Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : Rust?! Is that even a colour?

I use colour as an act of rebellion against the boring and the blah of beige. My sunshiny modern illustrations, prints, patterns and designs are the antidote! Here’s why…

Growing up my mom was a secretary and I dedicated my 9 to 5 collection to her. That’s why there is an A on the cup, it’s the first letter of her name.

Like most moms she dressed me similarly to her taste, which was grey slacks and white blouses (yep blouses with skinny ribbons that went around the collar and tied in a bow). I also always had a cream cardigan.

The most wild colour I wore was a red blouse, but I’m here to tell you, it was the most muted of all reds. My barrettes were brown and beige and in grade 3 when I had to get glasses, can you guess what colour they were? Yep, beige!

BUT, I LONGED for the colorful barrettes and multi coloured wooly ties my best friend wore in her hair.

As a kid, when I was 7 or 8, I asked my mom what her favorite colour was. She said… wait for it…

RUST.

I looked at her blankly. Rust? I stared at her face. She wasn’t kidding. Rust.

“Like the stuff that grows on old Toyotas?” I asked.

She just looked at me blankly and said yes. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I let it go but I walked away thinking, Rust? Rust? Is that even a colour?

At 10, I asked for my room to be painted yellow. We agreed on a colour and my mom started painting the closet and quickly decided it was WAY too bright. She promptly took the paint cans back and had more white added to them. My room ended up a shade of white, with a slight tinge of yellow. I took what I could get because the rest of our house had beige wallpaper, beige-y white painted walls. Everywhere I looked it was beige.

Maybe it’s no surprise colour is my act of rebellion. I crave it. I’ve never feared it. I can never have enough. It gives me dopamine hits like nobody’s business! When I see colours I love my instant reaction is to call them yummy! I get excited to use them and it’s my favorite part of the design process. I know some designers leave it to the end but I lead with it. I decide on a colour palette straight away.

So thank you mom! Thank you rust! And white tinges of yellow and of course beige! You have shaped me into radiating joyful, happy colours into peoples homes, neighbours and lives!

 

Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : Do you need some Sunshine Inn too?

 

Each print I make starts with pen and ink drawings. Those get scanned in and become digital prints (of course I’m oversimplifying. How to draw an owl: draw one circle, then three circles and then finish the owl!)

My Sunshine Inn collection was designed in 2021 when we were all in some form of lock down. By then the world, including myself, was itching from cabin fever.

Instead of going on a holiday I scrolled on Instagram.

I saw this post by @modernjunecleaver when she visited Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Rather than floating off to a resort,

I floated off in my imagination on a 60’s inspired resort holiday!

Think of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel goes to Orlando.

My Sunshine Inn collection was licenced by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

The fabric was made into quilts…

kid’s clothes…

adult apparel, bags, pillows… you name it!

Then, it became the back drop for my first ever mural, for DRESSEW, in 2023! DREAM COME TRUE!

While my Sunshine Inn collection has had a pretty spectacular ride, I’m dreaming of licencing it for stationary or party products.

Sometimes we get too close to our work and it’s hard to see the obvious options.

So, I’m here to ask your advice. What else can you imagine these designs on? Is there a brand you know of that would look fantastic in these prints?

… I’m asking for a friend. *wink!