Sources of inspiration: On the white // Living & working Nordic style

In a world where you can get anything on demand within a day, our lives and days are fully booked with appointments, skype call, internet dates and every day things we are all looking for a little ease at the end of the day. We are becoming more and more aware that dedicating our lives to more important things, spending our time with a more mindful approach is probably a better way to peace and happiness. That is why the Scandinavian design is a very strong trend, influencing design, fashion and interiors all over the world.

As a Dutch designer I also am stuck with the Scandinavian handwriting: I don't mind, space and white is important in our designs. Dutch design can be characterized as minimalist and clear with a little touch of color. Colors are usually trend related choices but the handwriting will always remain pure and spacious. In Scandinavian design white is also an important element in the design. It is not just clear space that can be filled up. try to convince your client of that when he buys a full page add in a magazine and want to fill up every inch with info. Designers love there 'space.'

Peaceful white
For our designs we use a white canvas. Every designer, painter, artist or musician, they all start out on a blank canvas or well, at least a clean slate. The very start. This white element is very important to our design process. I love designing prints on white and the majority of our designs are in fact originally made on a crisp white background. The strong black inky lines form a wonderful contrast to the white and the extra colors. And after designing for over 10 years, I am so happy this Scandinavian style was embraced in home decoration and fashion in other places than just Scandinavian countries only. The serenity and purity is finally picked up in other parts of the world too.

Easy home
So many things are keeping us busy each day. We have to get up, check out messages, get dresses, eat, work, we get exhausted by all the choices that cross our path. Here in the Northern part of Europe we live inside our homes for the biggest part of the year. Our cold climate keeps us cuddled up inside for months during the colder season and while most of us live in urban areas we do need our piece and quite. Our interiors have been a little more clean, and our spaces a little more serene compared to interiors in warmer climates where the colors are brighter and nature is lush and green.

Our Scandinavian style of living gets adopted in homes in warmer climates and in very different cultures such as India and Japan. Mid-century architecture and interior design is booming again and we all love to reduce the amount colors and stuff in our lives. Going back to a little more basic again. That is what Scandinavian design is all about. Natural colors, textures and lot's of white. Don't be afraid to grab that cluther from the shelves and you really don't need all those tacky commercial buddha's. Make your space one where you can get some rest and refuel.

Japanese serenity
Our Scandinavian inspired designs have been more and more popular each year. Recently we have been exploring the Japanese market with our designs. We are now selling our prints at Green Apple, a fabric shop and Milk Panda, a webshop that sells toys, bedding and other interior products for the Japanese home. I think the traditional Japanese style is very much related to the Scandinavian one. It is pure, with our too much fuss. That is why Natsuko Anderson, founder of Milk Panda, started her business, she wanted to combine these two styles, offer well designed honest products and in her worldwide search she found our Scandinavian designs. In the Milk Panda shop you can find a special range of clean crisp black and white prints for kids. We are very happy to see our prints pop up all over the world but Japan holds a very special place in our designers hearts. Of course. It's Japan!

Daily Objects // New Tote Bags, Phone Cases, Pillows, Pouches and Notebooks

For over three years now we have been working together with Daily Objects. The company started out selling phone cases and accessories but has grown into a full trendy lifestyle brand. They have expanded their collection with stationary products, tote bags, pillow cases and so much more cool stuff. So as you can imagine it was about time to post a little piece about this company before the holiday craziness kicks in.

Global & On Trend Phone Cases
DailyObjects works with over 70 designers from around the world and offer a fun selection of graphics. Abstracts, comics, Scandinavian inspired prints… enough to choose from. They use advanced printing technologies to ensure that your cases and other items not only look fantastic but are also durable, they even offer a lifetime warranty on their products. Their amazing collection of designs have been carefully selected from artists across the globe, now offering designs from over 70 artists from 28 countries. Watercolorists, surface pattern designers, illustrators, they are all part of the Daily Objects collective and they are still expanding. So much fun to be part of this rapidly growing business.

