"On demand" seems to become the word! There have been quite some changes in the design world thanks to the digital printing technology. That is old news, but these last weeks it really hit me how much has changed indeed.

I believe Spoonflower was the first one or at least one of the first ones where you could have your own design printed on fabric. I once used this service when I needed a fabric with a certain dog breed to make a wedding gift and I simply couldn't find the right dog, not in my own shop nor elsewhere. I uploaded a picture of the couple's dog and within a week I had a yard of the desired dog. The fabric was not super great, but also not bad. It was expensive, yes, but it was perfect for what I needed and made my gift so much better.

A lot has changed since those days: the quality has improved tremendously and there are now many different materials (cotton, silk, poly, canvas and many more) available for printing. Spoonflower has grown into a site not only for printing your own fabric. You can order designer's fabrics, wall paper, bedding and more. A design can be applied to many different materials and uses and they offer many ways of on demand printing.

More and more places are popping up online with in house printed fabric that is not getting distributed through the main quilting channels. It seems like a sub or side market is emerging. For instance, I have been drooling over the color chart of Realfabric.com that lists all the colors I can choose from when designing something. After the drooling came the ordering, that's how it goes, not? It seems handy to have the exact colors on hand because sometimes, I don't have a certain color combination/print in my stash and now I can make a quick design and have it in the mail within a week. I very often look for transitions in colors and a simple curve in the colors that I want can do the job. The fabric is more expensive (about $20.00 per yard) but I don't find that outrageous when we pay for mass produced fabric close to $14.00 per yard. It will be the rare exception for when I need a solution. 

I also ordered in house printed fabric by Ineedfabric.com that was sold at the same price as main stream fabric. Quality consistency may be a surprise, but I gave it a try as that is the only way to find out. It is just interesting to see how much is available that will never get distributed through shops and wholesale channels, but directly by the manufacturer.

I came to this blog as I am helping someone with the colors of her house and she decided to put wallpaper in several spots. In case you wonder: wallpaper? Yes, wallpaper! It is making a major, major come back in interior design. In bathrooms, laundry rooms, bedrooms, wallpaper is showing up more and more. Gone are the days that all the wall are getting painted with a flat paint in a light solid color. Color is making a major come back and also designs on the wall are appreciated again.. What's actually really fascinating to see is how that has an impact on so many other things. Bedding for instance, is now almost in solid colors or in designs that don't compete with the walls. Because bedding is more solid, rugs can have again more design, without clashing with the walls that are more distant from the rugs and separated by furniture. That's the opposite of what the trends were the last few years, when bedding was multi colored with outspoken designs and the walls/rugs solid. It is one of the wavy trends in interior design.

Where do you find wallpaper? Almost all home decor shops, including Home Depot and Target are selling wallpaper again, after years of having completely banned the product. Of course the choice is limited. More choice can be found in the traditional wallpaper books that are in every good paint shop. But like everything else, the internet is the place to browse. Not only can you find all the possible wall papers, you can also design your own wallpaper or mural. Simply by uploading a picture, exactly the same as when you print your own fabric.

In my search to find the most perfect wallpaper for my client, I discovered Lovevsdesign.com. On this website you can find many designs AND you can color them in any way you want with over 200 colors! Want something with a green/cream print? Which color green, which color cream? You can play with the colors and instantly see the result on a small swatch, on a big wall or even in your own room. They have a good variety of designs in various scales and it opens up a world of possibilities. The four pictures below are just completely random samples of how easily you can change the colors and see the impact. It's so impressive.

So while on vacation, I have been playing much more seriously with colors on a couple of designs that appeal to my client. Each design we picked has room for three colors ( you can get two colored or many more colored designs) that compliment my client's room. Swatches are on their way and then we will decide and have her wallpaper printed on demand!