May Instagram Fave - Hülya Özdemir

May 18, 2022

When I find an Instagram page where I can’t stop scrolling I feel I need to share! One painting after the other made me stop and smile.

Hülya Özdemir is a Turkish artist from Istanbul who creates incredibly colorful and full of pattern watercolor paintings. The whimsical and beautiful women she portrays have vivid personalities that are full of life. I love her mix of contrasting textures within each piece. The individuality of their expressions, color and various flora and fauna that surround them, gives them vibrant life.

You can see more here.

I am super inspired! Gotta go get my paints out.

Vibrant watercolor by Turkish designer Hulya Ozdemir. — © Hülya Özdemir

All images in this post are © Hülya Özdemir

Momiji Melbourne and Katja Designs Collaboration

September 16, 2020

I am so happy to share this awesome collaboration I did with Momiji Melbourne. How cute are these eco-friendly bags made from recycled materials?! There are currently two different Katja designs available via their site: www.momijico.com. Take a look and get one for yourself and one for a friend.

Momiji Melbourne bag collaboration with Katja Designs SF

Momiji Bag collaboration with Katja Designs SF

Momiji Bag collaboration with Katja Designs

Rosie McGuinness

June 29, 2019

Super beautiful fashion illustrations with patterns by Rosie McGuinness. I’m pretty obsessed. Click to see more.

Artist Spotlight: Rafaela Mascaro

November 1, 2018

I found a bold print of the the Brazilian artist Rafaela Mascaro on Pinterest and had to investigate to see more. And oh boy, is there more! You know I’m drawn to bold and colorful art especially if it includes patterns and that is exactly what these are times 10. Click link above to see more from this versatile artist and click on images to purchase prints.

Trending: Big Cats

October 19, 2018

I’m really into big cats and big cat patterns like dots and spots and stripes. I’m seeing them in art, on runways, everywhere! And I love it. Here are a few favorites from my Big Cats Pinterest board. Click through the images to see more from these artists.

Amelie Fontaine

Christopher Corr

Jennifer Bouron

Margaux Carpentier

Michela Picchi

Miroco Machiko

Sun Lee

Yelena Bryksenkova

Source: https://pin.it/snknsp7azzr2qp

Do You Have a Bright Baby?

November 11, 2016

Smart, and bright too? I see lots of pastels out there, but I say energize your nursery or kid's room by integrating bold patterns and art. Contact me with queries about buying or licensing my designs, or to collaborate on a custom project. Keep on keeping it bright!

Vivense Home & Living

August 2, 2016

So very exciting to see my designs on both furniture and fabric for Vivense Home & Living. They are a wonderful modern furniture and lifestyle brand based in Istanbul, Turkey. It was a joy working with them to select these vibrant designs for their new home collections, which are now available on their website as well as in their showrooms. Here are just a few items available in store now.

© Katja Ollendorff for Vivense Home & Living

New Products in my Shop

July 22, 2016

I am happy to announce that I have a whole slew of new products for sale on my site. Visit the SHOP tab to see what's in. I'm currently adding to my list of kitchen items which include coffee mugs, coasters and travel cups. Aprons, oven mitts and tea towels are soon to come.

Next up will be some great new accessories for the home including fabric, pillows and ready to hang artwork. So stayed tuned - there will be plenty available in time for the holidays. Wait what! Holidays? Well, it's never too soon.

11 oz. and 15 oz. coffee mugs © Katja Ollendorff — 11 oz. and 15 oz. coffee mugs © Katja Ollendorff

Travel cups and tumblers © Katja Ollendorff

Coordinating set of coasters © Katja Ollendorff

Nature Inspired

April 15, 2016

Since I've been working from home this past year, I sometimes get a bit str crazy. For me, the best solution for this is to get out into nature and fresh air. I decided to take a drive up to Mount Tamalpais yesterday morning. It was so refreshing! It's only 40 min from the city after all and it's really paradise on a weekday morning. Very few people are up there and I kinda love to be there as the fog lifts and reveals the amazing green hills and views below.

If you follow my two Instagram feeds (this one and this one) you might have seen a few pictures I posted. There were all sorts of sweet and colorful wildflowers all over the hills and they got me inspired to make this when I got home.

All designs and images © Katja Ollendorff

April Instagram Fave: Ana Montiel

April 14, 2016

It's been a while since I shared a favorite Instagrammer. I just love Ana's colorful, abstract artwork and bold patterns. Her feed, that is filled with vibrant shapes and color as well as wonderful inspirational photography is a joy to peruse.

You can see more of her artwork on her website here. and her Instagram feed here.

All images © Ana Montiel

Katja of Sweden

April 5, 2016

I love that I am following in the steps of another Katja in textile design and I also love that her designs resonate so much with me—their bold patterns and bright colors really speak to my own design aesthetic.

Katja was born Karin Hallberg in Sweden, and later lived in NYC, where she went to Parsons School of Design. She created wonderful patterned fashions and later designed home textiles as well.

I didn't realize the connection before, but I have a picture of myself standing in front of a Katja Bedding display in the window of NYC Macy's. The picture was taken in the early 80s and I'm pointing to the large sign of her (and my) name in the window display. It was the first time I'd come across my name anywhere in the United States. I was very excited about it and now I know whose designs they were advertising! I later bought some of her towels and sheets for my dorm room in college. Funny to think of that now. I wish I could find that photo to share with you.

