Tallinn by Jessica Swift

Lo okBo ok FABRIC

TALLINN by JESSICA SWIFT

FABRIC PROJECT CATALOG

Jessica’s travels through Eastern Europe bring to life Tallinn.

Picturesque Estonian villages, graceful swans, & a deep love for combining quirky folk motifs come together in this playful collection.

Q &A

Jessica

SWIFT

“... AND IT IS ALL OK. FOLLOW YOUR ENERGY. FOLLOW WHAT FEELS GOOD AND IT WILL WORK ITSELF OUT.”

1. Hi, Jessica! We’re so excited to have you debut your first collection Tallinn, for AGF’s ANGLES division! Can you tell us all about it?

Thank you! I’m so thrilled to be here in the AGF family. What a dream! This collection is inspired by a variety of memories from my travels through Eastern Europe during my early 20s. I wanted to create a collection that feels folky, quirky, and modern at the same time.

I’ve always loved color and using it in unique ways, so that was an important component of this collection as well, of course. The collection is meant to feel a little bit nostalgic, a little bit fantastical, and most of all wonderfully fun, playful, and uplifting.

2. Since Tallinn highlights some of your travels through Eastern Europe, what were some of your most memorable experiences in this region?

There are so many! When in Tallinn specifically, my favorite memory is when I walked one day from the hostel where I stayed all the way to the edge of the Baltic Sea. I can still feel the surprise and delight that I experienced when I saw swans swimming in the cold, still water.

Ocean swans! (This memory directly inspired the Baltic Swans fabric.)

I happened upon a circus while in Hungary, also while out walking, big red and white striped circus tent and all. Across the street was an anthropological dig site of some sort; all on a crowded and busy city street. It was

very bizarre! (This memory directly inspired the Tigris and Zirkusbau fabrics.)

I remember arriving in Prague on an overnight bus from Paris. It was the first time I’d ever traveled anywhere that didn’t use the same alphabet, and I remember feeling both exhilarated and nervous at the same time. It was so apparent how far from home I was. I remember the orange-red rooftops, the stunning spires, the Charles Bridge in the early morning….

My Village Meander/Village Adventure print is inspired by a 10-mile walk through the Czech countryside one day while I was visiting Ceske Krumlov, Czech Republic – the walk took me from the center of town out of town to a quiet, peaceful monastery miles away, which I’d discovered and read about in a guidebook, I think. When I travel I like to walk – apparently that’s where all my favorite memories come from!

3. What was your design process when you were creating this collection?

The whole collection started with the Tigris print. Without any sort of plan in the beginning, I created a small tiger painting that ended up inspiring a pattern design that didn’t end up making it into this collection but that did spark the idea for the Eastern European slant that would eventually become the Tallinn collection. Once I had

that idea in mind, I gathered some folky inspiration images – flowers, animals, etc – in order to make my vision for the collection a bit more concrete. Then I just started designing. I reworked some old designs, I created lots of new designs…. And I ended up with way more designs than would end up in the final collection. It was a bit of a scattered process for me this first time around; the colors changed a lot as the collection developed, I reworked several of the prints to become better and stronger than they were in their first incarnation (most notable, the Village Meander/Adventure fabric – it looks so different than it did in the beginning of the process!).

Lots of designs were vetoed along the way and I created new ones as I moved along and became clearer in my vision. My design process is very intuitive and evolves as I create; I never have a fully-formed plan in the beginning. There is always a lot of room for change and surprises as I work. This collection was no exception!

4. What was the most challenging part about designing Tallinn?

If you can believe it, designing the blender prints, the more simple ones, was my particular challenge. As Pat told me during the design process: “You really like to fill up all the space, don’t you?” That is very much true! I am a pro at creating busy prints, and the simpler ones come a bit less naturally. But I learned a lot through the process and it’s

made designing my next collections a bit easier.

5. One of the most exciting things to see when debuting a collection is all the projects people make! What are some things you look forward to being made with Tallinn?

