Surface Design is a Girl's Bestfriend

 That was a complete and utter lie, I love pattern and it is truthfully a loyal pal however, in the arena of Danielle Makes Pattern it's less of an arena and more of a graveyard. I've put a lot of thought into this dilemma, I've decided the sole reason I struggle so hard with pattern is because I'm having a very steamy affair with checkers. Is it because little cubes side by side are soothing no matter how perfect the corners? Is it because it looks good in any colour? Is it because it's so subtle that you can wear it head to toe and no one will be visually offended? I don't know and neither does my therapist. So I'm sure you will giggle when you see the photos I took for inspo. I promise in a big way that this was all subconscious, I didn't realize all of them had some aspect of checker until I was starting my sketches. 

Flash back to me pulling on my Dora the Explorer backpack and heading out for an adventure earlier this week, I took these photos at one of the mills my dad owns. 

(An extra nugget of information I'm sure you didn't need: when I was little I used to visit my dad at work, I had such an obsession with sawdust they would let me collect it in an empty margarine container so I could bring it home and play with it. I think I collected around 20 containers and my mom has a photo of me standing with all of them like a proud parent.)

 

  

Okay pause for suspense because the next photos are from one of my favorite rooms at the mill. 

Here is a little jargon if you're feeling extra spicy today; this room is called the tooling room. All of the pigeon holes are filled with profile knives which determine the shape of the moulding, hand rail, etc when the wood is being processed. The shape is first cut out of plexi by a CNC then hand cut out of steel (!!!!!!) on this cool ass machine I forgot to take a picture of. This room has 29 years of templates and profile knives which are organized by number, floor to ceiling. It is the perfect harmony between chaos and order and the most satisfying place to be. 

Other things that bring me pattern joy:

(they are all furniture and you should expect nothing else from me for the rest of time)

Ettore Sottsass - Carlton Bookshelf
Ettore Sottsass - Ceramic Vase
Koloman Moser - Wooden Box
Alessandro Mendini - Re-Designed Wassily Chair (!!!!)
Poul Henningsen - PH4-3 Table Lamp
Edward Mcknight Kauffer - Wool Rug 
Don Albinson - Albinson Stacking Chair for Knoll

I'm thinking a cool place to start will be the pigeonholes with simplified shapes inside, it soothes my checker twitch and also has elements I can push with colour. I think the danger zone will be a bookshelf resemblance instead of a pattern with satisfying chaotic energy. I'm also digging the outline of the stacked Albinson chair, I think two sections of the outline could combine to create a really interesting herringbone.