Having worked for over ten years creating textiles for film costumes, Sarah relishes the craft and technique of her work.  Be it over a dye pot, print table or on the computer, for Sarah, the world of textiles and storytelling are inextricably linked. The whimsy, symmetry and surprise of nature is what inspires Sarah.  Be it the mangroves rising out of the mud or the flutter of a fantail, this is where the ideas began. From their natural beginnings the ideas are then filtered through her paintbrushes, pens and hand strokes, ensuring they retain an organic quality.  Imperfections are embraced as important elements in the perfection and beauty of the whole.

I love working in the field of textile print design because it is design with a tactile dimension. I delight in the printing process - ink hitting fabric - when a design comes to life, creating new and surprising results each time. I enjoy visual rhythm in a design and how pattern and imagery can convey and express personality, ideas and lift spirits. Textiles are for living with -we touch, lie on and surround ourselves with them on a daily basis. I am inspired by nature, by other eras, vintage furniture, fashion and cultures; and aim to create provocative, exuberant designs that enhance a living space with pattern and colour.

As a designer my creative projects cover: interior design, furniture, products, and textile design. On our 64 acre lifestyle block in the south of Otago we run highland cattle, Saanen goats, turkeys, chooks and pigs. Inspiration abounds as nature is very much expressing itself on our property. New Zealand scenery is so powerful and beautiful. My heart is always outside running alongside the animals in gumboots, clad in overalls, with my ponytails blowing in the wind. My designs reflect this happy attitude and I do adore the whimsy and playful. My desire to design for eco textiles stems from that inner sense of letting my love of living in New Zealand out.

Karo and Fitzroy were designed by Tanya Wolfkamp a designer based on beautiful Waiheke Island. Natural objects, in all their intricate detail, form the starting point for all her designs whether they are figurative or botanical. "The natural world is so incredibly perfect and inspiring I don't feel the need to change it too much to present beautiful and timeless prints that I would want to live with for decades" Tanya's Fitzroy collection gives the traditional pastoral toile de jouy a modern interpretation by portraying a 'down under' landscape. Sheep shearers, kids playing footy and cattle mustering all depict an idealised vision of our rural life but they also show a glimpse of our possible future; a future without oil.

I enjoy the idea of communicating a mood, interpretation or idea in an illustration.  Interior textiles differ from art, in that they are both functional and subtle in their message - a visual propaganda that eventually camouflages into the environment. I begin every design with a thousand inspirations; my next step is to find a theme amongst these disparate ideas. Consciously hunting for an idea I have subconsciously developed. I am always researching, before, during and even after a design is developed. I scour blogs, personal photographs, locations in Auckland and libraries. You do not want to design something only to see it somewhere else as sometimes designers can be subconscious thieves.

Jade Culton is a graphic designer originally from the small coastal town of Waihi Beach, now residing in Sydney. Heavily influenced by her surroundings and beach lifestyle her designs explore the natural elements and memories of the New Zealand coast and ocean life. Textiles being a relatively new field of design she enjoys the tactile element and the feeling different colour ways can produce and loves the thought of being able to contribute to a persons home and surroundings.