I am so happy to share about my collaboration with Victoria McGrane from The Scenic Route. I met Victoria 2 years ago at a tradeshow that we were both exhibiting in.
We’ve been following each other’s journey since on Instagram. I love her style and beautiful illustrations - she has an amazing flair for illustrating flora and fauna. So I thought, she might just be the perfect designer for what I had in mind for our new 2020 baby wrap swaddles.
Some principles I had in the design brief:
- Cheerful/playful
- Educational (identify/spot the animals)
- A touch of sophistication (mum centered - for mums to use as an accessory; breastfeeding cover; scarf; beach wrap)
Design Inspiration
If you don’t already know, Bernard and I moved to Melbourne from Singapore in 2015. I love the beautiful Australian flora and fauna and want to learn more about it myself. I also want to teach my children about the natural environment they live in. This brought about the idea for the Australian print design.
The idea for the jungle print design stemmed from the plants and animals I grew up with, the many trips to the Singapore Zoo and nature trails in Singapore rainforests where I used to go hiking with my parents. This too is something close to my heart.
The Design Process
In the first stage, I researched the animals and plants that I wanted featured in the two swaddle designs and created a pinboard on Pinterest with chosen pantone colours and shared this with Victoria.
She then worked her magic. I’ll leave her to share this part with you :)
It was such a wonderful experience for me to create these two prints with Charmaine for Lluie! These are two of the most detailed prints I have ever worked on, and I knew I wanted to create something truly special. I absolutely loved the inspiration as both concepts were very true to my heart as I love creating anything based on nature.
After I reviewed the inspiration on pinterest I started by hand drawing all of the separate elements for the prints. For the next step, I scanned in the various elements to create the composition. This part is really tricky as the design needs to flow and have a nice balance, hit the brief and have the look that Charmaine envisioned. Working from the initial colour palette I added tones and complimentary colours, and used photoshop brush effects to add the final colours and textures.
A Little About Me
As an artist and textile designer, I create intricately hand illustrated work and am inspired by my love of travel as I explore the amazing landscapes, colours, flora and fauna of Australia.
A daydreamer with a big imagination, I best conjure up ideas when surrounded by nature. That’s why I’m travelling around Australia in ‘Daisy’, a 1990 Toyota Coaster which has been lovingly converted into a motorhome.
Being inspired by the ever-changing sights I come across, I channel this into The Scenic Route. With my sketchbook tucked under my arm and my camera at the ready, I observe the beautiful plants, animals, colours and landscapes that cross my path.
- Victoria McGrane
Shop the swaddles here:
https://www.lluie.com/collections/baby-swaddle