Tote Bags & Pouches
Daily Objects offers a small range of leather goods, key chains, leather wraps and notebooks. But now they also launched a new collection of tote bags and pouches in different sizes with beautiful high quality leather detailing. We love those new totes! They make a perfect gift for Christmas. In Holland they have banned plastic bags, a cool shopper is a must. Oh yes and of course Daily Objects offers world wide shipping on their products too.

Notebooks
Ok as a designer I am pretty much a paper lover by heart. So when we found out Daily Objects was also making Notebooks we got super excited. We love those notebooks. I am a pretty neurotic list keeper so I can never have enough notebooks in stock. These notebooks have a soft matte finish. Perfect for some classroom notes or scribblings.

Cushion Covers
As a print designer my couch is filled with cool pillows. Daily Objects now offers cushion covers too. These cushions are a great gift for your BFF’s birthday or as a sweet house warming present. Many of our Indian themes are selected for their pillow range. There are some abstracts and Scandinavian inspired designs to choose from too. Take a look and smile up your new home!

Oh and don't worry they still sell over a 100 different cell phone case versions, protective cases, transparent cases and wood cut cases. Also they have some cool laptop sleeves and leather items. So for all you guy shoppers out there looking for a cool present for your girlfriend; check out their cool accessory collection for more manly stuff. Enjoy!

Finished product // Bebè Casa new fabric collection

The past few months we have been working on a series of cool trendy new prints for Bebè Casa Fabrics. We have been working for this Polish company for over two years now and we love seeing their collection grow.

Always on trend with new pastels, gender neutrals and watercolor themes that are now available. Fun fresh and colorful fabrics suitable for your little ones wardrobe, create some cute dresses with those unicorns or fun home accessories or bedding for your kids bedroom or nursery. We licensed colorful mountains, vintage toys, retro owls, new feathers and sweet kawaii sky designs to Bebè Casa that are not for sale anywhere else.

Bebè Casa uses certified cotton and inks and the colors are vivid. If you are looking for some good quality cottons look no further. They have released their super fun collection of kids prints the past few weeks and they are now also available in their online shop or for all Dutchies: check out Ansje handmade, we manage to have some fabrics for sale in The Netherlands! Yay! Of course we are curious what beautiful creations will pop up from this new collection of designs. Don’t forget to share your finished results and tag @littlesmilemakers via Instagram.

Sources of inspiration: On the white // Living & working Scandinavian style

In a world where you can get anything on demand within a day, our lives and days are fully booked with appointments, skype call, internet dates and every day things we are all looking for a little ease at the end of the day. We are becoming more and more aware that dedicating our lives to more important things, spending our time with a more mindful approach is probably a better way to peace and happiness. That is why the Scandinavian design is a very strong trend, influencing design, fashion and interiors all over the world.

As a Dutch designer I also am stuck with the Scandinavian handwriting: I don't mind, space and white is important in our designs. Dutch design can be characterized as minimalist and clear with a little touch of color. Colors are usually trend related choices but the handwriting will always remain pure and spacious. In Scandinavian design white is also an important element in the design. It is not just clear space that can be filled up. try to convince your client of that when he buys a full page add in a magazine and want to fill up every inch with info. Designers love there 'space.'

Peaceful white
For our designs we use a white canvas. Every designer, painter, artist or musician, they all start out on a blank canvas or well, at least a clean slate. The very start. This white element is very important to our design process. I love designing prints on white and the majority of our designs are in fact originally made on a crisp white background. The strong black inky lines form a wonderful contrast to the white and the extra colors. And after designing for over 10 years, I am so happy this Scandinavian style was embraced in home decoration and fashion in other places than just Scandinavian countries only. The serenity and purity is finally picked up in other parts of the world too.

Easy home
So many things are keeping us busy each day. We have to get up, check out messages, get dresses, eat, work, we get exhausted by all the choices that cross our path. Here in the Northern part of Europe we live inside our homes for the biggest part of the year. Our cold climate keeps us cuddled up inside for months during the colder season and while most of us live in urban areas we do need our piece and quite. Our interiors have been a little more clean, and our spaces a little more serene compared to interiors in warmer climates where the colors are brighter and nature is lush and green.

