Homespun E7 | Deb Strain

hi everyone welcome to Homespun where creativity and Community come together I am your host Misty Don and today I am joined by Deb strain the longest standing designer for Moda and she's going to walk us through her process from drawing to [Music] fabric Deb thank you so much for being here today I really appreciate it I'm super excited to learn more about your process and I know all of our viewers will be as well so for those who maybe aren't familiar with you will you uh tell us a little bit of your background sure I'm um started out as an art teacher in the public school system and um designed a pattern covers for a dear friend of mine who did soft sculpture dolls Oh My Gosh and um we took those um pattern cover designs and some of my other artwork and started a small greeting card company called saltbox illustrations and we had that for about 10 years and um at one of the trade shows that we were exhibiting at a group of people walked through and about a week later I got a call uh from Moda asking if I would like to design for them oh how fun and that was 27 years ago wow yeah I've heard you're one of their longest standing designers which is pretty incredible and what a testament to your talent and career It's a Wonderful company I I feel like I'm part of their family and um just enjoy working with them so much that's that's amazing so let's go ahead and dive in so they asked you if you would design for them did you know what that was going to entail oh no I had no idea and I think that is part of uh I think that's a real benefit is we all kind of do it our own way all the designers and um it just makes for more diverse uh selection for the customers to have different uh colorways different styles things like that for people to choose from so we all kind of I think figured it out our own I still do it all by hand I love that oh well I I just don't know how to do it by the computer and um my kids all you know say Mom and just learn and well I I'm just going to stick with this now it's working you know it seems to be working just fine yeah well and mod is so um wonderful that they value that and um um encourage me in every way to just you know continue with my style I do try to change new things and um they've been very supportive of that uh through my career you know I I changed uh paint types or Styles and things like that and and they seem really open to that too willing to work with you as you grow yeah just encouraging and supportive um on my uh artistic Journey here I love that that's incredible so if you're willing will you kind of dive into this process sure sure I love to do this um my husband and I go all over the country uh because it's kind of a mission for me to explain to Quilters what all goes into fabric design there's so much involved and just like the Quilters with their quilts um unless you're married to a quilter or live with a quilter you don't always know what all goes into it you know all the time and uh funds uh sleepless nights blood can be involved right you know Blood Sweat and Tears yes um a lot goes into it and I feel the same about fabric design it's just a real um it's a a real journey of love for me every single time I create oh I love that and I think that's evident in your finished result but thank you I'm excited well if you don't mind we'll just dive in and um I start with drawings and so I will um provide this to Moda and a a very rough sketch of what I think the panel would be and um usually I send several options for them to choose from and they pick the direction they would like the best um and I know not everyone uh works with panels but for me designing a fabric collection is like writing a story and the main idea of my story is in my panel uh my little animals or whatever's in it they all have a life and and it's just like w story it all together it does it does so once I get the go-ahead from Moda on the very rough sketch of the panel then I start drawing um this uh line that we're going to be talking about is Woodland winter and it's my newest Christmas winter collection that I believe is in your store right now yes so I'm going to kind of walk through that whole process of that line and after I get the goahead I start doing studies of different animals that I want to include in my uh panel yeah and so these are just studies these are the end studies I do it in pen and in so once I get the ones I like I can just reuse those and uh then that makes more consistency in the fabric collection I love that so a lot of you know a lot of designs um so these are still drawings that you've done with with ink yes so this is still you every step of the way so I just um take pictures of deer and and and then I do sketches and and things like that so wonderful and then the next step is taking those uh drawings and kind of plugging them into the blocks and from that initial sketch there were three blocks on top and three on bottom so the next thing I do is take the my favorites of the pen and ink and plug those into um the blocks that are going to be um around it and and just a little Greenery there just really frame them up oh so these are the six blocks um that would be in the that panel that you in the panel right wow and then I do the main part of the panel and that's going to be this is the sketch for the main part of the panel here and I've plugged those same animals in so again they're consistent throughout the collection um and then this is actually drawn at half size of what the panel fabric would be okay and so just to give you an idea this is how those six blocks would lie in here um for the oh my goodness that is so fun so this is all the drawing part we haven't even got to the painting or anything absolutely but um after I get the panel drawn my next step is drawing the uh coordinating prints and patterns which I love to do and one thing I love Misty is I I love old style patterns like jards and Damas oh my goodness I love those and I try to include one of those in almost every collection so I want to just show you how I design a damasque by hand perfect okay so um every single pattern or print has a motif and that's the part that's repeated over and over well to get a motif for a damasque you need it to be symmetrical on both sides kind of mirror itself right and so I'm so old school this is how I do it oh my goodness I draw it and