You can read some more about her here.

Color Changes Everything

March 16, 2016

Are you someone who...

Mixes paint and chooses a palette before beginning a design?
Uses reference material or an existing palette for inspiration?
Just wings it and let's the design speak first and the colors follow?

I think lean toward #3 with a little #2 thrown in. I've heard that many people begin painting with a specific color palette in mind and let the colors guide the design. I personally like to design in black and white first. I almost never have a palette in mind until the layout is finished. Once I have the full design in front of me, colors just start appearing in my mind based on the kind of design I have created. I open up my swatch panel and really just start plugging them in as I begin to visual the end result. I never worry about the initial palette because I know I can always change it. Even if I paint something in color, I usually don't think too hard about the colors I put down.

Color can change the vibe of a design so much—I lean towards bold and bright colors, but that's just my personal aesthetic. If I have a client who is requesting a subtler color palette, I have to be able to change that design up to work for them too.

Here are some examples of how different a design can look when the palette is switched up for different uses. Which would you apply for wallpaper?Stationery? A shower curtain? The possibilities and uses are endless!

Tsumori Chisato Fall 2016

March 10, 2016

Eek I love this too much. Sometimes words aren't really necessary. See more on Vogue.com.

Photos: Rachelle Simoneau / Courtesy of Tsumori Chisato

Putting Inspiration To Work

January 27, 2016

I often visit libraries and used bookstores in search of new inspiration. I found a few great books recently and wanted to share how I get inspired by imagery and designs, and then capture various motifs to make my own. I found this book on Erté by Charles Spencer at the Russian Hill Bookstore and found that it contained a huge amount of inspiration.

While flipping through it, I sat with my sketchbook and noted little details that spoke to me and my aesthetic. Once I have a selection of motifs I like to take a page from my sketchbook like the one here, into Photoshop and start playing with various items to see what I can come up with. I sometimes use individual motifs or combine a few—the possibilities are endless.

Can you tell which ones I used to make the patterns below? With color and scale changes, rotating, reflecting and putting my own spin on things, the designs now feel like mine but I know Erté was my inspiration and that's I nice thought. Because I did these designs in the same hand and used a complimentary color palette, they also feel like they could work as part of a collection.

I hope you have fun finding your own inspiration and putting it to work.

Latest Guildery Collection - Beaufort

January 8, 2016

On the heels of yesterday's CountryLiving feature, I have more Guildery news.

It's blue and green forever! Two of my all time favorite colors together in my latest collection Beaufort. I hope you enjoy all the new items that are now available on Guildery.com. You can always search KATJA and you'll find all of my collections in one spot! They recently added some new products such as wrapping paper and table linens. I ordered some paper for the holidays and it is GREAT quality. Go there and get thee some and enjoy!

Country Living Jan 2016 Feature

January 7, 2016

Woo wee! I just learned one of my designs (available on Guildery.com) was featured in the Jan/Feb 2016 Country Living Magazine. Pretty cool I say! I also used the same design (as a runner) up in Sonoma on my friend's table.

*My Static design, here in Reverse Skin, is available on Guildery.com. There is a wide variety of colors and fabrics to choose from.*

*Static on the runner, and my Tepee design shown here on cloth napkins.*

November Instagram Fave: Alea Toussaint

November 20, 2015

I stumbled upon this Instagram feed and was immediately taken with the incredible patterns that Alea Toussaint makes out of a variety of objects. Whether it be flowers or peppercorns, pens or sequins—she makes one stop to take a closer look. Just beautiful!

She is a graphic designer and pattern artist based in Minneapolis. If you would like to see more of her work, visit her website here www.aleatoussaint.com

And you can buy prints of her work on Society 6 here.

Alea Toussaint on Katja Blog

Make it in Design Interview →

November 2, 2015

I am so pleased to share an interview on Make It in Design's Blog this morning that features yours truly!

Click here to have a read.

Artist Spotlight: Javier DeRiba

October 23, 2015

I found the artist Javier DeRiba on thisiscolossal.com. I have always been drawn to colorful street art and this stood out to me. It combines a few of my other loves—color, pattern and tile work. It's different than the in-your-face art you see on walls out on the street. His work is behind the doors and on the floors of dilapidated buildings. He brings the floors back to life, recreating tile work reminiscent of what might have been there before, by stenciling and spraying the patterns right onto the concrete floors. Cool!

Original article by Kate Sierzputowski & Images: thisiscolossal.com

On My Inspiration Board

October 22, 2015

Do you love Pinterest? Do you collect a gazillion images but then never look back through them? Women are gatherers after all. We love to scoop up pretty things and then store them away. It's in our nature.

I make a point to go back through my boards and gather up images that are speaking to me at that moment. Obviously I love them all because I chose to hoard them in the first place. But it's fun to think of a theme or trend you are feeling at the time and revisit them.

So what have I been feeling this week? What's on my inspiration board and speaking to me right now? Well it's definitely bold and bright—did you expect anything less from me?

Do you like reading about colorful things?

All artwork, images and designs on this website are the sole property of Katja Ollendorff unless otherwise noted.

© 2020 Katja Ollendorff. All rights reserved.