2018 Sarah Campbell
Sarah Campbell – by Joyce
Claire opened the meeting by welcoming members and visitors and then giving out the notices. She had printed off patterns for the “Block of the Month” and reminded us that the dress blocks for the group quilt are needed back by the April meeting. There are still places on the Gail Lawther workshop on 21st April.
She then introduced our speaker, Sarah Campbell, an internationally acclaimed textile designer. Sarah opened her talk by commenting that the design of the curtain fabric in the church hall were similar to fabric she had designed in the 90’s, and showed us the relevant photo in her book “ the Collier Campbell archive”.
Sarah’s sister Susan ran her own design business and asked Sarah, when she was in her teens, to help her sometimes. Sarah subsequently studied graphic design and ultimately formed a working partnership with her sister which lasted for 50 years until Susan died in 2011.
Their love of pattern and colour influenced their designs which they wanted to appeal to the majority of people. They designed for many well-known brands: Liberty; Habitat; Yves Saint Laurent; Marks and Spencer’s bed linen.
They worked for a time designing for Richard Allen and when they realised that he took the credit for the designs, which was the norm then, they worked hard to be recognised in their own right as Collier Campbell.
In recent times Susan’s brother has been instrumental in encouraging her to embrace the digital world with a website which has opened up more possibilities.
Inspiration for designs comes from many sources. A drawing of a newt on her childhood nature study book was developed into a very attractive design. A handmade traditional dress from Afghanistan with a patchwork bodice was inspiration for a repeating block design. Ideas for designs have to be a combination of artistic ideas and what will sell. She commented that most cultures decorate their clothing in some way.
Her approach is usually to design a main piece, for example a floral pattern, then to complement it with other fabrics with stripes, spots etc.
One of our members was wearing a scarf designed many years ago by Sarah. Sarah is currently designing patchwork fabric for Michael Miller and she brought along fat quarter bundles and also silk and woollen scarves so that we could indulge in a little retail therapy. We happily obliged and my husband (unknowingly) bought me a late birthday present of a silk scarf!