Today I’m interviewing one of my awesome and talented designer friends, Kimberly Ellen Hall of Nottene. I could have asked her questions forever, but you guys probably don’t have that kind of time. Be sure to explore her site and her work. She creates amazing things!
What is your creative mix? Tell us about all the awesome things that you do.
I like to draw. Right now I am really into drawing people’s stuff. I also draw textile patterns. I guess that means I also like to draw things that will go on people’s stuff!
I’ve been a designer for a long time, but I like to mix it up (a lot). Aside from textiles and illustrations, I’ve also designed women’s and men’s outerwear, scarves and cold weather accessories, gloves (one of my favorites!), handbags, wallets, jewelry, keyfobs, magazines, newspapers, mugs, and tech accessories. Wow, that’s a lot!
I love your Illustrated Vintage collection. Will you share some of your creative process around your inspiration for the idea and bringing it to life?
The Illustrated Vintage works are my labor of love. I collect a lot of stuff (see above design interests). But I also love to collect the stories around those objects. So I think about them and draw them….when I read a Maira Kalman quote about ‘paintings being truer than photographs’ I knew I should sell these items by their illustrations only (no photos of the objects). So I hope the drawings and the writing gives a bigger sense of the vintage item when it’s bought. You get the illustration too, or now you can just get a print of the item….take the story without the object for a bit less…I hope it feels a little magical.
You showed your work at Printsource New York just a couple of weeks ago. Congratulations! What was that experience like, and how has it/how do you think it will influence your career?
It’s such a big step for me! My primary goal this year is to become a free agent, and this is a big step to establishing my own studio and defining what is important to me as a designer. I am trying to be very careful not to put myself in a box, but also to keep my work and my aesthetic focused. Textiles and print is a huge part of my identity as a designer. Printsource was a way for me to really embrace that. I will also be at Surtex and Indigo New York this year. Aside from meeting buyers and promoting my work, I am also meeting an incredible group of other illustrators, artists, and designers. Actually relocating to Philadelphia from New York has been a big boost as well…I have found great community here.
In your bio you mention working with fashion designer Hussein Chalayan. I saw one of his projects, Afterwords, at a fashion exhibit at the Bellevue Arts Museum in 2003 and got a little obsessed with it. What kind of work did you do there?
It was my first real job as a print designer! I was the assistant to the Senior Designer, but I designed the prints for the second line collection in A/W 2006. He is an amazing artist and has an amazing team. I met, and am still friends with, so many wonderful talented folks. I think they would tease me for saying folks. :) It was an experience that made me feel good about working in fashion. Have you seen his new work for Vionnet? So lovely!
What are your primary struggles as an illustrator and how do you deal with them?
Hmmm….everything is a bit of a struggle, isn’t it? I mean, all the good feelings we get come out of grappling with the things in this world…..I try to embrace that struggle everyday and make it a joy. It’s hard, but hey, that just puts me back to the beginning of this question, doesn’t it?!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Kimberly! Best of luck to you this year. It sounds like it’s off to a fantastic start. xoxo