Material Girl
We chat to designer Amy Butler
Have you always been creative?
Yes, from as early as I can remember. I'd spend hours as a kid drawing, painting and making environments for my Barbie dolls. Unfortunately, the cats would also have to put up with wearing outfits I put together from scrap fabrics! Everyone received my handmade gifts, and I often tried to sell my creations to folks in my neighborhood. I think my entrepreneurial spirit started early too! I do come from a very creative family. My mom and grandmother are both self-taught artists, and have been a huge influence on me. As a child of the 70s I watched both of them dabble and often master every craft. They created watercolour paintings, hooked rugs, knitted or quilted groovy dioramas with antique artifacts and dried flowers –t ruly making our home a creative nest. My grandmother was always great about making me feel included in their craft events. She often saved scraps for me to play with and proudly displayed my handmade goods. I have many fond memories of her sewing room in the attic. It was always full of fabric and UFOs in various stages that fascinated me. She will always be one of my biggest inspirations.
How did you get into designing?
My passion for fabrics and sewing has been a common thread through the span of my life so far and it continues to build. I realised I wanted to become an artist as soon as I learned what the word meant as a young girl. When I was a teenager, I focused my energies and enrolled in art school. I worked hard to hone my skills without losing that sense of intrigue and passion – exploring shapes, colours, textures, and style. Surface design and fashion became my obsession. After graduation I worked as an art director for Hallmark Cards and learned a great deal about business. After four years it became clear that the corporate life was not for me, so Dave (my husband) and I headed back to Ohio to be with our families. We then started Art of the Midwest, which we've now owned and operated for 16 years! We've lived several design lives and have created products, designed stores and have been illustrators on a national level. Each new client and opportunity has led to the next and six years ago I found myself in the quilting industry with my first collection of sewing patterns that evolved from work I was doing with a magazine. In 1997 we started producing lifestyle stories alongside our studio work. I became a resource for producing 'how to' articles that provided inspirational ideas for using vintage fabrics. The magazine was short on space, but we needed to get instructions to our readers so they could make up the projects. This is how Amy Butler Sewing Patterns began. Soon after, I discovered the International Quilt Market where I exhibited my first collection and signed on with Free Spirit fabrics to design my first material collection... a dream I've always had!
Do you have any formal qualifications?
I graduated from the Columbus College of Art & Design in 1988 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. I also majored in Retail Advertising with a textile and fashion design focus.
What's your favourite piece that you have made?
I can't single out a favourite because I love them all. I know, it's an easy answer but it's true! I love the evolution that has happened with all of my creative work. There are bits about my earliest projects that I'll always love and there are new discoveries, techniques and inspiration that happens with my more recent designs which are exciting. They all feed off the other... I love the spontaneity and kinetic flow that ties all of my projects together.
What inspires you?
My biggest inspiration comes from travel and my garden, which explains my love of florals! Travel is so influential, it takes me away from my day-to-day rituals and allows me to open my mind and think differently, it also gives me the 'mental escape' I need to renew my creative energy. I love to get completely absorbed in a place or culture, to step back and take in great design from architecture to museum collections or shocking colours in a tropical locale.My garden is a never ending resource for beautiful colour and design. Each season I have a different show, from spring to winter. My garden is one of my favourite places to spend time. I'm a plant collector and I love the intricate design in different flowers and foliage. The variety in the shapes and patterning offers up loads of fresh ideas. I'm definitely inspired by the natural world as a whole. Our home is filled with finds from our property or travels and I'm always bringing the outside in with freshly cut flowers and tropicals. My mother raised me with an appreciation for nature, so spending time outdoors truly feeds my soul and creative spirit. Broadly, all decorative arts and textiles have greatly influenced my work. This of course includes fashion. I’ve gone through several love affairs with different genres and periods of design. Culturally, I’m hugely inspired by ethnic textiles and artifacts. I am influenced by every era of design, from turn of the century to mid-century. To me, design is far more interesting and fun when you experiment with many different elements. There's a common thread that can be found in the details that pull styles together, and when combined with a unifying colour palette, they sing with a stylised freshness.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love that I get to create artwork for my designs and that they are enjoyed by so many people. I love what I do and I feel this energy is translated in my work and passes onto others. It’s pleasure that keeps paying forward. I’m just a starting point, peoples work with my patterns and fabrics to create and then pass that happiness onto the recipient. It's a very cool cycle of joy. I’m fortunate that folks respond so sincerely to what I do, which is incredibly humbling and fulfilling.
What's your favourite craft material to use?
I'd have to say fabric. It's been my material of choice for most of my life. I also love paper, beads and yarn! It's fun to rotate between passions.
Are you a keen follower of fashion?
I do love fashion and playing with combining new and vintage finds. I'm more about finding defining garments that make me feel fabulous and have a sense of style, but aren't necessarily top end designer things, although sometimes those pieces are just right too. I think it's more fun finding great items from a variety of resources, say thrift store to boutique and of course...Target!
Do you use your own fabrics and designs around your house?
Oh yes! I like to call our house the 'design lab'. I am constantly rotating new cushions, slipcovers and pillows throughout the rooms. We are always taking inspirational photos for my new fabric collections, so the sample pillows and accessories that we shoot end up as 'keepers' that we love living with. It's so fun to surround ourselves with my fabrics, they are comforting, joyful and, of course, very personal. From a design standpoint, it's great to experience my prints first-hand and often many of my new fabric lines are inspired by how we are living, what colors and subjects we are inspired by at that moment. I often say, much of my creation is somewhat selfish, in that I love creating prints that I would want to live with and enjoy.
What advice would you give others who'd like to follow in your footsteps?
First off, it's very important to have an art education and some business experience. Having a trained design background does make a difference. These are just foundation tools and the rest is up to you personally in how you create and present your ideas. Nothing is set in stone and there isn't a rule book, you just have to be willing to put yourself out there and share passions and ideas. It's good to be organised and have a sense of identity. Gain perspective on what you'd like to do, yet be flexible and open to change, willing to take risks in order to grow. I always tell people that my pattern business and fabric design opportunities were 16 years in the making. My current creative life didn't happen overnight and it took hard work and years of experiences to solidify into the life I'm living at this moment. It takes a lot of "paying attention" to opportunities, not being afraid of risk and trusting my instincts to make the best decisions I can at the time. Every experience leads to the next place you need to go, it's important to be thankful for where you are at in this moment and appreciate the opportunities it provides you right now. All the odd jobs, freelance projects, client work, education, life experiences have all lead me to this place; it works this way for all of us, it's a process and there's never a dull moment. I feel that part of my success is due to having a personal point of view in how I present myself and my products. Being true to yourself will naturally establish your unique voice. That's the biggest piece of advice I can give. Don't be afraid to be yourself. Everything will fall into place and evolve naturally. Be consistent from how your products look and feel all the way to your website, advertising and marketing material. Everything you do should feel consistent with who you are in every way. Take chances and make mistakes, it's all part of the process. In the end, the whole experience is very satisfying.
To view Amy's full range, or for more information, see http://www.amybutlerdesign.com
