Maximal Minimalist - My Entry for Spoonflower's Warm Minimalism Design Challenge

Spoonflower, a marketplace that offers premium wallpaper, fabric, and home decor printed on demand with unique designs from independent artists, hosts a bimonthly design challenge to inspire fresh, new designs.

The second challenge of February 2024 is "Warm Minimalism" - "an evolution on the clean and simple design trend" that "soothes and invites," an aesthetic of "subtle luxury" that "evokes warmth, comfort, and organic texture."  

While I love the idea and theory of minimalism, as well as the plethora of minimalism decor inspiration on Pinterest, honestly, I'm pretty much a maximalist.

I love bright (sometimes aggressively bright) colors - hello neon! I like busy patterns and I love pattern mixing. So, I had to stretch a bit for this challenge and to give it my own take. And from that perspective emerged my Minimal Maximal collection.

While Spoonflower described straight lines as part of the minimalist aesthetic, I often think of organic, flowing lines, which is definitely part of what I consider "warmth" and "comfort." 

I used Posca markers in different weights to make a number of abstract shapes and lines, scanned them, vectorized and recolored them in Illustrator, and arranged them into a repeating pattern. My chosen color palette featured peach and apricot, which I consider warm and inviting, but also fresh and contemporary, a slightly less predictable minimal color palette. 

I added a few patterns and a second colorway to the collection, some of which are VERY maximalist (and I may add some more, in which case I will update this post accordingly). Taking those same abstract shapes and lines I used for the challenge entry, I created:

A simpler floral pattern,

Frenzied Floral Festival in Peach Dream in Small Scale	Frenzied Floral Festival in Peach Dream in Large Scale	Frenzied Floral Festival in Iced Blueberry in Small Scale	Frenzied Floral Festival in Iced Blueberry in Large Scale

 A full garden packed with wildlowers,

Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Red Peach Pink in Small Scale	Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Red Peach Pink in Large Scale	Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Periwinkle Party in Large Scale	Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Periwinkle Party in Small Scale

A set of U or macaroni shapes,

Creative Curves in Grass Green and Peach in Large Scale	Creative Curves in Grass Green and Peach in Small Scale	Creative Curves in Royal Blue and Periwinkle in Large Scale	Creative Curves in Royal Blue and Periwinkle in Small Scale

A simple hand-drawn polka dot pattern, 

Royal Blue Polka Dots on Gray	Sweet Polka Dots on Dark Gray	Sweet Periwinkle Polka Dots	Sweet Apricot Polka Dots

Orange Red Polka Dots on Salmon	Sweet Apricot Polka Dots on Gray	Sweet Polka Dots on Gray

Hand-drawn tear shapes arranged in sets of four,

Four Pointed Teardrops in Peach Apricot in Large Scale	Four Pointed Teardrops in Peach Apricot in Medium Scale	Four Pointed Teardrops in Peach Apricot in Small Scale

Four Pointed Teardrops in Royal Blue and Periwinkle in Large Scale	Four Pointed Teardrops in Peach Apricot in Medium Scale	Four Pointed Teardrops in Royal Blue and Periwinkle in Small Scale

 A very abstract collection of shapes, 

Abstract Shape Parade in Green and Peach in Small Scale	Abstract Shape Parade in Green and Peach in Large Scale	Abstract Shape Parade in Apricot Blueberry in Large Scale	Abstract Shape Parade in Apricot Blueberry in Small Scale

A set of colorful dashes,

Periwinkle Confetti in Small Scale	Periwinkle Confetti in Large Scale	Peachy Confetti in Small Scale	Peachy Confetti in Large Scale

 Organic curves, and

Organic Curves in Apricot Dreams in Small Scale	Organic Curves in Apricot Dreams in Large Scale	Organic Curves in Periwinkle Party in Small Scale	Organic Curves in Periwinkle Party in Large Scale

 A scattering of flying Vs.

Flying V in Periwinkle Party in Large Scale	Flying V in Periwinkle Party in Small Scale	Flying V in Peach Dream in Large Scale	Flying V in Peach Dream in Small Scale

Splashy Spritz in Iced Blueberry in Large Scale	Splashy Spritz in Iced Blueberry in Small Scale	Splashy Spritz in Icy Peach Dream in Small Scale	Splashy Spritz in Icy Peach Dream in Large Scale

I think this collection would work well for home decor or me-made clothing. Spoonflower offers made-to-order home decor items (check them out in my Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Periwinkle Party in Large Scale pattern) or the fabric necessary to create your own. 

I am excited to make some me-made clothes using some prints from this collection. While there are a thousand and one awesome options, I could see the following print to pattern matches (as featured on our Printable Sewing Planner Bundle for DIY Clothing):

Seamwork's Almada in Satin, Poly Crepe de Chine, or Cotton Poplin featuring Four Pointed Teardrops in Peach Apricot in Medium Scale or Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Periwinkle Party in Large Scale. (BTW - the Seamwork links are not *currently* affiliate links - I'm a longtime Seamwork member and recommend them highly, though I hope to shift these to affiliate links in the future.) ;)

Seamwork's Gretta in Cotton Lawn, Cotton Poplin, or Poly Crepe de Chine featuring Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Red Peach Pink in Small Scale or Four Pointed Teardrops in Royal Blue and Periwinkle in Medium Scale

 

Seamwork's Myrna in Cotton Lawn or Poly Crepe de Chine featuring Wonderful Wildflower Soiree in Red Peach Pink in Large Scale

Seamwork's Sky in Performance Linen or Lightweight Cotton Twill featuring Abstract Shape Parade in Green and Peach in Large Scale

Seamwork's Del in either the Organic Sweet Pea Gauze or Performance Linen featuring Organic Curves in Apricot Dream in Large Scale or Frenzied Floral Festival in Peach Dream in Large Scale

Seamwork's Kristin + Heidi to create a sort of jumpsuit of separates in Lightweight Cotton Twill or Performance Linen featuring Sweet Polka Dots on Dark Gray, Four Pointed Teardrops in Peach Apricot in Medium Scale, Frenzied Floral Festival in Peach Dream in Large Scale, or Peachy Confetti in Large Scale

Designing this collection was a ton of fun, and I am truly proud of it. I can't wait to sew up some lovely me-made clothes and share them with you here. 

Tag me @makeorium if you choose to use any of my fabrics in your own sewing journey. I will be beyond excited!