Crystal W Design About
I am Crystal Walen and have been designing patterns for textiles since 2005.
My design journey started with a textile design degree, and 10 years in the industry designing print and pattern for fashion and home decor before starting Crystal W Design in 2015.
In the last decade of my business, I have licensed my art with partnerships that typically last for years. I specialize in timeless home decor design, and update my portfolio to reflect shifts in the market. I also offer whimsical designs that appeal to trend-forward fashion.
Zinnia on indigo
Return to Roots
From Motherhood to Masterpieces: A return to the canvas with New Perspective
While I was raising my child, in the last few years, business went on autopilot and became passive.
In review, I created a thriving pattern design brand, and some things changed, warranting updates, including elaborating on my story. My work as an independent designer started in 2015 and continues to garner interest.
I create design for feeling, using flowers as my muse. In a world of AI-generated art, the layered effect of watercolor paint evokes sentiment and a connection to the natural world.
This next chapter is about curation, capitalizing on knowledge and experience, and celebrating my works’ most refined era yet.
Inspirations
Nature and flowers are a muse and a canvas for mood. The words I don’t have become colors and flowers, with a vibe, a look, or a sentiment through design.
Roots
I’m a New England native and moved to Los Angeles to pursue my career dreams in my mid 20s. Soon after moving, my mom became ill and passed away. In my work as a designer, my mom has often inspired me. My moms memoir.
Living in Los Angeles in my 20s, visiting with my parents
Before Starting Crystal W Design
Growing up Creatively
My mom homeschooled my two siblings and me, and it was the highlight of my childhood. With self-initiated craft and sewing projects, my creativity was nurtured. Transitioning to public school at age 13 wasn’t easy, but art was my escape. In art classes, I found mosaic, patterns, gouache, and linoleum block printing. I started dreaming about being an independent creative when I “grew up”. Growing up, as an aspiring fashionista, my grandma and I frequented thrift shops and yard sales to treasure hunt in New England. For me, that was clothes to tailor to the latest trends. I was drawn to print and pattern, tactile pieces, velvet, beadwork, and bright embroidered garments.
College RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)
My Grandma encouraged me to apply to RISD, and I got accepted with a scholarship, and I wrote my admission essay on thrifting with my grandma. I attended as a transfer student in textile design. My sophomore year started the day before 9/11; it was a memorable and horrific beginning. That year, I often felt lost and overwhelmed, but I became close with college friends, and we found our way together through it. Completing the weaving, dyes, and silkscreen classes, I was excited to finish exploring digital printing for my degree program.
Finding a job
Post 9/11, after college, the economy wasn’t great, especially for textile design, which historically had strong job placement above 90% for graduates with that degree. The free trade act that had been passed just around that time prompted the closure of many domestic textile manufacturers to outsource to overseas factories.
I had a professor who mentored me, and helped me get my first design job in fashion!
Eventually I started designing more in the home sector with wallpaper and then rugs and stationery in Los Angeles.
Starting my business - transition
I worked my last full-time design job at a fun stationery company in Los Angeles. I continued with projects for them for another 2 years on a freelance basis, which helped buffer the gap before I started making money in my business.
Discovering Digital Printing
In 2012, I learned about print-on-demand (POD) sites from college friends. One was using Spoonflower to prototype portfolio samples, and another joined Society6, inspiring me to join. I saw digital printing as a gold mine to capture the delicate layers of watercolor in a way never done before. Digital printing seemed like an opportunity to create a cleaner textile industry, one that was less wasteful, more efficient, and opened the gates to small businesses.
My Journey into Print on Demand (POD)
In 2015, I started my business
In many ways, my art licensing business was inevitable, after years of groundwork. I made my introduction to POD when it was just finding its legs, and I grew with it, appreciating the challenges, strengths, and potential.
College
In 2003, excited about the emerging field of digital textile printing for apparel fabrics, I spent my senior year scratching the surface of digital printing. A few years after college, I moved to Los Angeles (LA) and worked full-time for product companies as a designer. I painted on the side and began looking into ways to sell or license my original designs. Following college, it was amazing to see how far digital printing had come.
POD Discovery
In 2010, A colleague mentioned Spoonflower, and around the same time, another friend was selling her artwork on Society6. I was intrigued by the idea of licensing my art.
In 2011, I connected with an art agent to license my designs, got a few art licenses, and was thrilled to get sales on POD sites and even an art license introduction and deal through one platform after joining a year prior.
I started selling my artwork
This led to sales through both the agent and the platforms!
With varying submission guidelines and pay structures, surface design for home decor was most familiar to me, but I also saw an opportunity to explore subjects of interest where I had less experience, such as illustrative art and print for fashion. I set out to see what I could do to take things further. Before sponsored content, many of my designs went viral on Pinterest, boosting my confidence.
The Plan
From 2013-2015, my last two years in LA, I worked at a stationery company on the west side near the LA River, and my lifestyle felt small-town in all the best ways. Small-town life grew more appealing and prompted my husband and me to plan a move to Santa Barbara, a European-style town 90 miles north of LA.
He found a job and moved ahead of me while I kept working in LA for several months to save money. Then I proposed a freelance arrangement to my employer, which, to my relief, was well-received. I joined my husband in Santa Barbara and worked remotely for a few years on a project basis, which helped a lot while I built up my business revenue.
Santa Barbara offered simplicity, charm, and the inspiration of beautiful surroundings. I loved the walkable downtown brick-lined sidewalks, the white stucco buildings with terracotta roofs, and the bike-friendly streets. The sleepy seaside town was surrounded by rural farms and nature reserves. The vibe and character of the area inspired me while developing my artistic style. It helped me gain a unique perspective that became foundational.
Still Reading?
Some favorite quotes about art
“For a person who has the [poetic] spirit, everything he sees becomes a flower, and everything he imagines turns into a moon...”
- Matsuo Basho 1644-1694
“You cannot put together a life willy nilly from odds and ends. Even in a crazy quilt, the various pieces, wherever they came from, have to be trimmed and shaped and arranged so they fit together, then firmly sewn to last through time and keep out cold. Most quilts are more ambitious: they involve the imposition of a new pattern. But even crazy quilts are sewn against a backing; the basic sense of continuity allows improvisation. Composing a life involves openness to possibilities and the capacity to put them together in a way that is structurally sound.”
- ‘Composing a Life’ Mary Catherine Bateson
“I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain, and I am quite free.”
- Georgia O’Keefe 1887-1986