The Studio.

Who is behind COQUELICOT BLOSSOM?
Amélie Bois

How long has the studio been in existence?
2017

How many designers are there?
1

Do you work with interns?
From time to time, when an application is interesting or when the period lends itself to it.

Tell us about your background.
After a preparatory class for the grandes écoles d'arts, I studied textile design for 3 years at the Quai school in Mulhouse (now the HEAR, Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin), then another year of post-graduate studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, still in textile design.

I then worked as a stylist/infographer in a linen company, then as a stylist/textile designer, in two different children's fashion brands before creating the Coquelicot Blossom studio in January 2017.

Describe your style to us.
I would say both soft and colorful.

What are your main inspirations/influences?
I don't think I could even say what exactly inspires me: a little detail in the street, a cool picture in a magazine, the label on the jam jar I bought at the market... I get inspired by nothing!

Which place inspires you the most?
I like to get inspiration from my last trips: a little lavender pattern when I come back from the south, or a little llama pattern when I come back from Ecuador.

What triggered your passion for prints?
Researching color schemes, creating connections... I fell in love with prints as soon as I learned how to make them (even though I went to a textile school to study the material rather than the print).
Then when I was in my final year internship, Soizic Gilbert (Cosmis Zoo) came to present her collection to the style office, and I knew then that this was really what I wanted to do.

Your first printed memory.
A little skirt with a lavender blue Provencal print.

Describe your creative process.
If it's a commission, I usually start by spending a lot of time freelancing to see what direction and process I want to go in to meet the client's request.

After that it depends on what inspired me, if I started with a color scheme, I'll do some sketches, try out some treatments and textures. If I start from a sketch, I can spend hours looking for the right color scheme!

And of course after all that, comes the creation of the fitting, a bit of manual and a bit of computer.

What is your favorite medium? And why do you like it?
I really like gouache because it relaxes me. After that it's less poetic but I draw a lot via Procreate on the iPad Pro.

What music do you listen to while working?
It depends on my mood, but I have a soft spot for (dubious) hits from the 90s and 2000s. I also listen to electro when I need to concentrate, Worakls, Lost Frequencies.
And from time to time some Podcast for a change.

What is your favorite part of your job?
I like to look for the perfect coloring.

What type of products or industries do you work for?
I work for the fashion, home furnishings and stationery industries.

What are you working on at the moment?
The next fall/winter collection, along with an order for nightwear.

What shows are you exhibiting at?
Première Vision Paris, Heimtextil and Playtime.

What is your best memory of a show?
Beyond the very nice sales, which are always pleasant, I like to meet or discover designers that I follow, or that I only meet on this occasion. I like the "social" aspect of a show.

What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
To develop the collection more and more and to go towards sectors I don't work for yet.

The biggest challenge you've faced as a designer?
Working on a commission while exhibiting at a trade show in the same week.

What advice would you give to new designers starting out?
That being a freelance textile designer is not only about making patterns, but also about business, accounting and other less artistic but necessary aspects.
Having already worked in an integrated environment is a big bonus because it's important to know how things work on the other side of the fence, to better satisfy a client!