Our Scandinavian style of living gets adopted in homes in warmer climates and in very different cultures such as India and Japan. Mid-century architecture and interior design is booming again and we all love to reduce the amount colors and stuff in our lives. Going back to a little more basic again. That is what Scandinavian design is all about. Natural colors, textures and lot's of white. Don't be afraid to grab that cluther from the shelves and you really don't need all those tacky commercial buddha's. Make your space one where you can get some rest and refuel.

Japanese serenity
Our Scandinavian inspired designs have been more and more popular each year. Recently we have been exploring the Japanese market with our designs. We are now selling our prints at Green Apple, a fabric shop and Milk Panda, a webshop that sells toys, bedding and other interior products for the Japanese home. I think the traditional Japanese style is very much related to the Scandinavian one. It is pure, with our too much fuss. That is why Natsuko Anderson, founder of Milk Panda, started her business, she wanted to combine these two styles, offer well designed honest products and in her worldwide search she found our Scandinavian designs. In the Milk Panda shop you can find a special range of clean crisp black and white prints for kids. We are very happy to see our prints pop up all over the world but Japan holds a very special place in our designers hearts. Of course. It's Japan!

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // March 2016

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

If you browse around on Etsy for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the USA, Holland and Poland. This is our new girly themed March selection. Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too.

Kalamati
This winter we finalized a new series of designs for Kalamati, a Polish home decor brand for kids. The new range has some cute Scandinavian style hot air balloons in soft pastel colors, bubbles in gender neutral color schemes and also this cute abstract woodland garden theme. We love Kalamati's bedding, blankets and home decor items. If you would like to order one of these cute blankets or any other Little Smilemakers prints check out the Kalamati shop!

Ansje Handmade
A few weeks ago Anouck was part of a photo series for new borns with down syndrome. For the photo shoot she made outfits for these adorable new borns, for that she used some of our new prints from the Hemmers/Itex collection we launched end of January. Anouck runs a webshop with handmade nursery gifts and fun whimsical fashion. She also sells original Little Smilemakers patchwork blankets, made with our Spoonflower sample leftovers. If you are curious about her work and want to check out her shop go to her website or follow here at Instagram @ansjehandmade

Pistol & Arrow
We just adore the ice cream leotard made by Brittany Kleiss who runs her small
Pistol & Arrow Etsy shop from Fair Oaks. The ice cream print has been around for a while but we found this adorable baby girl in her leo a few weeks ago. Since we have a little bit of a girly theme this month this webshop is def worth a visit. She has some adorable items for your little girl. So go take a look.

Top Knot Bands
Headbands, bowbands, turbands for babies, women's accessories, leggings. This shop is the perfect place to look for some cool nursery gifts. We loved our matching cupcake fabric shorts and headband. Such a cute combo for summer. They also have some cute Little Smilemakers Penguin leggings available in the shop. So browse around and enjoy their colorful collection.

Fabric Feature Friday: Little Chief Apparel

Little Smilemakers Studio sells around 2000 designs on fabric all over the world. From Spoonflower to Robert Kaufman and small online fabric shops in Europe our fabric travels fast. Every first Friday of each month we feature one of our fabric customers. From small start up businesses in home decor to stay at home mommies who create cute little fashion for there kids. Some just pop out.

This Friday we would like to share this great Etsy shop: Little Chief Apparel. A children's clothing brand started by a young mother in Minnesota. She asked us to create some new color schemes around fall and here is the result of her creative input. We especially love the cute orange triangle series and the purple geometric cross fabric, leggings, shirts and head bands, our most popular prints on fabric but in our most recent colors. A great refreshing combo! And we love their fun colorful photography to sell these creative results. We are proud to see they create such gorgeous items with our fabric. Hopefully there is a lot more to come!

Want to get your hands on one of these? Check Little Chief Apparel's online shop.

Little Smilemakers fabric // New Spoonflower fabric // Scandinavian style animals and gender neutral kids themes

We have some new awesome fabric in our Spoonflower shop. And we upload around 60 designs each month. We already have over a 1200 designs up in the shop. So many designs to choose from! So from now on we will have a new monthly feature here on the blog. We will feature new designs and trending themes so you have a better view about what's happening and what's new.