I can’t wait to see what people make for their children with this collection. I don’t know if it’s just because I have an adorable young child of my own or what, but I just can’t get enough of seeing photos of cute kids in hand-sewn clothes. And photos of cute kids in hand-sewn clothes made from my own fabric is a particular thrill! I’m hoping to see some really creative clutches and bags, and women’s clothing, too. Aside from that, I’m really just excited to see the variety of items that are created. SInce this is my first collection with AGF, I’m not really sure what to expect from all the makers. I think maybe my mind is about to be blown!

6. What are some things you would like to make for yourself?

Dresses! I already made one (it was an epic failure, but my two year old loves it, haha!), and I’m excited to practice making more. I also want to make some zippered pouches for sure, a tank top of some kind, and shorts.

I need cute shorts!

I also would love to tackle a quilt project, but it freaks me out a little bit. I’ve never

2 ½ years into this mama + artist thing, I think I’ve got somewhat of a better hang of it, 7. In addition to designing fabrics, you run your which is good, but I still struggle sometimes and I still don’t have a magic answer, unown surface design courses, create art, and take care of your toddler. What advice do you fortunately! My advice to makers who are have for makers who are trying to expand their in similar situations is to be gentle with yourcreative careers while managing their family? self, as best as you can. Know that what you are doing in this new version of your life Oh boy, I wish I had the magical answer to is enough. It is more than enough, in fact. this one. I will be very honest and tell you (You are doing so much!!) Do as best you that I’ve struggled with this over the past few years. As an “older” mom (my kiddo was born can to accept it all. The days when you just long for your old life. The days when a couple of years ago when I was 35), I had you don’t even want to work because you years of working for myself alone in my studio just want to stare at your baby (or sleep. under my belt, and it was a real shock when Oh god, sleep.) The days when you can’t this freedom and space was just…. Gone all believe how much you got done in such of a sudden. It was amazing in many ways, a short amount of time (and realize all the don’t get me wrong, but it was also really time you “wasted” before you had a kid/ hard. I had to learn to create in tiny pockets kids). The days where absolutely nothing of time, whereas before I had endless, spaon your list gets done and it sucks. The days cious hours in which to create and do all the that are amazing and you feel completely things I wanted and needed to do. That time aligned. All of it. Just say yes to it all. It will got incredibly compressed once my baby make things a lot easier. (Take that from was born. On the one hand, I became a lot more efficient with my work time. On the other someone who’s done a lot of the opposite of that!) hand, I really missed and mourned my previous life sometimes. Friends would tell me “just Also: be real with your schedule. Creating leave the work, it’ll be there when you come an unrealistic to do list will only serve to back to it”, and that was just never an option make you feel like a failure when you don’t for me. My work/creativity is so so important and not something I could just let go. My baby cross everything off at the end of the day.

Simple aim to make some sort of progress was also, obviously, the most important, and I every day toward your creative goals. This couldn’t stand the idea of someone else caring for him just so I could work. So often the co- is enough. Some days it will be a lot, some days it will be tiny. And it is all ok. Follow nundrum of motherhood/parenthood, I think. made a quilt before!

your energy. Follow what feels good and it will work itself out.

I obviously have a lot to say on this subject. ;) 8. Being creative is all about growth, trial and error, and taking chances. If you were able to speak to yourself from 10 years ago, what kind of career advice would you give yourself?

I would tell myself to avoid at all costs getting stuck in comparing myself to others. This has no benefit. I would also tell myself that the world won’t fall apart if you take a break from working; it’s ok to rest and rejuvenate. In fact, it will make you a better artist and it will help prevent you from burning out. I would also tell myself to appreciate all the endless hours I had available to be, because they won’t last forever!

9. At AGF we love it when designers collaborate and use each other’s fabrics! Which AGF prints from other designer would you love to sew with?

What a fun question! Is it cheating if my answer is all the designs? Haha. But really, I feel like there are prints from everyone’s collections that I look at and think: “that’s a perfect fabric design!” Pat’s Meadow Dim fabric from her Indie Folk collection, Maureen’s Cosmic Sister fabric from Flower Child, Dana Willard’s Cat Nip fabric from Blush, Bonnie Christine’s Summit Dawn fabric from her Hello, Bear collection… there are so many. I feel excited to

curate combinations of fabrics from different designers to sew things that are fun, interesting, and unexpected!

10. If you could describe Tallinn in 3 words, what would they be?

Playful, imaginative, happy.

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FA I R Y TA L E

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