The Studio.

Who is behind the studio?

Virginie Boissonnet, graphic and pattern designer.

What is your background?

For more than fifteen years I have been an English teacher, a very fulfilling and rewarding activity. But then, when my second child was born, I felt the need to stop teaching and start learning something new and refocus on creation.

I haven’t been to art schools, I learnt from talented designers who share their knowledge out there.

I have been learning for four years and this is what I love about this job: we always have new techniques, new colour palettes and new styles to explore in order to satisfy clients’ needs!

My career change into a graphic designer in 2019 progressively led me to master Adobe softwares for drawing, but it was really since I got a graphics tablet that I developed a particular interest and skills in surface pattern design.

Describe your style.

Eclectic! I have a strong appeal for vintage aesthetics, but I vary my portfolio: I love coloured plentiful plants as much as boho hindi prints (more delicate and romantic), I also like drawing playful and graphic pattern designs… In a nutshell, I enjoy designing patterns from very different universes!

What are your main inspirations / influences?

I am a great admirer of William Morris; his works are both complex and soothing. I am delighted to go and visit his museum very soon in England because refinement in Arts and Crafts movements as well as in Art Nouveau tend to mesmerise me.

Nature also inspires me, it offers so much variety, so many details and it revitalizes me as well!

Finally, travels, are a great source of inspiration: they stimulate my imagination. For example, during a trip to Venice last year, I got the ideas for my Burano collection: mosaïcs, lace, colours, the moving presence of water everywhere … really made my creativity bubble!

Which place inspires you the most?

 A change of scenery is generally enough to stimulate my imagination: wherever I go on holiday, novelty revives my creative energy! Hiking across the mountains during the summer holidays is particularly inspiring to me since flowers are plentiful and panoramas are breath-taking. I enjoy the mildness and the calm because they encourage drawing.

What sets off your passion for prints?

Since I was a child, I have been attracted to stationary, vintage tapestries, drawing and calligraphy. More recently, nine years ago, I subscribed for a box whose packagings are decorated with illustrations and pattern designs, but this is only since I am working as a creative that I understand my appeal for these little colourful boxes: I just love to see my own drawings and pattern designs on objects, textiles, or any sort of surfaces!

Your first print memories.

It has to be the tapestry in the bedroom I slept in at my grand parents’ home: of course it is a vintage flowery tapestry. It is still here, and it kept the same smell! There is also a dress with a red and white vichy print that my grandma used to wear, I thought she was radiant with simplicity in it!

Describe your creation process.

For my clients’ projects I always propose to create a moodboard based on our interactions and the creative brief that defines the artistic direction of the project. It enables to gather inspiration that will emphasize the brand’s spirit, its values, its world and at the same time determine a colour palette. I also show some preliminary drawings to make sure my style is adapted to my client’s project before working on the pattern.

Then, on the base of my first pattern design, we carry out modifications about the scale, the space, the colour until we agree on the right balance.

What is your favourite medium to work with and why?

 I have learnt to draw with the tracing tool on Illustrator (with a mouse!) but I prefer creating digital drawings on my graphics tablet with a stylus!

However I enjoy alternating within the different softwares for pattern design: procreate, photoshop or illustrator. This probably explains why my style is eclectic: I use all the techniques that I have to deal with the different universes : digital painting with texture, geometrical flat design, pencil sketch designs…

While working, what do you listen?

I happen to listen to jazz playlists or pop electro artists I like: Robyn, Tame Impala, Sébastien Tellier, Air… But most of the time I prefer silence to work.

What is your job's favourite part ?

I love sending the mock-up of my client’s product with my pattern on it: it is a very exciting moment as it is the first time that the design becomes « alive ».

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

 For now I am working in textile but I am open to all sorts of projects and surfaces!

On which fairs do you exhibit?

I plan to exhibit at Interfilière one day but I will probably start with a smaller fair, depending on what nice opportunities La Trame offers as well!

Your best fairs memories.

 I really enjoyed meeting up with talented surface pattern designer designers at Interfilière this year and talking about our profession.

What do you want to accomplish in the future?

I would like to refine my style without getting stuck in a single artistic world or technique; I’d like to produce patterns and collections that appeal to brands I wish to collaborate with.

The biggest challenge you had to handle as a designer?

 My biggest challenge was the day I had to redo a pattern and its colour variations for a client on a Saturday very urgently! Actually, my client realized his produce was more transparent than expected so I needed to squeeze the elements of the pattern more before the printing process and my departure on holiday!

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

 I would say don’t get discouraged when you aren’t inspired, that you need to take your mind off it and remain curious about all the different media you can use. Maybe also, try to take advantage of the let go moments to revive the creativity.

Have you seen the profession change?

 Just like in other job environments, we have to adapt to society changes; For designers, it means new techniques, new softwares, new features, new ways to network, new printing processes, new trends, new ways to produce collections, new ways to prospect.

Do you like or regret things about this change?

I believe this is bound to happen, but novelty doesn’t frighten me, it sometimes helps us to progress. I also think that once one has reached a certain notoriety in our job, with a specific technique or a unique style, then this art surpasses the changes.