Following a stint as a calligrapher and wedding stationer, Houston-based artist Kristen Leigh discovered new inspiration through watercolor illustrations and designs. Her art has since been translated into textiles and wallpapers, including her latest collection, Morningside, for Stout Textiles. Named after a street in Kristen’s close-knit neighborhood in Houston, the Morningside collection reflects the comfort of home.
We spoke with Kristen and John Greenawalt, Vice President of Operations of Stout Textiles, to discover how the nine fabric designs and eight wallpaper designs came to be.
Raymond Paul Schneider: When did you first start to develop this new collection?
John Greenawalt: This collection has been two years in the making! We contacted Kristen in 2022, and she began working on her sketches. The longest portion of the development is ensuring the final color and material strike-offs match the desired artistic look we were seeking.
RPS: What was the overall timeline from conception to achieving the final design?
Kristen Leigh: It was a relatively quick turnaround for the designs because, at the time, I was pregnant with my third child. We began discussing pattern concepts in the spring of 2022, and I wanted all of the design work to be completed before my son was born in late July. I knew that life with a newborn would mean my productivity would come to a screeching halt for a few months, so the final designs and colorwork were finalized a few weeks before he was born. It was Kismet that I birthed a new collection and a beautiful baby boy at the same time.
RPS: What was your initial inspiration, and where did the idea(s) come from?
KL: The collection was inspired by my own neighborhood and the simple treasures of the little pocket of my hometown in Houston. It’s named Morningside, after a street in our neighborhood that we frequently walk to grab coffee, and ride bikes with our kids. I wanted the collection to have an effortless and light-hearted feel to reflect that same spirit we feel when we’re strolling the streets on a Sunday morning. When I was creating the patterns, I took everything in – the flowers in our community garden, the pattern of the brick pavers on the sidewalk, and the jewelry in the window at a local shop. It was so refreshing to realize I didn’t have to look far for inspiration.
RPS: Please describe your overall creative and design process.
KL: The first step in my process is creating a simple sketch. I usually make several pages of sketches for motifs, and then a few more pages with rough ideas of how I want the pattern to repeat. After that, I paint my motifs with watercolor, scan them into my computer for editing and scaling. I spend days playing with the repeat, often making variations of the same pattern with different tweaks – one with dots, one with dashes, one with condensed spacing, etc. Once the repeat is finalized, I move on to creating color palettes, which takes me the longest. I typically create at least a dozen different colorways and have samples made of each color to view in person and see how the physical products look alongside one another. From there, I narrow it down to my final color selections, which usually range from 3-5 offerings.
RPS: Did you have a specific audience or theme in mind?
JG: The Kristen Leigh collection is part of Stout Textiles’ “Art of Color” line, which is focused on collaborations with independent textile artists. Every Art of Color collection has a handcrafted look. With Kristen, we appreciated her use of color and unique point of view. Her collection is a bit softer than our previous collections, and so far, it has been very well received from Texas (her home state), up and down the East Coast, and everywhere in between. The audience we had in mind is those who appreciate a hand-touched element in their homes. They tend to live a relaxed, casual lifestyle that is nicely curated and thoughtful in the pattern and colors they bring into their homes.
RPS: Please describe the methods, tools, and materials you used to develop and prototype this design.
JG: We did not use different technology. Kristen starts with watercolor designs on paper and then translates them into digital files. Our approach is slightly different, as we chose to color the wallpaper first and then use the wallpaper as the guide for the digital fabric printers. We ended up printing at two different print houses to ensure the collection was as close to her original art as possible. The Kristen Leigh x Stout Textiles collection is a cotton and linen blend, and the wallpaper is digitally printed. Both are made domestically in the United States.
RPS: Please describe any challenges that affected the design and perhaps steered you to an entirely new final design?
JG: We were not steered in a new direction; however, when we were producing the collection, we received samples that were totally off in color. It was a major disappointment. But we knew we had to make it right, even if that meant delaying the launch of the collection – which we did. As exciting as it is to get a new collection out in the market, it’s most important to get it right and ensure the vision is properly represented. We’re so glad we took the time to correct the mishap, as the feedback is proving worth the wait!
RPS: Describe your overall brand DNA and Ethos
KL: I believe in creating pieces that are not only unique and high quality, but also pieces that add joy to people’s homes. As a mother of three, I understand that it can be hard to strike the perfect balance between beauty and function, but I also fully embrace the idea that home is where so many of our memories are made. My goal is for my pieces to reflect the vibrancy of joyous, ordinary everyday life.
JG: Stout Textiles is a family-run company operating in the fourth generation of leadership. We have been based in Pennsylvania for nearly 100 years, and we keep our family values and approachability at the forefront of each new product introduction and collaboration. As such, the majority of our design collaborators are also family-owned and operated. While designs and styles have changed over time, our core values never have. Integrity, fairness, and approachability are the guiding factors in everything we do.
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