JR Artisan Spotlight
Alice SergeantOwner/Founder/Creative Director of Alice Sergeant Textiles
What inspires you?
Traveling to places that offer unique architectural experiences, visiting house museums and seeing historical interiors, shopping at flea markets and thrifting vintage textiles and clothing. Visiting historical sights in my father’s birthplace in Lebanon and open air museums in Sweden and Denmark are examples of where I might I source inspiration.
Alice Sergeant Textiles Founded by December 2018
Describe your BRAND in 5 words or less:
Eclectic, Dynamic, Timeless, Colorful, Playful
How did you get your start in the industry?
I began my career working in New York in the fashion industry. I worked for cult Nolita designer Jane Mayle, as well as fashion brand Tocca started by the ever chic Marie-Anne Oudejans, where both brands gave me insight and experience into the colorful world of fashion and textiles. Working in New York right out of fashion school gave me the grit and drive to eventually break out on my own and start my own company
What makes your brand stand out?
My brand offers unique color combinations that are rich in color and can be mixed an matched with each other to create interesting combinations. I like to put a twist on a historical textile design by using colors that are unexpected and modernizing some of the more obscure motifs while maintaining complex design elements. I enjoy cramming as much as possible into a single textile design! It makes it unique and interesting.
Any new techniques, mediums, colors, or aesthetics you are experimenting with or working on that you can share?
In the next year, I will continue to focus on hand printing and growing my wallpaper collection. There is a textural sensation that you can only find with hand printing.
Describe your studio or work space
My studio is a home studio that is a juxtaposition between creative chaos and effort to be an organized business woman. You will find a large inspiration board above my desk with beautiful photos, paintings, and textile swatches, while below the board, you will find messy stacks of purchase orders, production orders, hand written to-do lists cluttering my desk. My bookshelves in my office have magazines, books, carpets, and stacks of fabrics.
Share your latest collection
My latest release is called Carnivale. It is a 9 color hand printed fabric inspired by the fabric from an 18th century antique cotton floral dress. The colors make it unique and playful. It is truly one of a kind. I will be offering a second color way this spring. I like to be intentional about releasing new patterns and try not to focus on quantity, but more on substance. At the moment I am working on two new hand printed textiles as well as releasing my Zahra pattern as wallpaper.