then I flip it and paste it down it's it's the same way they probably Egyptians did it probably but it's so amazing I mean to see literally your hands touching each one of these steps is just incredible and like you said I think so many people don't realize the amount of effort that goes into designing these lines and these collections right and this is just one piece of the collection how many steps go into it well after I get this Motif designed the next challenge is fitting it together how does it piece together so that it's the narrow parts fit in with the wide Parts you know and so the damasc is going to be laid out so it's seamless and and that in itself is a challenge so um so I design about eight to 10 to 12 different coordinating pieces okay for each collection and um that gives moo some choices I always like to give them choices options to narrow it down for the final yes yes and so that's um another some of them are very intricate like this one so fun with all the greenery right and but it does um it keeps those animals consistent you know I tried to keep them consistent throughout yeah you see your same little creatures and they're just kind of hiding in all of all those woods yep it's my we's Waldo of winter Woodland right I love that but um it I try to do an all over for each one because they're wonderful backings and things like that for the quilts that makes sense yeah so um then the next part after I get these all drawn is to go on to the painting okay and um just close get um I am limited to 17 colors when I paint um and that's because that's the number of screens they have at the Mill where they print these okay that's great to know I had no idea yes and so on Woodland winter these are my 17 colors that I have um Chosen and I hand mix them so I keep a recipe every time of you know how do I get to this color or how do I get to that so you can recreate it yes okay and and sometimes um like I've done 4B fabric lines over say a 10 year period but they all coordinate so I have to be able to you know to recreate it all those years later that makes sense that's great yeah so um those are my um those are my colors and the um the seamstress can see these colors those are on the Salvage Edge yeah those are the same colors oh that show up right there on the edge of the Salvage I love that and so I imagine this is a lot of trial and error as you're selecting those colors absolutely and it's so important the color selection is so important to you know do you want it softer do you want it warmer do you want it brighter cooler and so much of that is in the um color selection but also in the medium that I use in terms of paint um if I want it to be really strong and bold I use like an acrylic paint okay but if I want it softer and warmer I'll use a watercolor paint to let some of that airiness through that makes sense so 17 colors is your your number and and I don't think every um fabric line is has that number but for me most of the time that um I've heard that different um manufacturers use different uh limits on their color so and then I just start painting and so I can take these out yeah so these are going to be the paintings of the blocks and um just you know I like the wash I wanted these to be really soft and not bright oh they're so beautiful and um so those are the C the uh blocks that you saw the drawings for and then you can see all those same colors that you've swatched there right it just and and by limiting yourself to a color palette it kind of forces you to keep it all Tighter and um The Collection to be a little U more cohesive that is so cool and then this one is this is the main painting and I'm actually recreating this right now in your main store and we're giving it away today at 2 o' gosh how fun yeah the painting it's a big painting that is so cool so um when I get the panel painted I do a really nice color copy and send this to because this shows how far apart I'm asking them to put the blocks where I want the blocks things like that and um then I'll just show you some of these painted this is the Damas painted and I wanted this one to be more uh simple yeah uh I you know I could have painted it with the tree and the branches and all that but I wanted it to be simple and then again here are the four colors of ink they would be using on the screen oh wow see I I would have barely even notice those are so soft that's amazing um we do paint things out different color ways okay so um when you you know when when your customers walk into a store they're going to see a red and white polka dot a blue and white polka dot and um the designers actually uh provide that information okay so when I paint something like this out I provide it in different color ways I don't have to specifically show the whole thing I just have to show where where the colors change oh okay so just a little Swatch yeah so these are going to be my different colorways for the damask oh my goodness I love those this red is just the red the red was the whole driving force on this I wanted it to have a Scandinavian field to it I think that's why I'm drawn to it I yeah me me too and then here's the the little tiny one painted out with the uh and just so many fun details whether it's the little the little bows or the tiny berries I just think they look so good that is amazing I love detail that is one thing I I love detail and this was another one I just wanted it to be really soft but as a I just thought that could be such a workable um fabric collection Fabric and then these would be the colorways that I would actually I love that provide the information for right so that is amazing de I just love this and and like you said I think for so many of us we just don't realize all of these little details you know you really have to identify every single you know shade and then figure out how all of these pieces are going to work together so when you're concepting for a line let's say where do you find inspiration for that well um I use nature nature is probably my biggest go-to um as a lot of artists um that is our um inspiration for a lot of our work um I also follow Trends a lot um you know what color trends are coming out what uh animal Trends what flower Trends what theme Trends and when I'm designing I'm designing about a year and a half before it's in the customer's hands so I'm not looking at Trends specifically that