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Textile Design

Textile design involves creating a picture or pattern that will be reproduced on fabric.  Clothing, curtains, linens, furniture coverings and even carpets are just some of the different products that my designs have appeared on.  Most of the designs are first hand-painted on paper using gouache, watercolor, or dyes, and sold to clients who then produce the final product.  I have also done many freelance projects for specific clients, and others that may involve corporate identity apparel for businesses and organizations. Clients may also request designs to be put into repeat for manufacturing.  The size and style of a repeat varies depending on the design and method of printing that will be used.  The amount of colors used in a design is crucial to production, so the more colors a design has, the more expensive it will be to manufacture.  The slideshow below contains just a few of the hundreds of designs I've created for some of Hawai'i's top manufacturers.

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Over 30 years of textile design experience

As a young adult, I was introduced to textile design in the early 80s after moving to Los Angeles. My mentor was the late Dennis Akazawa who brought me on board the Brush Off!, a textile design studio, where I learned the ropes of the "rag" business.  I later ran my own studio and gallery in downtown Los Angeles.  After 11 years of tolerating the smog and rat race of the city, I returned home to Hawai'i, and settled on my favorite island, Kaua'i...  a blessed place that inspires and where my spirit soars!  A different clientele in Hawai'i has enabled  me to paint and create designs of subjects that are not only familiar, but near and dear to my heart.  

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