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I don’t know about you, but I like to produce original surface design ideas as often as I can

Don’t worry, I’m not a purist or a snob, I think all-computer generated art can be super cool and beautiful; I do some of that myself on occasion, but I don’t feel it’s always as original as a personally drawn surface design.

I mean, for me, who grew up at at time when there were no computers to play with (but we did have monochrome tv!) there’s something about putting pencil to paper and drawing out an idea directly from my imagination onto paper. It’s fulfilling in a deep way.

Plus, I know that brands, agents, and manufacturers are always looking for something fresh and new, and I want to provide that for them regularly to help meet their customer’s needs and desires.

If my designs and patterns can be part of the solution, that’s what I’m all about! I love to help.

In order to do that, this week I coupled a WGSN Trend with my own imagination

This week’s endeavor produced my latest collection: Midwinter Merriment.

It was super important, as always, to be as original and unique with my ideas and art as I could be, but I also weaved in one of the WGSN A/W 23/24 trends.

Here is my personal my mood / inspiration board that I made to help me out with my design process:

I believe that I came up with this surface design, Midwinter Merriment, because, even though it is April, we are still having freezing mornings and, last week, snow flurries.

As a person from warm climates I’ve never been able to fully embrace the bone-chilling outdoor winter activities, and with the prolonged winter this year, and me longing for warmer temperatures, I got to thinking:

What would my IDEAL day in the snow look like, as if I were REALLY loving it?

Midwinter Merriment captures that exactly!

I’ve shown only a small snippet of the surface design above in the header, if you want to see the entire artwork, you’ll need to enter my showroom, but you can get an idea from the above image of my little girl bear and her snowperson friend having quite a day!

That’s what’s so awesome about surface design, it let’s your imagination take over and you can be as audacious and original as you want, and you get to take the person who looks at it, with you on the ride.

How cool is that?

Do you like the snow and cold temperatures?

Well if you do, you’re a bigger person than I, and you have my sincere admiration!

For me, I’m going settle for having my design put on snugly duvet cover, blankie or other warm fabric and getting cozy next to the fireplace.

I KNOW – I’m such a WIMP! (but then again, I’m perfectly happy in 100 degree weather when cool-weather people are melting) We all have our strengths!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

I try and let folks know what surface designs I am currently working on here on this blog, so if you want to keep informed when I post, just subscribe to this blog by email or RSS using the “Subscribe to This Blog by Email or RSS Feed” forms on this page!

Meanwhile, if I can be of service to collaborate with your business to put my patterns on your products, let me know, I am a licensing artist and live for collaborations!

Visit my portfolio – or – enter my showroom to see all my patterns or prints – or – contact me to say Hello!

Bye for now!


Hilary Rinaldi is a nationally published writer, and an award winning illustrator and designer. She writes about Surface Pattern Design, because she loves being a Surface Designer, and Artist. You can learn more about Hilary on her Meet Me Page. Her goal in writing these posts is to share her love and enthusiasm for the Textile Pattern and Surface Design Industry, to learn as she goes, and MOST importantly – TO HAVE FUN!