Melbourne boutique textiles studio Ink & Spindle is run by designers Lara Cameron & Tegan Rose. The pair design and hand print their own textiles through the art of screen printing on their studios 10 metre long printing table.
I have had the pleasure of asking the design duo a few questions...
Q. In regards to your backgrounds, how did the idea of Ink & Spindle come about?
A. Lara was a graphic designer & had been getting her repeat designs printed by a company here in Melbourne & wanted to be more hands-on in the production of her textiles. I was a secondary school teacher and wanted to go back to my roots in Fine Art making. When we met it seemed like between us we had all the skills needed to open a studio, so it'd be crazy not to give Ink & Spindle a go!
Q. What is the best bit about running your own business?
A. Autonomy, getting to hang out with a best friend everyday, being a part of the awesome Melbourne independent design & production scene.
Q. What is the hardest part to running your own business?
A. Keeping on top of cash flow!
Q. What has been your greatest career success so far?
A. There's a great quote by author & poet Maya Angelou "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.", so by that benchmark our greatest career success is starting our business AND keeping it going for 5 years without the need to work outside of it to earn a wage.
Q. Describe a typical day at work...
A. Arrive, sit at the computer & work through the inbox, plan days print runs, mix inks, print, cut fabric, print, pack orders, print, work through inbox, go home.
Q. Ink & Spindle practices sustainable textiles making... Does this effect your customers (eg. higher cost, environmentally conscious buyers etc)?
A. We find that our textiles being environmentally sound is extremely important to our customers. It is more expensive to purchase high quality organic cotton/linen/hemp basecloths over toxic cotton etc, however we find that our retail prices ars more effected by the fact that we are producing in the first world, paying first world prices for labour & materials, rather than than because we choose organic.
Q. Who/What inspires you?
A. Our designs are largely inspired by nature and our hometown of Melbourne - we love Australia's native flora and fauna. It is also very important to us that our designs have inherent longetivity. Rather than following current design or fashion trends, our aim is to develop textiles that will fit in your life for many years to come.
Q. Where do you see yourself & ink and spindle in 5 years?
A. Well our lease runs out on our studio in 4 years & 9 months so who knows where we'll be! All I hope is that whatever we are doing we're happy doing it.
