The Patternbase is a leading textile design studio, co-founded by designers Kristi O’Meara and Audrey Victoria Keiffer, and based in Chicago, Illinois. Their studio specialises in painted, hand illustrated and digitally rendered surface designs for interiors, paper goods and apparel. The Patternbase also offers the design community valuable resources and inspiration, as well as educational tools relating to the art of surface design. Their ultimate goal is to bring creative minds together. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of The Pattern Base.
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1) In your own words describe your unique style and creative aesthetic?
Our style reflects a variety of different inspirations. We are highly inspired by 70s and 80s avant-garde, cellular nature shapes, and bold and modern contemporary design.
2) When starting a new project, what is your creative process?
We usually become absorbed in our desired aesthetic or experiment with different mediums to create something we haven’t explored before visually.
3) Out of the creative people you have worked with, who is it that you respect and admire the most?
We respect and admire all of the creative people we’ve worked with. Each collaboration has taught us something different and allowed us to explore a different direction that we had not considered or experienced before. They’ve all been amazing and there’s no way we can choose!
4) When looking for inspiration is there a particular thing you do to get inspired?
We like to find photos that reflect a mood and operate like “sponges” visually. Sometimes it’s experimenting with a new medium, method or shape that leads us somewhere aesthetically.
5) What has brought you to this point in your career? And what is your advice for people looking to follow in your footsteps?
We are at a very early stage in our career. We’ve reached this point through a strong work ethic, taking risks, collaborating with others, practicing self-promotion, and a lot of grant writing. Our advice would be to work hard, don’t be afraid of failing, and never give up.