This month we would like to show you some new Scandinavian style themed designs in gender neutral colors. Black and whites, shades of gray and beige. We have worked on new grizzly bears. The one featured here is available in 4 different color schemes. Bright blue, pink, pastels and this gender neutral color version. From here we have created a matching arrows and crosses print in black and white.

Winter is coming closer and for the new colder season we have some new color versions of our geometric clouds fabric up in the shop and added new geometric mountain designs with little tiny snow flakes. When winter comes and visit us in europe, australia warms up again and prepares for summer. For all you Aussies we have some fun summer themes too. What about this fun gender neutral hippie bus? We are looking forward to seeing this print turned into fun kids clothes! But our very favorite new print must be the armadillo. Such a quirky animal! Which one of these new prints is your favorite?

If you are interested in purchasing one of these fabrics, here are the links to this month features fabric designs:
Grizzly bears design // Arrows and crosses design // Geometric clouds design // Armadillo country design // Fuji winter design // Hippie bus design

Safari Animals and Scandinavian Pastels // New Children's fashion // Naturkind Biomode // Grand opening

We are very excited Naturkind Biomode will open it's little kids paradise in Germany later this week. For this colorful new brand we created over 15 designs that will be available on kids fashion. Giuliana is the big brain behind it all, she approached me during spring this year with her story about how she wanted to offer parent eco-friendly clothing with a good price tag and fun modern designs convinced us we would be a good match.

Working for children's fashion is not new for us. We have worked with companies in Australia, UK, Canada, South Africa Sweden and the list goes on. But up until now we have never created a series of designs for a German company, we have designed fabric of course, but Naturkind is our first retailer in Germany in toddler and kids fashion. And what a great brand to start with!

We have worked on different themes for girls, boys and also some gender neutral prints are included in her collection. We especially love how our Safari Animal print turned out. Soft beige with fun pink and blue color pops. Giuliana is not afraid of colors and our colorful prints have been featured in numerous magazines in Germany, they sure like a bold statement! So we are convinced she will be doing great with her pick of African Animals and Scandinavian pastels.

After finalizing all designs for her range of children's clothes she also asked us to work on some signage, posters, stickers and wrapping paper for her shop. It has been a fun process all together of which we can now show our final results.

October 31th will be the day of the grand opening of her shop in Bad Harzburg, Germany. So good news for all German parents but how about the rest of Europe then? No worries Giuliana also has a webshop, she originally started selling online, where you can order all here colorful, fun kids fashion.

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // October 2015

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection or a series of illustrations and surface patterns for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

Here is our monthly blog post featuring some creative results from Canada, Australia and Russia. This is our new September selection. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. If you browse around on Etsy for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their finished fashion and home decor projects via Etsy. So take a look and see if there is something for your little one too and support these small business owners.

Meet the adorable Archie
Meet Archie, the newest member of the owl tribe. Don't you love this teepee cactus woodland print? This cuddly owl was made by Andrea who owns the All Things Owls Big Cartel shop where she sells her cute cuddly owls and fun kids fashion pieces. She also attends local markets so if you are living in Australia, I know, it is huge, check dates and locations where she will be selling her owls on her Facebook page. Take a look in her webshop, maybe you can find something for your little one! There are also some more Little Smilemakers prints on there.

Flamingo's and palm trees
We love to see how carefully picked fabrics are turned into pieces of fashion and home decor. These flamingo's we have never seen a finished item of so we were so happy to see Ollie & Mojo's cute Flamingo range of baby and toddler items and when we looked on their Facebook page we noticed another summer hot seller: Our cool palm tree print. Such a cute combo! Ollie & Mojo has a fun whimsical organic baby and kids range. A mixture of trendy, alternative clothing and accessories to make your Kids stand out from the crowd! So take a look in the shop!

Fun New York City and Penguin tea towels
Ryaabaa Kokoko is a Russian company run by Vika that creates the most adorable little long sleeved t-shirts, leggings, blankets, tea towels and PJ's from our less trending designs. She has an eye for colorful and fun and just-a-little-different prints and her shop is such a delight. These tea towels would throw a party in your kitchen when you're not looking! You can follow her Instagram account and watch all her creative projects.

