Mercedes Armstrong loves the rhythm of pattern—and her designs are never boring.
Mercedes Armstrong had a past life, it was either in the Art Nouveau 1910s or the rainbow pop 1960s; she sees the same flowy, imaginative forms in both. “It’s fantasy, a little bit,” she explains, “not so serious.” Her studio’s dotted with marbled paper, floral typography, soft watercolor studies of dragonfruit, a fabric print of happy watercolor-clear lemons, a Greetabl box done in her Lash print, black, peach, and royal blue on white. Her favorite colors are now salmon and vermilion, richer and subtler than the Midcentury rainbow. But her sense of play is even stronger.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?
I’ll search keywords online, look at Anthropologie’s beauty product packaging, page through books of old textile designs. [She flips through one to show me a toile of feathers.] Sometimes, I’ll think, “Man, how did they ever do that back then? Entirely by hand?”
This story is from the September/October 2019 edition of DesignSTL.
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This story is from the September/October 2019 edition of DesignSTL.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Cut from the Same Cloth
“Turkey Tracks” is a 19th-century quiltmaking pattern that has the appearance of little wandering feet. Patterns like the tracks, and their traditions and myths, have been passed down through the generations, from their frontier beginnings to today, where a generation of makers has embraced the material as a means of creating something new. Olivia Jondle is one such designer. Here, she’s taken an early turkey track-pattern quilt, cut it into various shapes, and stitched the pieces together, adding calico and other fabric remnants as needed. The result is a trench coat she calls the Pale Calico Coat. Her designs are for sale at The Rusty Bolt, Jondle’s small-batch fashion company based in St. Louis. —SAMANTHA STEVENSON
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With the help of interior designer Robert Idol, a Kirkwood couple creates a home that pays homage to the past, yet feels just right for their modern young family.
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