Fabric designed by Holli Zollinger, Ruby Star Society, Lara Cameron and Caitlin Klooger, Sally Kelly, Mili Suleman, and Cecilia Mok
Fabric designed by Holli Zollinger, Ruby Star Society, Lara Cameron and Caitlin Klooger, Sally Kelly, Mili Suleman, and Cecilia Mok
The journey that culminated in Modern F]abric began with a small fabric and art supply store in Belfast, on the coast of Maine. Fiddlehead Artisan Supply is owned and operated by coauthor Abby Gilchrist. Several years ago, our editor, Jan Hartman, walked into Fiddlehead and asked Abby about the fabric that fills the store. Abby replied that she stocks “modern fabric.”
As Abby guided her through the shop, Jan pulled bolts from the shelves. “Who designed this fabric?” Alexia Abegg. “And this?” Alison Glass. “And this?” Jen Hewett. The fabrics tell the story of the aesthetic Abby curates for Fiddlehead—what people in the quilting industry call “modern fabric.” Solids and textured woven fabrics support the prints. The printed cottons at the front of the shop guide the eye to apparel fabric at the back, including double gauze designed by Naomi Ito of nani IRO and Liberty lawns from Sally Kelly.
After Jan suggested that Abby write a book about these designers, Abby approached Amelia, a textile designer and frequent Fiddlehead customer, to collaborate on the project. While wishing that we (Abby and Amelia) could write about the hundreds of designers whose work we find exciting and inspirational, we had to choose. We wanted to present a diverse group of designers, not just the most established ones or representatives of only one element of the wider fabric industry. In addition, we wanted to feature a range of modern design styles and methods and types of production. We found a broad array: designers who work with fabric companies and those designing independently, those who design for large-scale production, and those who screen print or block print their own designs. But the primary criterion in selecting designers was aesthetic: Would this fabric fit well into Abby’s store?
Each essay is based on an interview with the designer. Some interviews were conducted in person and some via video chat; other designers responded to questions in writing. The images accompanying each essay were provided to us or approved by each designer as representative of his or her work.
There is no single definition of “modern fabric.” In this book, we let the designers speak about the ideas behind their aesthetic: their inspiration, creative processes, personal opinions, and reflections on design.