Drawing from history, culture, and landscape for inspiration, Brook Perdigon is able to design magnificent yards of textiles. Starting off with a simple paint-sketch, Brook Perdigon Textiles produces 100% Belgian linen prints and digitally printed wallpaper. Her designs can be found in homes and showrooms all over the world including the United Kingdom and Australia. Brook takes her position as a leader in design one step further by showing her appreciation for strong women who create. With her newest collection, part of the proceeds will be donated to the Mabinti Centre in Tanzania and Creamos in Guatemala, organizations that work towards bettering the lives of women and children by Brook’s two favorite things, crafts and education. Introducing this week’s Maker Monday, Brook Perdigon.
The African Textile placed on Brook’s lap continues to be her main point of inspiration in her designs. It belonged to her sister’s godmother who was an avid traveler and collected beautiful things from all over the world.
Andrew Joseph: What’s inspiring you in life right now?
Brook Perdigon: Research—I have been spending a lot of time combing through old art history books and studying paintings by the classics (Gaugin, Morandi, Kahlo, etc) as well as looking at more contemporary CA artists like Etel Adnan and Jonas Wood.
Andrew: What would you like to be remembered for?
Brook: Authenticity in my designs and kindness in my relationships (both business and personal).
This pillow is made from the Toile De Terrain which is hand-screened in Los Angeles, California. It can be found in a multitude of colorways such as Clay and Lake, all of which can be printed on natural Belgian linen.
Andrew: A book that everyone should read?
Brook: I am a huge reader and one of my all-time favorites is Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. His writing is pure magic + true literary beauty.
Andrew: Are you a good cook? If so, what’s your specialty?
Brook: Yes! I am known for my fried chicken + gravy dinner parties. I use my mom’s secret recipe, it is 100%!
Sitting right on the top of this fabric stack is the Montage. It started off as a series of block prints which were then layered together to create a large-scale motif. The texture and depth create a beautiful design that can be used for just about anything.
Andrew: Secret talent?
Brook: I can tap dance.
Andrew: Describe your design style as if you were explaining it to someone who cannot see.
Brook: My design style is all about translating the past, from nature, art, to history, to something modern. Everything starts out by hand, playing with geometrics and lines, my designs and patterns are perfectly transitional from the original inspiration or sometimes can be a bit more unexpected. My goal with my designs is to inspire, pay homage to historical textile design led by women, and present a collection that might be missing from the market.
Featured here are the color variants from Brook’s Framework Collection. The pattern represents confident lines and contrasting details. There is a natural balance between dark and light intersections that warp and waft beautifully.
About The Maker | Artist and designer Brook Perdigon founded her company in 2015. Informed by history, culture, creativity and craft, Brook Perdigon Textiles (BPT) has quickly grown from a small business to a global brand with showrooms across the United States as well as in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. In addition to textile collections, BPT offers wallpaper, custom fine art, and thoughtful industry collaborations.
Collections thread art, history and culture through the lens of modern making. Antique textiles inform Brook’s drawings and sketches, resulting in a process and practice that embraces imperfection and celebrates the human hand. Many fabrics are hand-screened on Belgian linen, and each product embodies an individual, idiosyncratic voice.
For Adaptation, BPT’s latest collection, she takes up the task of adapting classic patterns to an imperfect artistic aesthetic. In the studio, Brook’s process begins by hand. A resist-printed scarf or a Nigerian folk painting might spark an idea. Sketches and stencils evolve into paper cut plaids, clipped-and-collaged diamonds or watercolor toile-like landscapes. Far removed from their inspirations, the resulting patterns retain familiar structures: the grid of a windowpane plaid or the reconstructed rhythm of an embellished stripe.
Andrew Joseph is a regular contributing editor for ASPIRE DESIGN AND HOME magazine. See more of his work here.
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