Valentino Spring 2015 Couture

Ok I'm a little late. The season may have passed but the beauty of this collection will never die. My eyes just eat this right up! There is something so satisfying to me about the rich colors and folk patterns—they just speak to my inner European. The patterns are of another time and place yet so familiar; and now incorporated into our modern lives. I love how appreciated these textiles are. I believe folk style is so loved because people want to cherish past traditions and celebrate where they came from. 

Photo credit: Gianni Pucci  / Indigitalimages.com

Sky's the Limit

I once saw an HP ad that said "don't let your babies grow up to be jpegs." This is exactly the thought I have when I look at the gazillion photos stored in my computer. I have always tried to use my photos in a useful and creative way. These sky images were taken last week, all on the same night within a 20 minute timeframe. 

I love how a pixelated, repeating pattern can be created and the fun is when you look at it up close and realize that each tiny square is a different sky.

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You can also click here, here and here to see more of my photography pattern collages. 

Getting Loose

A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon with some acrylic paint—something I hadn't pulled out in a while. I had fun making lots of splashes, daubs and strokes. This past week I spent time making some loose patterns using my playtime markings.

And here is the result of that playing. Some simple, yet bold designs in bright fruity colors.

Have bloomin' great day!

I woke up super early again and decided to do my "morning design flow" exercise. I get out my sketchbook first thing every day after waking to see what comes. I used to keep a dream journal, but now I'm letting my thoughts come out as designs. Here's what happened today.

At 6:00 AM I began sketching, and by 7:00 I had a motif I thought I could play with.

Then I brought the motif into Illustrator and did an image trace so the lines were nice and clean.

I dragged the motif into PS and worked on the layout and then the color. 

A few hours later...and voila! 

A pattern is born. 

© Katja Ollendorff

© Katja Ollendorff

I couldn't help but make some coordinates to go along with the primary design. And then a gazillion color changes later... I landed here.

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Collections

I like to change things up, so I'm always working on something different—experimenting with different mediums and painting techniques. I love to move from design to design, but sometimes I get swept away and need to remember to focus in on the bigger picture—and think about how the design could work as part of a collection. 

This has been my focus this week as I go back through my individual designs to see which would be good candidates to elaborate on. I actually really enjoy doing this, I just don't do it enough.

Take a peek at a few collections I have put together. What do you think?