are in style right now I'm trying to look at trends that are on the edges right right so um trying to pay attention into that and then um just everyday life is inspirational you know the love of a family or the just things like that are really inspirational I love that and I I relate to that as well even in the quilt design side right you know people ask all the time how do you come up with an idea every week it's like well there's just yeah when you start doing the thing it it it it does inspiration comes it is it's I I I know that I have more ideas than I will ever be able to paint or design I no I love that I feel the same way like I I I don't think we'll ever run out so that's no that's not the problem that's amazing so can we see this in fabric now yes I would love to show you the Finish now that you've seen the steps let's see how it looks here so this is going to be the panel okay and we did it in three colorways um this is the blue color way oh my gosh and now you've seen the de and all that's behind that and then the little blocks that is the coolest thing and the white color way do you ever just feel like you kind of have to pinch yourself like I can't believe I get to do this oh my goodness every day I am so fortunate to do what I love every single day I mean I can't wait to wake up and work every day I I I still feel like that after 27 years oh what a gift and um very very very fortunate um and then I love the black color way it just really shows up and Pops yes it does so nicely oh my gosh I just love that this is so cool thank you so much for sharing all of this and then here's all the rest of the these are the Fabrics right oh my goodness look at those and and this is that red and white I just I love how that came out oh my gosh this is so cool well and you can even see here you know you had swatched that out in multiple colors but I notic now that the damask like we don't have that in Black right right and so some of those samples that you made don't make it to the final right I give choice I like to give Moda choices because I feel like they know their customers much better than I do and um so but like here's the damasque yes um in green and here it is in green and white and and then the red yeah so um I always try to include um different densities of patterns too you know some that are more spread apart some that are scaled larger or smaller right because that certainly helps create interest when you then put it into a quilt absolutely and I think Quilters um have more choices as well um also you know directional non-directional you want to include things like that um because I know filters like that too that makes sense so now we've seen this whole kind of Journey from from this idea in your brain to sketch all the way to when it's printed Fabric and I know that you mentioned a little bit about Trends so can we talk a little bit more about that sure well I like to use quilts of course perfect to illustrate that perfect I'll clean up some of this for you sure thank you so I like to show um and illustrate how Trends have changed over my 27 years of Designing Fabric and a good way to do that is with Christmas colors because we all know Christmas colors right red and green red and green right you think it would be pretty straightforward you would think so yes but um so I brought I started in the mid90s so this is my first quilt um fabric line that I did for Christmas with Moda and look at the colors in this one now this is from the '90s go 1997 I believe and look at the colors here dark and dirty mut yes yes real primitive um just real muted and uh the Reds and greens were deep deep Reds you know Pine Green Burgundy a true yes so if we fast forward a couple years then um well I would say almost eight or nine years the colors the green is almost completely non-existent and the colors go more towards aqua and red oh interesting and the green during a couple years green was just not even hardly present it was just kind of hidden um a little bit and so that changed a lot the red got a little brighter yep and then if you fast forward even quite a few more years the red and green changed dramatically almost like neon oh my gosh it was just crazy and but beautifully bright happy and um yeah so and all of my quilts just to say are designed or most of my quilts are designed by Barb at coach house designs awesome and she's a dear friend and she does a wonderful job I I can never say enough about how clever she is with how she uses panels abut like this one is a house yes and she's cut the panel up and so the windows are the blocks of the panel and then the main part of the panel becomes um the Santa and she's just so clever I'm so fortunate to work with Barb and so she designs most of my um quilts for me so in the end after you've finished designing the fabric then she takes it to that next step yes and and we are such a wonderful team I'm so fortunate to have her in my in my ballpark here and then I did bring a quilt made with Woodland winter as well because this would be the now my now version and it's more of a traditional red and green yes so um I feel like I'm most comfortable with the traditional colors but then this is a quilt that barb has designed oh my go using Cardinals the trees and she pieces the Cardinals and the trees which I love but then somehow she still works those blocks in um because I know a lot of people don't know what to do with a panel what do you do with a panel but she's so clever with how she does this and includes the piecing and just does an amazing job look at these cute Cardinals and the trees I just love this well Barb does such a wonderful job of using the panels as I mentioned so many Quilters don't know what to do with panels absolutely I would count myself as one of them what do you do it's it's lovely and but what do I do with it absolutely and Barb is so creative with how she uses the panels and incorporates them still to look like a quilt not a decoration per se but a a beautiful quilt and just this is stunning I it I love this and the little Holly that's surrounding these these blocks from the panel I think it is just just beautiful so awesome she does a great job very fortunate that is so cool yeah so that kind of is a way I show um how the trends have changed the Reds and greens have gone from you know deep dark to bright bright to traditional to you know