Fresh geometrics and Scandinavian style kids fashion at Kewe Clothing
This Canadian company provides easy to style clothing and complementary accessories for the tiny trend setters in your life. Their soft, breathable organic and bamboo fabrics are printed in small batches with water based inks to ensure premium quality while leaving them safe against baby’s delicate skin and for the environment. Handcrafted in beautiful British Columbia Canada, each piece is as comfortable and functional as it is fashionable. We found some of Little Smilemakers geometric triangles and pink diamond fabric used in their new kids collection when a customer tagged us on Instagram. Roam around on their website and check out all cute t-shirts, leggings, bibs and more.



Whimsical foxes for your kids interior
You might know My Little Hands by now, an Australian based company we have created several designs for. The company is run by the gorgeous Emma. She has a heart for true designs and asked me to create a range of products for her shop. We started out with a series around the water colored foxes. A cute simple repeat of these yellow creatures is now available on cute blankets and other MLH items. Since the shop is growing rapidly Emma has taken a new approach to her business and rebranded her My Little Hands shop that is now named My Little Organics. With a new logo and new designs we wish here all the best!

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // September 2015

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection or a series of illustrations and surface patterns for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

Here is our monthly blog post featuring some creative results from Australia, Sweden, United States and Canada. This is our new September selection. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. If you browse around on Etsy for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their finished fashion and home decor projects via Etsy. So take a look and see if there is something for your little one too and support these small business owners.

Geometric triangle storage bags - Oxzyde
Oxzyde is all about handmade, unique products and specialize in cushions, wall art & homewares. Based in Melbourne, Australia. Our very trendy Little Smilemakers Triangle fabric was used for their new range of fabric storage bags. Oxzyde fabric storage bags come in two sizes, and many colours. All bags feature a plastic lined base which protects against water damage, making them great for pot plants or for serving bread on the table. A fun eye catches for your Scandinavian style interior. The uses for these little bags is unlimited. So take a look at the website to get one of these trendy bags.

Pale pastel ice-cream fashion - Tiny Tiger
Tiny Tiger is a small business based in Sweden. Living in India Hannah searched for an opportunity to be able to work from anywhere, independent of location, and that's how the idea of Tiny Tiger was born. Her passion for comfortable, organic and pretty baby clothes started when she became a mother and is the fuel behind the company. Now she creates hand made baby and toddler fashion and home posters. Take a look, she offers world wide shipping too!



Dachshund Cosmetic Bag - Tiny Tiger
For the love of pattern is a design studio based in Savannah, Georgia with a focus on textile design and creating signature handmade fashion accessories as well as home goods. Abby creates her own original textile designs but also uses Spoonflower fabric for her beautiful creations. Visit her website if you are getting curious!

Quirky foxes, clouds and bohemian feathers nursery textiles - My Little Hands
My Little Hands is an online shop, a place to find all things beautiful for your little one’s including bedding for babies and children, clothing, floor rugs and room decor including wall art, garlands and wallpaper. The Australian company is run by the gorgeous Emma Colombera. She has a heart for true designs and asked Little Smilemakers Studio to create a range of products for her shop. Check the entire new collection now.

We have already seen a lot of awesome sewing projects made by Little Smilemakers fabric customers. We made a little selection out of the dozen photographs that were sent to us or that we were tagged in. Cute home decor items. Personalized bedding, scarfs, leggings and head bands. So much to choose from! If you'd like to be featured in on of our monthly "made with..." posts. Please send us your images. If you are looking for cool designs for your own projects take a look around in our Spoonflower fabric shop and start creating!

> Travel icons of the road | New designs for fabric & Wallpaper | Up for licensing before Surtex New York

After two months of hard work it was about time to book another trip to boost our inspiration. We have been making new travel themes designs for exclusive licensing in the mean time. If you are looking for some colorful, retro style, quirky designs visit the Artwork section on Little Smilemakers website. All designs shown there are available for commercial usage. Please send us a message to find out how to use Little Smilemakers designs for your products and get them just before Surtex.

Artwork by Maaike Boot | Little Smilemakers Studio