Designing our own line of prints was a first for us and such an interesting experience. Particularly, we had so much fun working with our designer Lisa Marie Grillos of San Francisco. When I originally approached Lisa Marie with all our ideas, we had no idea how everything would turn out. I literally just had scraps of magazine clippings, pictures copied from the internet and key words of things we wanted to convey. All we knew was that we wanted to create some beautiful fabric that had drought tolerant plants on them. Lisa Marie was able to make sense of all the madness, bring her own flair and design our latest beauties: Acqua Bag, D’Anjou Bag and Matilda Bag.
We got a chance to chat with Lisa Marie recently to find out more about her design process and favorite green practices. Please enjoy her delightful answers below!
Q: How did you come up with ideas for each of the new bag designs?
a) Succulents “Acqua Bag” – When Pretty Green approached me to design the fabric for their new line of bags, we discussed their focus on sustainability and the environment. Water shortage is poised to be our next big crisis, and so we discussed drought-tolerant plants. Succulents were the first obvious plants to come to mind. I wanted to portray the succulent as a classic, which is how the ogee pattern came about. To me, there is nothing as lush and elegant as a colorful succulent garden.
b) Coneflower “Matilda Bag” – The purple 
coneflower is such a wonderful flower; not only is it drought-tolerant, it’s where we get the immune booster Echinacea. Its preference for dry soil makes it a colorful addition to a water-conscious garden. Color is always one of the first things I think about when starting a new design. I keep a file of all my favorite color combinations and am always happy to find a new one. Yellow and purple are one of those old standards for. Just the other day I saw a yellow house and thought “That house would be complete with a big patch of purple coneflowers out front.”
c) Pears “D’anjou Bag” – A thought I came away with after doing all my research on drought-tolerant gardens was the necessity to grow our own food. If you are going to have to water your plants, it may as well give you something in return! I make it a point to start an herb garden every spring, and this year I’ve ventured into the land of radishes and lettuces as well. I would love one day to be able to grow all the food for my family, and maybe even have a chicken coop for some delicious eggs, but for now being that I’m a city dweller I’ll stick to what my meager outdoor area can handle. However, I do see a pear tree in my future.
Q: What are your favorite mediums?
A: I dabble in a little of everything but as far as pattern design I love to paint with gouache, and I equally love the digital side of things which is when I take the design into Adobe Illustrator to work out the pattern. Some other creative things I love: photography, gocco printmaking, sewing, embroidery, and next week I’m going to learn how to knit!
Q: What inspires you creatively?
A: It may be cliche, but I am literally inspired by everything around me. I pay attention to the details. I take long walks with my dogs and photograph anything that catches my fancy. I peruse art books at the library and draw the things I see when my mind starts to interpret those images into something else. I’m hugely inspired by the online art community, especially all my friends on flickr. And of course the real life art community here in San Francisco and Oakland, where I see amazing work at the beginning of each month with the respective first thursday and first friday gallery openings. I’m also inspired by my husband who is a musician, and love to hear him work out a song and watch the songs work into an album (shameless plug: www.hangjones.com)
Q: How did you get into textile design?
A: I find life is this ever-transforming work-in-progress. One thing always leads me to another. I started college as an English major but got swept up in the world of Photography, in which I got my BFA. After college I was scooped up by the graphic design profession, and kind of meandered in that field for a while working on print and web design.
But when I realized that I love design but hate advertising, I went in the search of the next thing to sweep me off my feet. Around that same time I was learning to sew, and could spend hours at the fabric store perusing the gorgeous prints by contemporary designers. I realized I had to marry my love for design and my love for sewing into fabric design. I took a few classes to learn the basics and now I’m following my heart. I’m currently working on a collection to shop around, amidst other projects that keep me busy (like sewing cute skirts, and my bike bag collection that I started with my brother www.hambonedesigns.com )
Q: What are your favorite green practices?
A: Living in San Francisco, it’s easy to be green. There is a city-implemented composting service, you get a free green bin for your food and plant waste and they pick it up every week with the garbage. A few times a year they offer the rich compost they produce to residents for use in home gardens. Such a great idea! The 4-unit building I live in has become so good at composting and recycling that we downgraded the size of our garbage can, and it still is usually less than half full.
Another thing SF has done is outlaw plastic bags at supermarkets. I keep a few Pretty Green bags by the front door and in my bicycle bags, and when I run out to the store it’s easy to remember to take one with me. I also 
reuse produce bags, or save the plastic bags that bread comes in, to use for fruits and veggies. It’s become second nature to think twice about using things. Why would I use a disposable coffee cup when I can take my travel mug with me and save that landfill space?
Another thing I do is keep a small bucket under the bathroom sink. When I’m waiting for the water to heat up before taking a shower or washing my face, I catch all that water in the bucket and use it to water my plants or flush the toilet. I have raincatchers outside to save up rainwater for that purpose as well.
My favorite green practice is my bicycle. I ride my bike everywhere – to the store, to the farmer’s market, to run an errand four miles away – if I’m doing anything in town, I never even think of driving the car. And it’s great exercise too!
About Lisa Marie Grillos:
Lisa Marie is an artist of the graphic variety who also plays with light in the form of photography and cloth in the form of sewing. She has a preference for fabric design and strawberry smoothies. Having lived in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco, she is currently seeking the perfect seaside town to call home. She lives with her talented troubadour husband and two super cute yet dastardly dogs.
www.lisamariedesign.com
alittleflea.blogspot.com
www.hambonedesigns.com
Acqua Bag
and finally… Matilda Bag
