Featured Designer: Indigo Fawn

FK chats to Adelaide based Alison Rodda, from her new label Indigo Fawn

How did Indigo Fawn get started?
After working for a number of years for a prominent graphic design studio in Adelaide my better half and I decided to pack our bags and head out on a trip of a lifetime. We spent months travelling throughout South East Asia and then made our way through Europe. Many photos and sketches later I decided to take the plunge and launch Indigo Fawn. I have always loved contemporary jewellery and wanted to see if I could fuse my background in graphic design with jewellery manufacture and see what I could create! The name Indigo Fawn, to me, summarises this little venture as it can mean so many things and I can’t wait to see all the possible avenues I can pursue with this brand.

Your logo and website is lovely! What is your background in and how does it steer the direction of
your brand?

Thank you! I completed my Visual Communications degree a few years ago now. I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of a leading Adelaide graphic design studio where I grew as a designer. I was exposed to all areas of graphic design from logo creation and branding through to packaging, print, signage and art direction. This experience helped me in all aspects of my brand, not only creatively but how I approach sourcing materials and knowing who to ask when needing advice. It is an industry that exposes you to so many different fields and this has had a big impact in moulding Indigo Fawn. That said I have actually found designing my own brand one of the hardest things to do and many logo and type adjustments later I am beginning to find Indigo Fawn’s voice and look forward to revealing more soon.

What inspires your work?
I am inspired by so many different things. One of the reasons I wanted to travel so extensively was to be exposed to different food, culture, people, places and things. I think that travel is one of the most important things you can do as designer to ensure you can approach each new job with as many possible creative outcomes and influences as possible. Each of my collections have been inspired by different discoveries, for example Geometric Blue is a modern interpretation of intricate tribal jewellery I collected during my trip, whereas Moonlit Shadow is a range that evolved out of a series of photographs I took of gushing water. When I’m not travelling I try and keep up with what is going on around with world through exploring different blogs, reading all different types of reference books and collecting bits and pieces I fall in love with along the way.

What is your creative process, and how do your surroundings affect the creative outcome?
As for anything I’m creating, each piece begins on paper. I brainstorm, read, trawl through collected materials and photographs and start to sketch out an idea. Happy accidents, tangents and rejection happen along the way and before you know it I’m well on the way to creating a series of shapes and ideas. I try and surround myself with anything that inspires me (some may call this hoarding) but looking at things you love and questioning why you love them is one of the best ways at exploring new possibilities. I have a group of friends and family that act as sounding board when I need another creative eye and opinion and I think it is very important to have people around you that can give honest, critical feedback. At the moment I’m lucky to have beautiful surroundings as my studio is based in the Adelaide Hills with breathtaking views and lots of yummy home grown produce. When I’m stuck in a creative rut you’ll find me cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

Tell us a little about the children’s collection you are working on.
Tollie and Dot are two little characters I’ve created along with their cat Mr Moon. They’re a result of whimsical sketches I created while I was away and I can’t wait to explore them further. At the moment Tollie, Dot and Mr Moon are a series of brooches and hangings and I can’t wait to introduce you to their new adventure series in 2011.

What has been the most rewarding part of having your own label?
The most rewarding part of having your own label is reaching those little milestones you imagined but didn’t know how they were going to happen. The little ‘jump up in the air and dance moments’ of making your first sale, being accepted into markets, kind comments about your label and ticking boxes on your ‘to do’ list make it all worth while!

www.indigofawn.com.au

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