Birds-on-a-Wire Stripes :: Repeat Pattern

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.
Enjoyed celebrating my husband's recent birthday by spending time in the valley with friends and family. The skies were overcast and the city was beautifully photogenic! We shot several photos of the cityscape — and this surface design story is a product of that shoot. Colorways are endlessly editable; it was tough deciding on which ones to post.

Eco-Note: Concerned about the welfare of our sweet feathered friends? Look for bird sanctuaries in your neck of the woods and learn how you can help.

Elephant Love :: Repeat Pattern

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.
Elephants! These intelligent animals are passionate and playful — displaying true grace despite their bulky tonnage. This surface design honors the beloved elephant with an earthy clay palette and conversational, two-directional pattern. (As with most of my designs, the colorways and scale are editable.)

Eco-Note: Unfortunately, some of these amazing creatures live an unnatural and difficult life held captive in zoos, circuses, and the like. If you're interested in helping elephants in need, please support The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. This impressive organization is the nation's largest natural habitat refuge devoted to endangered African and Asian elephants. Oh, and did I mention they have Elecams (!) on their website too? :D

Ears of Corn :: Pattern Collection

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

With Thanksgiving coming up I've had ears of corn and corn relish on the brain. Last week whenever my pencil was near, I drew corn on the cob... interesting symbol these days with food being so political and corn being at the center of many of those debates. But, here corn is just corn — carved, printed, and set to repeat; two different repeats, colorways, and story options.

Custom Fabric Samples

Sakura © Kim Buchheit :: Printed on Linen-Cotton Canvas (upholstery weight)
This fabric is available for purchase by the yard.

Seahorses © Kim Buchheit :: Printed on Organic Cotton Sateen

Mute Swans © Kim Buchheit :: Printed on Cotton Silk

Monarch Butterflies © Kim Buchheit :: Printed on Silk Crepe de Chine

Fabric designs © Kim Buchheit
Was excited to get some of my fabric designs printed out on a variety of fabrics this season! Am hoping to get my sewing machine fixed so I can create some pillows to show prospective clients before year's end. So much to do... but, tonight it's all about candy. Happy Halloween :D

Lavender :: Pattern Collection

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.
I made some felted lavender-filled sachets as gifties for loved ones last weekend, and decided to make a linocut stamp for the hangtags. The colors were so delightful that a simple repeat pattern seemed like the next logical step. We've had some rainy days here at Grand Canyon with the monsoons in town, so this energetic palette really brightened up the studio... and the sweet smell of lavender made for a relaxing yet productive week. (Note: A friend turned me on to a great organic lavender farm: Purple Haze Lavender — their lavender spritzer is a true affordable luxury at $8.50!)

Butterfly Koi :: Pattern Collection

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.
Butterfly koi are a hybrid species — one that is hardier and has longer fins than traditional koi. Fill a pond with these beautiful creatures and you have an instant meditation garden. The color palette for this collection is vibrant, hot, and summer-swimsuit inspired. I'm thinking the mix-and-match collection would be cute for children's clothing or bedrooms, too! Original illustration is hand-carved.

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.
An understated and possibly more meditative colorway in golds and greys. :)

Potted Plants :: Pattern Collection

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

Potted plants and polka dots! That little work-horse, gingham, also wended its way into this design — the pots got wrapped up in its checkered splendor. Gingham has a long history of usage and remains a textile staple. It continues popping up in summer dresses, barbecue aprons, kitchen towels, handkerchiefs, pajamas and bedspreads.

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

Alternative two-directional colorway and layout — with the addition of the flower motif from my Snail Mail design. 

Outer Space :: Pattern Collection

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; purchasing and/or licensing option available
This week's Illustration Friday challenge ("Launch") gave me just the incentive I needed to convert one of my older designs into a linocut repeat. Rockets, shooting stars, planets, and spaceships zip around on intergalactic polka-dots!

Seahorse :: Pattern Collection

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

Ancient Roman fisherman thought seahorses were actually baby horses which would grow up to pull Neptune's chariot. This sweet pattern captures the charm of these lovely fishes rhythmically gliding through the sea — sans the god of the ocean. (Top collection shows seahorse linework in bark brown; lower collection shows it in dark teal. Colorways and linework are editable. Original hand-carved illustrations, scanned, colorized, and set to repeat.)

Eco-Tip: 10 easy things you can do to protect the seahorse's home and save the oceans!

Snail Mail :: Pattern Collection

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; purchasing and/or licensing options available.

In this crazy digital age, who doesn't love getting snail mail now and then! Charming little snails send sweet notes to each other; their plaid playground has a faux-woven texture for added interest (hard to see here). I'm thinking summer camp, pen pals... the perfect stationery design.

Eco-Note: The Kanab Ambersnail (Oxyloma haydeni kanabensis) is one of Grand Canyon National Park's endangered species. There are only two natural populations of this snail in the world, one of which is at a spring along the Colorado River called Vasey's Paradise. You can help the park protect this rare species by becoming a member of the park's official fundraising organization.

Leaves :: Repeat Patterns

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; purchasing and/or licensing options available.

Today's cool breezes have me thinking in fall colors while exploring different colorways for this geometric leaf pattern. ;)

Blue Whales :: Pattern Collection

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are the largest animals on the planet. This surface design showcases a whimsical interpretation of these incredible creatures swimming in an undulating sea of blues and greens. Original hand-carved illustrations. Ask about alternative colorways and coordinating designs. (Note: Coordinating designs not necessarily to scale. Contact me if you'd like to see larger, to scale collections.)

Eco-Note: Learn how you can adopt a blue whale. NRDC is urgently trying to save beluga whales; please help if you can.

Monarch Butterfly :: Repeat Patterns

Surface designs © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

Monarch butterflies are known for their beauty and their astonishing migration feat — traveling some 2800 miles or more in the fall to their destination in central Mexico. (Original illustrations of butterflies and milkweed flower were carved, printed, scanned and set to repeat.)

Eco-Note: These amazing creatures need your help in restoring their wintering habitat in Mexico; visit: World Wildlife Fund to get involved.

Mute Swan :: Repeat Patterns

Surface design © Kim Buchheit; licensing and/or purchasing options available.

Swans really do mate for life — and during the mating dance they touch their breasts and beaks together to create a heart shape between themselves. The top design shows the moment just before they touch, and their "reflection" suggests a swan's watery home. Lower pic shows an alternate pattern and 2-color (tone-on-tone) colorway. Original drawing hand-carved.