Taking inspiration from nature in unexpected ways (who knew the centre of a sunflower could be so cool?!), Alanah from Greentree Creative has used her extensive training and natural creative abilities to create a beautiful collection of fabrics and accessories. Discover more at our Brisbane market next month, and read on to learn more!
Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to begin your label.
I have a bit of a mishmash of design industry experience ranging from Industrial Design to Textiles, with Public Art accounting for the largest portion of my professional experience.
I love so many different facets of the design industry and have always been incredibly drawn to textiles. In contrast to the often ‘hard, permanent’ nature of public art, textiles seem more transient, tactile and personal to me. I wanted to spend some time working on a smaller, more intimate scale.
So in a bit of an adventurous moment, I applied for a Masters degree at the Glasgow School of Art (Master of Design, Fashion and Textiles), got accepted, packed up my life and moved to Scotland. I graduated in September 2015 and moved back to Brisbane to launch Greentree Creative. My first collection of fabrics and accessories focuses on the rugged beauty of Australian Flora.
Who inspires you and your creative process?
Nature, and patterns within nature. It’s all very cliche, but I don’t think there’s any better starting point than the natural environment. There’s so much beauty and order found all in the one place. I remember the first time I really looked at the centre of a sunflower. Have you seen those patterns?! They’re so ‘designed’, so purposeful.
Tell us something exciting that you have planned for Greentree Creative this year [or next 12 months].
We’re right at the start of Greentree Creative, and are only able to offer half of the products that we’re currently working on. At the Brisbane AW16 Finders Keepers we’ll have a selection of our fabrics, patterns, buttons and brooches for sale (all ethically produced in Australia!). Over the next 12 months we hope to put some of our garments into production, so we can offer an even larger range of pretty things for sale.
Name one resource that your label could not live without?
My brain (literally and figuratively). It’s a bit of a misconception that making lovely products only requires a good eye and good hands; I use a lot of logic and mathematics (believe it or not!) when developing my prints. I try to replicate the order found in nature by using a series of complex grids when laying up my designs. So, the idea is to produce soft organic motifs within a controlled framework. This is mainly evident in my engineered prints.
Tell us about your favourite product from your collection.
I’m most excited about my buttons. We’ve been sampling new methods of fabrication over the last couple of months and are really looking forward to offering the buttons in brightly coated aluminium for the first time at Brisbane Finders Keepers. The brooches are also a bit of a favourite at the moment; sampling is underway for gold, copper and silver plated editions!
Looks amazing Alanah! So great to see beautiful and ethically produced goodies right here in Brissy 🙂 see you at the markets!!