Teacher turned fabric designer

Start writing... Have you ever wanted to share your passion with the world? Most creatives do. But what I would end up sharing was not what I thought it would be. My name is Ashley, I am an illustrator, designer and school teacher from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. My mission is to bring joy and education into the world through vibrant and playful digital illustrations transformed into beautiful bespoke creations.

Two years ago, I started sharing my art publically for the first time. It was only meant to be a journal of my creations for people to see and enjoy. I had never considered people would want to buy it!

A message from a local business appeared in my inbox. Little did I know this would be the start of an exciting new venture, and the spark that would ignite my creative dream.

"We love your style", they had written. "We want your art on our cloth nappies! Do you create fabric patterns?". Cloth nappies? Fabric patterns? I scrolled through their page and saw the beautiful eco-friendly products they had to offer, and quickly became excited that they could be covered in MY art!

I replied excitedly "Yes! I would love to!"; but then realized one problem. How do I create a seamless pattern? I had NEVER done this before; I had never needed to. I jumped into the online world and watched video after video of step-by-step guides to making a single image seamlessly patterned. I could do this! Surely?

Over the following weeks, their design came to life on my screen. A hand-drawn ocean composition with bright, vibrant colours. It was everything they had hoped for. I was impressed a little myself that I had pulled this off! They shared it on social media, and what happened next took my breath away.

Three more messages. Three different Australian businesses. They were all asking about custom seamless fabric patterns. "We would love you art on our cloth wipes! On our dog collars! On our t-shirts!". It felt incredible that people were wanting my art so much. It made me feel like I could really do this, not just for fun, but as a small business.

I started Ashley Altes Arts officially in 2020, promoting myself as a surface pattern designer - something I had NEVER considered creating, but it was now my favourite thing to design and bring to life. The requests continued to roll in from a range of places for an even wider range of themed fabrics. I fell in love with textiles, and felt giddy every time I would see something made covered in my illustrations.

But I wanted to do more.

I started to look into custom fashion; something I had dabbled in during my art studies. It was a world of beauty and self-expression, and I wanted to be a part of it!

My first "just-for-me" fabric arrived on Tuesday afternoon. I remember opening the box and unfurling the meters of jungle-covered woven fabric in my lounge, tears in my eyes. It was starting; I could do this. I grabbed my patterns, scissors, and sewing machine and pulled together my first hand-made, hand-drawn skirt. I felt so beautiful; so unique; so confident. I wanted to share this feeling with the world!

It caught the eye of everyone I walked past. "Where can I get one?" they asked, beaming down at my colourful creation. "I love it!", "it's stunning!", "I need one". By the end of my walk, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. So I began my journey to creating bespoke clothing.

So far, this passion project is still very fresh. I have spent the last 6 months experimenting and researching ways to create a range to suit all body types and all genders. Children clothing quickly became a part of the equation; my art catching the eyes if my younger students at school. From here, more ideas bloomed. Educational tools for educators and home-schooling parents. Book illustrations. Wall papers. Home decor. I realized my dreams were endless, and could all become reality with time and dedication.

My name is Ashley, and my mission is to bring joy and education into the world through vibrant and playful digital illustrations transformed into beautiful bespoke creations.