F-58211a Quiet Encounter in Flannel

#JessicaSwift 

I’ve been obsessed with patterns and color since I was a small child. I remember my grandmother, who was a painter, a quilter, and a fabric-lover, telling me once as I sat drawing at her kitchen table that I should be a fabric designer. It wasn’t until I became a surface pattern designer many years later that I remembered her remark and marveled at the fact that she was able to see my future so clearly. My mom taught me how to sew at a young age – she was a self-taught doll maker and is still to this day whipping up impressive projects on a whim and without a plan! – and I grew up surrounded by fabric.

My childhood and teen years were spent in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado. I then went to college in Ithaca, New York and moved back to Boulder for another 5 years after graduating; I also lived in Atlanta, Georgia for 5 years while my husband was in medical school and I now live in beautiful Portland, Oregon with my husband, our adorable toddler, and our two sweet cats. I work in a beautiful, sun-filled studio in my backyard, where I paint, design, and teach other creative people how to make their own repeating patterns through my online course and community, Pattern Camp.

I’m endlessly inspired by the natural world and its stunning variety of shapes and colors and textures; our man-made world inspires me, too, through, and travel (even if it’s just in my imagination!) is a go-to source of creative juju for me as well. My view is that there’s inspiration everywhere if you’re willing to look at the world that way!