Brush marks and a journey of colour

Shilo Engelbrect's oil paintings are digitally printed onto linen, used for a variety of homewares, including this lamp. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

As with most of the textiles I have discovered online, it was a pure delight to finally experience Shilo Engelbrecht’s in the flesh. South African born, Brisbane bred and now based in Stockholm, Shilo is home for the summer and sharing her wares at a pop up shop on Latrobe Terrace, Paddington until Christmas.

A fashion and fine art graduate from QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Shilo transfers her vivid oil paintings onto linen, transforming them into a range of upholstery fabric, plump cushions, panels for use as wall hangings or bed throws,  pure silk scarves, tote bags and small keepsakes like fabric purses and gorgeous fabric story books.

The juxtaposition of Shilo's painting against the cloth printing with the same artwork is intriguing. Printed on linen, the fabric takes on a character of its own, a softer version perfect for the home. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

The abstract paintings are an exciting fusion of vivid colour and brush strokes full of feeling. The large scale of these marks capture so much depth and texture; bold blocks of colour provide both contrast and an overall sense of harmony.

It is easy to see why Anthropologie, who cites art and creativity as the centre of its brand, recently hosted the first showing of Shilo’s paintings at their King’s Road gallery in London.

Art work to live with - these lamps are such a beautifully simple design, yet full of texture and character. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

Shilo first developed this multidisciplinary approach during her tertiary studies, describing herself as "fortunate to have some wonderful teachers and lecturers who supported my experimentation even when it went out of the boundaries of the curriculum.”

“John Honeywill from Somerville House was my art teacher throughout my school life and continues to offer me wonderful support and encouragement in my work. Suzi Vaughan at QUT allowed me great freedom of expression and helped build my confidence and strengths, with a focus on textiles … so did David Hawke in Fine Arts, who encouraged the rebel in me in the fine arts department,” Shilo said.

Known for her bold use of colour, Shilo draws inspiration from her interests, journey and natural surrounds. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

Keen to broaden this horizon upon graduation, Shilo set Europe in her sights, arriving in Glasgow in 2007. When asked of any defining moments during her creative development, Shilo describes this time as it, saying “This was the ‘jumping in the deep end’ part that I needed to my find voice and confidence.”

Earning her stripes with the Centre for Advanced Textiles, who also print work for modern print trailblazers Timorous Beasties, she spent eight months gleaning first-hand experience of the digital printing process. In her down time, she researched Scottish architects and historical concepts of interior design.

Printed linen cushions and napkins are available in various sizes and colours. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

A move to Cambridge in 2012 found her expanding her interest in the Bloomsbury Group, which had originated in the area, to her by now bubbling brew of study, skill and exploration.

An intense two month period of painting in a tiny greenhouse followed, culminating in her inaugural series, titled ALV (pronounced ‘elv’). Swedish for River, it represented Shilo finally finding her 'flow', hence the title. Years of discovery promptly paid off when ALV was promoted by the likes of Vogue, Kit Kemp of London’s Ham Yard Hotel and Australia’s Koskela.

You can now see these fabrics, along with Shilo’s current range, Andamento, inspired by the UNESCO world heritage site on the Greek Island of Delos. Her thoughtfully curated collection of objects provide such an interesting story in their union; together they tell her story.

An innate understanding of colour means Shilo's work sits just as comfortably with more colours as it does within natural and pared back environments. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

After spending an afternoon in the store, I found myself becoming more and more immersed in the colour and feeling in her artwork, a sure sign that these pieces have enough depth and expression to be lived with long term. Her colours just 'work', so I kept going back for more. Stormy and pure shades sit in contrast beside each other, somehow offering an invitation to combine them with still more colour.

“It's hard to express in words how I feel about colour," Shilo said. "I'm very affected by it and I recently became aware of how I study and absorb colour combinations when I'm in nature or even walking around in the city.  When painting, I lie out on the floor all my tubes of oil paint. I begin by considering the colours and will isolate a few tubes together in groups so I can see them and how they will work.”

“I think you can create a calm and serene interior and still apply colour.  Australian climate and architecture allows for colour as we often have open and semi outdoor living spaces,” she said.

Fabric purses and large Day Lounge Cushion. Photo: Jodie Cheetham 

Looking forward, this lovely lady has covered every surface of her new studio in fabric, ready for her next collection of large scale works, certain to continue a very personal story about Shilo’s European journey and her natural surrounds.

If you’re in Brisbane, don’t miss the chance to see how lovely these linen pieces really are. Her pop up is open for a few more weeks, check out Shilo's facebook page for details. You can also find her range at Douglas and Bec, AP Design House, Spence & Lyda and Koskela.

Shilo's bed throws will also be in good company as part of the 2014 The Design Files Open House, opening next Thursday in Collingwood and running until 7 December.

