When asked how long we’ve been Prints Charming we answer “about five years or so” but the truth is we’re up to eight years! Asked how long have you known each other, well that number is even bigger! We met in 1984 when we both worked for John Kaldor Fabricmaker in Sydney, Australia. A love of design and fabric was brought by both of us to the fabric trade and our paths have rarely strayed from the warp or weft of fabrics!
Cath was wise enough to study Craft at University in Perth, then drove across our big country to find herself in Sydney as a textile designer. Paint brush used to be her preferred design implement, running her own fabric design studio, selling her designs to the domestic and world markets. Cath now uses the wonderful art of paper cut screen printing to develop the unique Prints Charming designs.
Kirsten was always sewing and crafting at home, but had a more “serious” job before realising work could be sewing and crafting. Studying costume making at NIDA lead to a short, but frantic career working in film and television, both in Australia and England. All those skills have now been redirected into creating with Prints Charming fabrics.
There was a slight hiatus for both while our children were little. But crafting is hard to stop! It was a chance re-meeting, surrounded by friends and the little ones of our own, that the Prints Charming concept was born. And eight years later here we are, lucky enough to be still designing, crafting and inspiring.
Modern contemporary craft
Craft/ed is a great word- it means it was made by hand, it means it was made for someone special and that is a wonderful thing. We print and stitch all our designs because we love them and would love to craft with them. We are constantly surprised by the magic of being able to design, print and embellish with our own fabrics. We hope you do too.
Modern contemporary - we bring an organic freeform outlook to our crafting. If something doesn’t quite turn out the way we had imagined, oh well...that’s the joy of the handmade, the unique way you alone can interpret a craft. Embrace the happenings along the way and make them yours.
