Meet The Maker: Textile Designer, Kate Hill

3 October 2022

Meet The Maker: Textile Designer, Kate Hill

Julia Canella | Inspiration | 03 October 2022

A chat with our super-talent, Kate.

You've worked at Linen House for years now, what's the best part about it?

I've worked here for a LONG time – in fact, so long I can't recall the exact figure as I've had two babies and two maternity leaves during this time to blur my memory.

The best part about it is that I feel like I'm part of a family. We all look out for each other, we have so much fun together, and all have a lot in common.

How did you get into designing?

I moved from the bush when I was 18 and studied graphic design at Monash. I went straight into children's product, licensing, illustrating, and packaging at a few design studios.

I went traveling for awhile, and got a job at Linen House, very temporarily, when I got back.

I then got a job at Disney where I worked for about 6 months until my contract finished. I realised then that textiles, fashion and the culture at Linen House was much more my scene.

How different was the process of creating both Avery and Mattoni?

Very different. Avery was designed at home, during lockdown, where I employed my 6-year-old daughter to help me cut out and rip flower and leaf shapes from coloured paper.

It was so much fun - a true collaboration! Mattoni was a watercolour-painted design, with lots of textured squares all painted and scanned in.

What was your inspiration for the colour palettes in both designs?

Emily, our head of creative, designs beautiful storyboards at the beginning of each season, which are taken from various fashion brands and forecasting sites across the globe, so I'm fortunate to have these to use when designing.

Avery was taken from our Juicy Summer palette - which is full of acidic brights and toned-down with olive-browns and neutrals.

Mattoni was taken from our Holiday Home palette, which is full of soft, sandy-yellows, aquas, blues, and sandstones.

How long does your hand-painting and design process take for each design?

Each design is very different. Some designs can take over a week or more to come together whereas others might only take a day.

Avery was very quick, but Mattoni took a bit longer to get the balance and texture of the colours right.

How many versions of a design do your create before final art is presented?

Well, sometimes up to 11 or 12 different versions are designed - but sometimes only 1 or 2. It really depends on the type of design.

After a boardroom meeting, it might need to be tweaked yet again. It really depends on a number of things: how last season's range went, which designs went well, which didn't go well, what's doing well online, what's doing well in store ... sometimes we just never know!

You have two gorgeous little girls – do you think they'll follow in your design footsteps?

I don't know! Polly (6) is very creative and determined - she recently came runner-up in The Design Files Kids Art Awards, which I'm very proud of.

Daisy (8) is super-creative too, but in different ways. On the weekend, she sewed herself a unicorn toy! I certainly encourage all kinds of creative play at home.