Fabric 'story books', printed with Shilo's work. Photo: Jodie Cheetham

Sure footed steps walk a charming path

Leuca, from the Protea family. Photo by Sean Fennessy.

As far as entrepreneurial stories go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Three friends, tinkering solo on creative projects, decided to start a textile label together. Months later, the art teacher, graphic designer and marketer found themselves the first occupants of an abandoned wool store in Melbourne’s Kensington. With all the vitality of a fresh start, Tegan Rose, Lara Cameron and Bianca van Meeuwen tore up lino, painted and ultimately transformed the top floor at Young Husband Studios into a glorious work space.

And that’s where the knocking on doors started. For, despite their collective skills, these three had never created their own hand printed yardage. With all the gumption of do it yourself legends, they got on the phone and asked questions of anyone who would listen. And listen they did.

Lara found herself talking to a retiring printer who was happy to divulge a lifetime of experience before he hung up his apron. He talked, Lara wrote. Reams of notes detailed the tools and techniques of their new trade, as well as minute instruction on how to construct their 10m printing table with interlocking stops. Although the information made little sense at the time, the advice turned out to be pure gold.

Rolls of goodness; old favourites sit comfortably by Ink and Spindle's latest additions. Photo by Sean Fennessy.

Perhaps it was in these moments that the girls sealed their open approach. For the past six years, Ink and Spindle has openly shared their process and journey with many, including Caitlin Klooger, creator of Pippijoe, who became a natural partner late last year when Teegs decided to act on a call to travel.

In addition to playing their part to strengthen the industry, this openness has brought the label respect, friendship and a glorious morning tea ritual. Creatives of all genres quickly became Young Husband neighbours, with many sharing the journey with cake and a cup of tea at ‘Ink and Spink’.

These good intentions were also woven into their design process. With the environment at its core, Ink and Spindle worked hard to source sustainable cloth, non toxic inks and develop processes to minimise water usage and waste.

Waratah, taken from a lino cut by Lara Cameron. Photo by Sean Fennessy.

Lara Cameron, the only remaining member of the original trio, said “Our desire to live, work and create in an ethical and sustainable manner has influenced how Ink and Spindle began and developed. Everything from the materials we carefully select, to our production processes, to our everyday business decisions. It all reflects our aim to walk softly on the earth.”

“We love Australia’s native flora and fauna, but also the energy of the urban environment in Melbourne. It is very important to us that our designs have inherent longevity. Rather than following current design or fashion trends too closely we try to develop textiles that will fit in your life for many years to come” she said.

So Ink and Spindle’s original designs still sit proudly beside their slow grow counterparts. Each roll of organic hemp, linen, cotton and yak is adorned with native motives and the occasional pattern, printed in earthy and neutral hues, along with trademark pops of duck egg blue and turmeric.

Waratah in White and Coal

Like Waratah, designed by Lara after a trip to the 2012 Capturing Flora exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Of the process, Lara said, “I knew that I wanted to firstly develop a lino print and capture the beautiful texture of that medium in a screen print. The carving was done over one rather warm weekend down at Fairhaven, perfect weather to soften the lino!”

This relatively large print sits harmoniously with Silver Gum, also released in July 2013. Lara said, “Silver Gum is another one of those designs that spent a lot of time brewing in the back of my mind before finally coming to life. The tricky bit was finding the perfect shaped leaf, but once that happened the rest of the process was fairly straightforward”.

“The design came to life one morning during a bicycle ride to work through Royal Park. Enamored by the leaf forms, I picked the almost-flowering stems for photographing later in the back yard. Both colours in this design are printed from a single screen – the second is printed with the screen rotated 180 degrees,” she said.

Silver Gum in Grey Lead and Inky Blue

These screens measure 1.8m tall and require two people to print. With a person at each side of the table, the ink is passed from one to the other in a series of interlocking repeats. Through all of the studio activity, the mesmerising printing of their cloth is a constant, with the harmony of each stroke captured beautifully in Artisan Magazine’s fourth issue late last year (non apple viewers can see it on Vimeo).

This process only happens to order, a production choice that minimises wastage and allows Caitlin and Lara to customise a design based on a client’s colour choice. You can explore these options using Customise tool on Ink and Spindle's award winning website.

From every aspect, Ink and Spindle strikes me as such a healthy business. With sleeves rolled up, hearts open and a desire to enjoy their journey, an inspirational business has been created. Starting from little, the label is now strong. Their organic fabrics are truly delightful, and resonate with all of the thoughtfulness and respect with which they are created. I, like many, look forward to the next sure footed and thoughtful steps.

One branch of a Silver Gum lent itself to a repeat - a slowly forming idea in the mind of its creator, Lara Cameron.