Hi guys - Today I am happy to share with you the work of artist and surface pattern designer, Franca Westaway. Franca, like many of us, has reached the point in her career where she feels good about her designs and is now looking to build a business around her art. What makes Franca's journey unique is that she is determined to put in the time, effort (and hours of research) to build her business so that it is both ethically and socially responsible.

Keep reading to hear how this journey is unfolding. Enjoy!

Hi Franca! Please tell us a little bit about your background as an artist and how you got into surface pattern design.

I come from an artistic family and was always drawing and coloring as a child. Around twelve years old I began making my own clothes. I would buy fabric in the morning; dye, hand paint or block print a design on it; and then iron it dry so I could wear it later that day. Often the fabric would still be damp, and the garment would be fastened with safety pins. But that didn't matter, I was very happy to be wearing something that was totally unique and that no-one else had.

I worked in fashion for a while after studying to Masters level at Saint Martin’s in London. I worked both in the ‘rag trade’ and with a friend making clothes sell at Camden Market and for individual clients.

When I left London to live in the South West of England I still made clothes for clients, but also worked as an art and textiles teacher. This is something I've done on and off for many years now. I have also worked as a visiting artist in schools and as a workshop provider and community artist. I love helping people to find their own creative outlets and enjoy helping them build their confidence and skills.

I left teaching a couple of years ago, wanting to follow my own creative passions once again. I was nudged by a friend to look into surface pattern design. I’ve completed Modules 1-3 of Make it in Design's Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design course and have sold some work to a well known clothing brand for the SS 2019 range. I am currently working with the clothing brand on potentials for the following season and am working to develop my own fabric and product range.

When you are designing and get stuck or lack inspiration, what do you do?

If I get stuck I usually sit down with some of my favorite art materials, colored inks, watercolor paints, fineliner pens and just play. I may just respond to a color that I’m liking that day, or make marks and doodles with no sense of an outcome. Or perhaps I’ll focus on the first thing that catches my eye, a plant or random selection of objects or a picture in a magazine and use that as a starting point for some studies.

I have spent a lot of my life drawing and designing and aiming for a clean and controlled outcome, now I often aim to loosen up, so with line or paint I may hold the pen or brush as far from the nib as possible and allow what I do to be about the physical gestures of my hand and arm or the way the tool feels skittering around on the surface of the paper. I love this side of pattern design, and whilst I am thrilled and excited with what can be achieved digitally, I don’t really enjoy sitting at my desk looking at a screen!

You hope to build a viable design business that combines ethically sourced products and socially conscious business practices. Can you tell us about that?

I’m passionate about not only what we consume but how we consume. Very early on when starting my design business I began thinking about the fact that I did not want to make a lot of products seasonally. I didn't want to have to convince people they wanted something that added no real value and which may have a short lifespan. I do beach cleans pretty regularly and see a small but grim part of what we are doing to our environment with cheap non-degradable products.

This led me to thinking about the manufacturing of textiles and the packaging. To think about base ingredients to end of life of a product is a vast and weighty subject. How things are made and distributed, what impact this has on the environment, our manufacturing processes, working conditions, our carbon footprint, etc are all key to how we move forward as a species on this planet. I have two fairly young children and I think a lot about the legacy that our and previous generations are handing to them and our future generations.

What are you doing to move this business model forward?

I am currently looking at natural fibre fabrics, produced in or near the UK. This is informing my thinking about what products I may produce and how. At present I am developing a range of household linens using UK produced linen and possibly unbleached organic cotton. I am having long conversations with digital print services about where they source their base fabrics and have found some that can guarantee an Oeko-Tex or GOTS certification. I am also training in screen print as I think that a small scale production, where I can have oversight and control of process and materials, may well be how I choose to move forward.

I’ve also been thinking of packaging, researching ways to offer beautiful point of sale and delivery that are plastics free. I really want to consider the entire life cycle of the products I'll produce. As well, I'm looking at ways to set-up ongoing customer service so it would include repair and recycling services as well as loyalty and trade-in discounts for future purchases. There are some businesses already operating in these ways, like Hiut Denim Co., who are an inspiration for this sort of business model.

All of this research has been very time consuming and I still do hours of research trying to source the materials, and identify the producers and suppliers of the things I need. I have looked at The Ethical Fashion Forum, and follow leads I find online or in the press. Unfortunately what I've found is that there is no easy place to find all this stuff out.

And you have a desire to run your business in an ethical way?

Yes! Many businesses are starting to contribute a percentage of sales or profits to charity or grassroots projects and that is something I will do. I’m particularly interested in supporting local efforts to support the arts, as I see funding that supports creative activities being stripped out of social and educational budgets. I would love to empower people to feel like they can make things for themselves and take pleasure in creativity. My dream is to set-up a fund to support this kind of community initiative.

In terms of selling my designs, I'm particularly keen to work direct with companies that hold ethical values at their core. Obviously this will limit how I get my work to market, but I am sure there are ways to develop relationships with agents and directly with customers where these values are paramount.

Rome was not built in a day. Pursuing a career in surface pattern design with these drivers is not proving particularly easy. It will be an ongoing process of gathering information, identifying best practice and determining the right business model for me. I imagine it will be something that is constantly evolves in the coming years.

What are some challenges you’ve faced so far in your career?

Well, giving up the day job has meant that money and cash flow are a constant challenge. Gaining knowledge and skills can also be a challenge. How do you know what questions to ask when you don’t know what you need to know yet?! Thank goodness for the amazing online courses and community of other designers worldwide.

I’ve been very lucky to gain amazing support, both advisory and financial, from a scheme called Cultivator, which helps the development of creative businesses in Cornwall. They offer an array of courses, workshops, one to one support and funding strands, all made possible with support from Cornwall Council, Arts Council England, the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund, much of which is about to come to an end due to current political processes.

Other challenges are the perennial ones, starting from scratch, building contacts and professional relationships, getting work seen, publicity and exposure as well as work-life balance and convincing family and friends that just because I’m working from home doesn’t mean I’m available.

What advice can you give others who are following a similar path?

Firstly, I would say don’t give up the day job, financial stress is not conducive to creative workflow! Find ways to balance commitments so you have the time and space to seriously pursue your art. Planning and organization are really valuable too (note to self), setting clear goals with an identified time-frame and scheduling actions to achieve those goals.

Mainly though I’d say stay focused, believe in yourself, and do something everyday to move your work along. Let yourself fail, let yourself be a beginner, let yourself struggle, let yourself falter but continue, continue, continue. Learn, grow, develop, persist.

Can you tell us a few fun things about you that we wouldn’t already know?

Gosh, ok…. in summer I love whizzing down hills on my bike with my legs sticking out as it makes me feel like I’m 12 years old again.I used to sing in a band. I make the best gravy. In summer I often work for a friend who has a large catering company, we feed the crews at big festivals, 2000 meals per day sometimes. A tandem skydive is one of the best things I’ve ever experienced, if you get the chance GO FOR IT!

Want to see more of Franca’s work?You can find her on Instagram and can connect with her via her website.

Running an ethically responsible business with Franca Westaway