“Inspiration can start anywhere, you just have to get out and clear your head.” – Thomas Paul expounded about his inspiration for his new line of textiles prints designed for Duralee Fabrics.
Last week the Boston Design Center hosted Design Boston. There new 2010 products for the home were highlighted and seminars were conducted to give designers all the tools they’ll need to be successful next year. I signed up immediately for the seminars and was most excited to hear Thomas Paul speak about his inspirations… (and was lucky enough to snap a pic with him)!
I’ve always been drawn to his unique bold color combinations and pop art graphics, ever since his first line of silk pillows were introduced. Throw pillows are such an easy, quick way to make over a room and add pops of color!
Paul’s inspiration comes from a variety of sources:
He’s inspired by his surroundings and brings these life experiences to his work. Biking around the city, nature walks in the park, and even going to the library help trigger his new ideas.
His imagery has evolved from the two-dimensional, geometric shapes to a more realistic hand drawn quality as seen in his Curiosities Collection – which I love!
His Duralee collection of prints is a great expression of combining some of his earlier ideas using bold, two-tones graphics with touches of more detailed imagery. Some remind me of old toile or damask patterns with a refreshing twist. Actually, this is one way Paul speaks about his work. He pulls from the past and finds objects or patterns by frequenting flea markets and vintage shops then brings them to life again in a new way.
It’s cool to see these bold images applied to traditional forms. What fun you could bring to a vintage wing back chair or settee! It would definitely become a statement piece!
Working at Merida has definitely been a new and exciting experience! I never thought that I would be paid to make patterns, which is one of my favorite hobbies. This summer I created the company’s new business cards which started as actual rug samples. The designs were chosen from some of Merida’s most popular patterns for rugs from their Viewpoint and Tufted Glow Collections. For each design, I outlined the pattern (from the digital rug design) in Illustrator and adjusted the dimensions to fit within each card.
Below are the final graphics - Viewpoint’s Tulip and Dandelion designs, and Glow’s Prism and Refraction designs.
The second major project I worked on was helping create surface designs for Merida’s Hospitality Collection. I was asked to create a range of simple geometrics to organic florals. My first design was inspired by the traditional pinstripe. Making the pinstripe designs were actually the most fun because I could arrange the colors in so many different ways.
On my last day at Merida, I set up my entire portfolio for Maegan to critique. It was a ton of work. We spent over an hour going through it all! She helped me plan for submitting my portfolio when applying to colleges this Fall. We invited all the Merida employees to come in and view the work I accomplished this summer.
More about the students from Youth Design Boston can be viewed here at youthdesign.org
