The Studio.

Who is behind the studio?

My name is Stéphanie Piogé. I'm the lead designer in a gang of 7 illustrators at the moment.

What is your background?

I did a preparatory year at Penninghen, then a BTS art and textile printing at Olivier de Serres and finally a DSA fashion at Duperré. After having been a stylist in different companies, I launched the children's clothing brand NOKIDDING in 2007, the adventure lasted 5 years. Then I came back to my first love, patterns, and founded the GIRLGANG studio.

Describe your style.

I draw trendy, colorfull, bold and often abstract designs by hand on my iPad.

What are your main inspirations / influences ?

Pop culture, illustrators, contemporary art.

Which place inspires you the most?

The Palais de Tokyo in Paris. I always come out bubbling with ideas and desires.

What sets off your passion for prints?

I graduated as a textile designer and I really liked screen printing on fabrics. The passion for patterns came later, when I created my children's clothing brand, through all the beautiful patterns currently available in children's fashion, especially Scandinavian trends.

Your first print memories.

I remember the 70's fabrics in my childhood room, and my mother's dresses.

Describe your creation process.

I first develop mood boards and color schemes. I decide on 4 or 5 major themes each season and then design in each theme according to my desires. I work a lot on envy, on feeling. I try not to be too constrained.

What is your favorite medium to work with and why?

I always like to start with a hand sketch because the line is not the same and then I switch to the iPad (Procreate).

While working, what do you listen?

I like to listen to Podcasts, Thinkerview, Transfer, Ou Est Le Beau... I really like them to be long and enveloping. Otherwise I dive into my favorite music, indie rock/electro, from the 70's to today, US, UK and FR.

What is your job's favorite part ?

I love it when I feel like I'm holding the pattern. When I start to put the fitting together.

What type of product / sector do you mainly work for ?

At first I worked in fashion because that's where I come from, but now I'm working more and more in Stationery and Home.

On which fairs do you exhibit?

Première vision, Playtime, Surtex, Blueprint, London print design fair, Interfilliere, Heimtextil.

Your best fairs memories.

I sold to Chinese clients who paid me in cash at a foreign show and then I made funny videos with the wads of cash. It was surreal.

What do you want to accomplish in the future?

Hire designers and stabilize the company's revenue.

The biggest challenge you had to handle as a designer?

Starting and running a business.

What advice would you like to give to new designers who are just starting out?

To have enough cash flow to ensure several shows, to devote half of your energy to the commercial development of your business.