and and I think in our um industry we have such a wide variety of tastes about anything goes everybody has different tastes and I love that yeah um so but it's fun to watch how they change yeah and I think that's that's really interesting maybe for you as an artist is it challenging to switch with those Trends oh yes it is so challenging and you know you're trying to predict into the future what is what is going to be popular what are people going to want and um so that is a challenge so I really pay attention um to things um Trends and things like that uh in in my world you know in in things that are uh important to me absolutely that makes sense all right so what's next for you Deb what do you have coming up well I'm very excited about my line that's coming out um in August okay um with Boda and it is called Willow's Farm now Willow is one of our granddaughters oh cute yeah so um this uh it's a a juvenile collection um about farm animals and things and a couple years ago I did a farm a collection called Effie's Woods remember yes for our other daughter a granddaughter and that had woodland animals in it so this time we're focusing on um farm animals so I'd love to show those I love that so let's take a minute and clear that out and then we'll bring those up perfect all right so now we have these fun drawings let's paintings you've already got to the painting Point well I wanted it to be about have uh animals but baby animals and so I focused on oh my gosh farm animals that we all know and love and it has a similar format to Effie's Woods um but just different style of animals different farm animals and oh my goodness lots of friendly little they are so Critters huge I love them a well and then the uh actual fabric they did such a lovely job of printing this is going to be the panel that is so fun yeah and it's available in a white and then a kind of a light light blue blue color right that is so fun yeah and then um like I mentioned I always do an all over this one is this is the artwork for the all over and it had to have a willow tree in it for Willow yeah I did and so uh some of the these are some of the Fabrics then from Willows F and it does have trucks and tractors sure and then here's my damask now that everyone knows what a damask is um just kind of a repeated pattern like that um that is so cute that and then yeah well I love some of the textures you you've Incorporated here like the chicken wi yes that's so usable oh great oh absolutely and then I I like there's um some little sheep I just think sheep are so sweet oh my gosh yes I love that so that is Willow's farm and um again it will be arriving in stores in August that's amazing so how many collections do you design like in a year usually about four okay um three to four yeah once a quarter usually um they take me about four to six weeks to design each one okay um and that's working really hard at it um but again I love it it this is my favorite fabric I design products you know greeting cards and calendars and puzzles and everything but fabric is by far my favorite it's just it's so wonderful to just dive deep into to one theme with a you know one group of colors and going to tell that story yes tell the story exactly yeah I love that so much and this has been so amazing I especially love that you brought some of your first designs so that you can really see the change well and the journey right I mean absolutely incredible and the just the amount of detail I will never look at fabric the same way again I think that's that's really amazing so I always like to give people out there who are maybe wanting to get started in whatever realm we're discussing a little bit of encouragement so what would you share with someone who would love to become a fabric designer well first of all I would um make sure you practice your craft every day I paint every day now if you design on the computer which is wonderful um do that every day so that you become really really um educated in what you're doing because uh then I would also I would um advise if you want to be a fabric designer don't just design one collection have several that a company can look at so that they can see what all you can do that you're not just going to do one collection and then you don't know what to do right um so if you're going to present to a fabric company I would try to have seven several collections so that they can see your abilities and things like that and then the other thing is just be willing to change change is is constant in in any kind of world with the Arts and things like that and and you have to be willing to change um and and put the time in I love that that's a really good reminder because I think it's really easy for us all to kind of fall into our way and this is how we want it to be but especially when you're working with the company that has been in the industry such a long time they know what customers are looking for what Quilters are looking for so their their advice is is probably really you know consequential for you as a designer is they they know what they're doing by far and I trust them completely um these are my babies and I send them to be raised by Moda and I and and I trust them completely oh I love that this has been so incredible Deb thank you so much for being here can you let everyone know where to find you maybe on social media if they want to follow along or anything else you have going on I'm um I'm on Deb strain just is my Instagram okay and Facebook is Deb strain studio um we just have a little Etsy site so you can search for me on Etsy if you're interested and we will be having our new embroidery kits Wonder on those soon too so right awesome and one other thing you go and you share even more like what you've shared here so do you want to talk to us a little bit about that sure uh Scott and I my husband my wonderful husband and I we travel all over the country um just educating especially guilds and things like that um about the process of fabric design because I know they put so much love and time uh into their amazing creations and it I think for me to know that they know what's comes before that um I think they would enjoy that as well absolutely so if if you have a guild they they can reach out and and get onle abolutely that's amazing thank you again Deb I truly appreciate it and I hope we I'll see you again soon thank you y [Music]