Looking out my window with a cover of fresh snow on the ground, these beautifully moody digital florals by Suzie Pan feel like the perfect way to kick off December! Suzie is a world traveler and a passionate designer and we are delighted to welcome her to the blog!
Suzie writes,“this was a special collection for me, which was inspired by Rimpa, one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. The interesting thing is without painting or drawing, in the end the result I even surprised myself. Many friends told me they felt those prints look like real paintings. I did this collection in Northern Thailand (Chiangdao- The City of Stars) in September this year. So I have to say, nature has given me endless energy and inspirations.”
“Here comes my story with print designs: One day nearly Christmas time in Addis Ababa, two of my close friends came to me and both of them mentioned the same words “textile design.” Then like a flash of light, suddenly I knew what I was searching for all these years: I don’t like the pattern cutting part of fashion design; I am good at PR, marketing, even business management, but I felt I could build something more than that. I do really love prints and fabrics–all the shapes, materials, details, culture, and colors. And from that day, I started to know there is a job called textile designer in this world. Then I found Pattern Observer and read all the blogs one by one. After that, I joined the Textile Design Lab and other sources, then I started a self educated journey since then. Michelle, Chelsea and their whole team has taught me a lot during this wonderful journey. Then I left Africa and started living and traveling around South East Asia. I kept studying art and painting, and also textile design during this one year. And one day, Chelsea saw my work, and she told me it’s beautiful and they are going to feature me on Pattern Observer, I felt so excited. It’s like a milestone for me. I knew nothing about this industry one year ago…And now I even know myself (soul- the real me better), I felt I do really have a deep connection with Oriental art, especially historical Japanese art. I might not be meant to be a great print designer, but this trial and error journey brings me to a border space of beauty. Where my soul starts to breathe and shine without any doubts.”
We asked Suzie if she has any words of advice for those just starting out on their textile journey, and she replied, “I think most things in life are trial and error. Even if we have already a clear vision and easy imagination in our life, we still have to try everything in order to find the right path to reach our own vision and our own imagination. So, be patient and everything will come out eventually.”
You can learn more about Suzie’s work at http://suziepanprints.wixsite.com/portfolio or www.suziepanprints.com, or reach out to her directly at suzie0918@gmail.com. Have a great weekend, everyone! -Chelsea
