From Sketchbook to Tea Towel The Story Behind My Designs
The raucous screeching. The mournful midnight wailing. The croaking and honking.
It’s a far cry from the gentle chirping, twittering and cooing I grew up with on my family’s farm in Lincolnshire, England — and I absolutely love it.
Swooping magpies. Jackhammer-cackling kookaburras. Ear-splitting cockatoos. And the slow, relentless, scrap-hunting “bin chicken”, with its craggy black neck and long, curved beak.
Australian birds certainly know how to make themselves heard!
It wasn’t long before I found myself drawing them, and they’ve become a big source of inspiration for my work. But it isn’t just the birds that find their way into my sketchbook. The vibrant native flora, subtropical landscapes, Brisbane’s character-filled architecture and colourful streetscapes all catch my eye too.
Together, they’re a big part of what makes this place feel like home to me, and I love bringing a little bit of that Queensland colour into my designs.
From sketchbook to tea towel
My designs always start with drawing.
I usually begin with my sketchbook, filling pages with sketches of the things that catch my eye…. native birds, flowers, Queenslander houses, local landmarks and all the little details that make Brisbane feel like Brisbane.
I love this part of the process. There's something about drawing by hand that makes the final artwork feel much more personal. The wonky lines, little imperfections and character that come from drawing by hand are all part of what I want to keep in my designs.
Once I'm happy with my drawings, I scan them into my computer and the next stage begins.
I bring the sketches into Photoshop, where I add colour, experiment with different combinations and start playing around with the composition. I might rearrange the birds, change the scale of a building or move elements around dozens of times before everything feels right.
This is where the original sketches begin to turn into a finished design.
I like combining the old and the new…..traditional hand drawing and my old-school textile design training with digital tools that allow me to experiment with colour, scale and layout.
Once the design is finished, it is sent off to be digitally printed by an Australian printer onto quality cotton fabric.
And then it comes back to me for the final stage...
Made by me, in Brisbane
Each printed piece is carefully cut and sewn by me on my home sewing machine, right here in my West End home. Once they’re finished, I fold and package each tea towel myself before sending it off to its new home.
So while the printing is professionally done here in Australia, pretty much everything else happens right here, at my desk, on the kitchen table (which doubles as my cutting table!), and at my sewing machine.
From that very first sketch in my notebook to the parcel arriving at your door, I’m involved in every step of the process.
A little bit of Queensland colour
I started my collection with just a couple of tea towel designs, but I’m already working on new ideas and can’t wait to expand the collection.
Whether it’s a noisy kookaburra, an elegant Queenslander, a favourite Brisbane landmark or a burst of native flowers, I hope my designs bring a little colour, fun and Australian personality into your home.
Designed, illustrated, sewn and packaged with love in Brisbane.
Susie