my day to day on Pattern Pulp. I go back and forth on how much to personalize the site, as forecasting and pattern recognition shouldn’t only be represented by my weekly activities and biased love for geometrics. I try to curate taking a step back, sorting through events after they’ve happened, to give a more neutral, well-rounded perspective.

That said, it’s fun to bring you in – beyond the world of Instagram, and share the things that I love. Over the summer, I had the opportunity to redesign the website of my dear friend, Morgan Carper.

For those unaware, she’s a wildly talented Brooklyn-based fashion and textile designer. After throwing ideas against the wall and talking about what we’d update and revamp, it was an honor to roll up my sleeves and pull out the wacom tablet to design her e-commerce experience with our friend Efy from Webinhabit.

Every time we get together, we nerd out, compare travel notes, talk about life, relationships, food, and how we try to spend our days doing what we love. I share graphic design and marketing tips while she enlightens me on fabric production, sourcing, her sisters, and the latest music I should be listening to.

Though she’s still an emerging designer, Morgan’s doing incredibly well. Her clothing is truly flattering on everyone, I’m not just saying that.

Every time I wear one of her shirts or dresses, I feel put together, relaxed and sophisticated – a tough balance when you’re moving throughout your day trying to dress for work, social events, and most importantly, yourself.

This past weekend I hosted her Winter Sample Sale at my apartment. Here are some shots of the AW12 and SS13 lines, our friends, and a few of us trying on the goods. It’s kind of amazing that almost all of the dresses, skirts and shirts are interchangeable on everyone, as some of us are tall pixies, and others are short and curvy (ahem).

Here’s my friend Nandita trying on the Tola dress. Striking, right?

There’s still plenty for sale on her site – and if you’d like the same 40% discount, you’re more than welcome to partake in the code, URLOVED, go crazy, get your holiday dress or winter coat!

I also happened to be on the hunt for a dress to wear the following night, as my husband and I were heading to the Charity Water Ball.  Though a gown’s lovely, I wanted it to be a dressy/comfortable evening (it was cold and wet outside), even if that seems like an oxymoron. I ended up in the Yao dress. It was perfect and will be a wardrobe mainstay for a long time to come.

 

Resource & Swatch Inspiration




If you’re in the New York area experiencing this dreary afternoon, you might find a little joy perusing the Design Center at Philadelphia University’s tumblr.

I stumbled upon it thanks to Ana Montiel’s gorgeous blog, and found myself digging deep, wading through swatch after swatch. The above pattern is brilliantly simple- it merges pointillism and geometric sewing textures.

The blog houses 200,000+ objects related to textiles and fashion, ranging from plaids and conversationals to animated gifs and embroideries.

The scans are pretty interesting, as you can see the pencil marks, stains and cataloging system that’s been implemented over time…at least prior to the internet.

Have a look and let us know which ones you love.

 

Textile Techniques: Insley & Nash




We’re so used to looking at streams of pretty pictures, that the process beyond the product is often an after thought. Places like 3rd WardKollabora and Skillshare, here in New York and Craftsy on the West Coast are attempting to democratize the DIY process, though there’s still a big step between producing craft and superior luxury product.

I recently came across Insley & Nash and was blown away by their fabrics. They’re a bespoke screen printing studio based out of London, specializing in the tough stuff: flocking, foil, devore and fluorescent pigments.

Gavin Insley and Mika Nash formed the studio with the hopes of providing an outlet to designers in need of short runs of high quality textile screen printing and dyeing. Have a look at their video, hopefully you’ll find it as calming and inspiring as we did.

 

Black & White Textile Techniques




Patterns bedecked with Scandinavian-friendly shapes are covering the runway this season. Above is a personal favorite, Thakoon’s SS13 diamond stripe, a piece that’s currently for sale at Moda Opperandi.

These tanagramed dresses from Eley Kishimoto and Marc Jacobs are static and youthful and fully optic. When layered, the textures nearly seem fluid, giving way to movement by way of blurring.

 

Tracking Repetitive + Awesome.
On Instagram.