My Local Lovin’ series started as a spotlight on designers / stores / creators of marvellous things (and anything else that catches my eye) – all based here in Scotland. I believe that we should be supporting our amazing home-grown talent, so I decided to keep Local Lovin’ as a permanent feature!
Today, I’m chatting with the fabulous surface pattern designer Mimi Hammill, who grabbed my attention a couple of years ago on Instagram with her bold, bright and oh-so-beautiful scarves! Read on to find out a little more about Mimi and her work…
I’d love to know about how you got started designing and how your brand was born?
After a career false start in an incredibly stressful clinical specialty, I changed track in the early noughties and worked as a medical editor in London for a few years. While deciphering and rewriting doctors’ illegible scrawlings, I became fascinated by the work of the freelance designers who made our magazine layouts. Their job looked like much more fun than mine.
Fast-forward a few years and, having replaced my office job with freelance editing and small children, I took a few Adobe software classes out of curiosity. There are three main parts of Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. InDesign was very similar to the software I’d used as an editor. My brain struggled with Photoshop’s curious logic. But Illustrator? Well, Illustrator was amazing. I was hooked.
The first challenge I set myself, as soon as I felt comfortable in the software, was to enter a scarf design competition. My reasoning being that, as a novice, it would be a valuable way to learn how to respond to a design brief. And that’s how, six months after first picking up the pen tool (and to my enormous surprise) I won. Seeing my pattern for sale in Topshop’s flagship London store was all the encouragement I needed to turn my new hobby into something more. That was nearly five years ago.
Can you tell me a bit about what inspires your work?
Back in my editor days, I couldn’t comprehend how our designers drew perfect, crisp, flawless shapes using only a mouse. It mystified me. That’s why discovering Adobe Illustrator’s vector system of points, curves and angles a few years later was such a revelation. Vector-based geometric patterns continue to be my preferred and most natural style. I love the sharpness of line. Even in patterns with a predominantly hand-drawn focus (like last year’s Wild Florals collection for example) I will always include a strong graphic element as well.
The wonderful thing is that almost anything can inspire a geometric pattern. Pattern is everywhere. For example one of my bestsellers, GRID, evolved from the arrangement of holes in two mis-matched laundry baskets, one inside the other. LOCK came from my obsessively photographing the incredibly ugly paved driveway of a house down the road. I photograph a LOT of random stuff!
What was the very first piece you created and sold? Is it still available?
The first patterns I designed as a coherent collection were my Modernist scarves, inspired by the colours, textures and angles of Modernist buildings. I created them in 2014 in response to an open call from a group in Edinburgh called Kalopsia Collective.
Kalopsia were putting on an exhibition of scarves and textiles in Leith with the proceeds from all sales going to MacMillan Cancer Support. It gave me an opportunity to manage the manufacturing of my own products for the first time. One of those patterns, ARTPOP, became the basis of my branding and has been included in one form or another in several of my subsequent collections. It has even been commissioned in bespoke colour palettes by other organisations (the First Minister has one of those!) The Modernist scarves aren’t currently for sale, but it’s funny you should ask, as I have been considering revisiting them.
During a long day of bossing it, what’s your snack of choice? Are you a sweet or savoury kind of gal?
I have a really sweet tooth when I’m tired. If I’m drawing at my computer I tend to get completely immersed and go hours without even stopping to drink water; a horrible habit that leaves me cross-eyed, crabbit and craving vast quantities of sugar in any form.
However, we have a new puppy and she demands a more sensible routine. After the 8.30 school run I will either go jogging or work at my desk until 10.30 – this being the absolute latest Tattie will tolerate before she demands a walk. We toddle round our neighbourhood (extremely slowly – she is very small) always ending up at The Hammerton Store to scan the newspaper with a cappuccino. Then we’ll go home for lunch and a few more hours at my desk, Tattie snoring by my feet, before the school pickup.
Mimi Hammill’s LYNSAY scarf from her Wild Florals collection - call me biased but who could argue with a name like that? Also, just look at those jewel-toned bluebells! Le swoon.
What’s been your proudest moment so far?
Winning a scholarship for a year’s study at the Make It In Design school in 2015 was pretty astonishing. A friend encouraged me to apply, so I submitted a couple of patterns and forgot all about it. Winning knocked me sideways. Studying in that community gave me confidence that what I was doing was valid, and that there was a place for my work among all the other design styles out there.
But there are smaller daily moments too. Every single time I wrap a parcel is incredibly special, because every sale means I can carry on doing the thing that I love for a little bit longer. I wish all my customers knew that is, guaranteed, what I am thinking as I tissue wrap their scarves. And then there are the moments I see photos on social media of customers wearing their Mimi scarves – I will never tire of those little bursts of pride.
Sharing is caring - tell me about another indie business that you can’t get enough of right now?
I love shopping from indie brands when I’m giving a gift. It automatically shows that a bit of thought has gone into the process. More often than not the items will be stunningly wrapped and presented, and you get the warm fuzzies from knowing that you’re supporting someone else’s creative dream. Some of my recent favourites have been from ARK Colour Design, Paulin Watches, Reiko Kaneko and Duck Ceramics.
Finally, do you have anything exciting coming up that we should keep our eyes peeled for?
My current collection of patterns is very nearly ready to go! It’s called the LAZE collection and is inspired by tropical holidays. Each pattern is named after a delicious cocktail, and is inspired by pool tiling, lazy days, and sunbeams reflecting off rippling water. The scarf samples are currently with magical photographer Susan Castillo awaiting her sorcery before they go in my web shop.
This Summer, as well as scarves, you’ll be able to buy all the LAZE patterns by the metre from Printed & Co on linens, cottons and silks, for all your dressmaking, interior and upholstery projects. You’ll also be able to order the patterns in a range of made-to-order products (such as tote bags, cosmetics pouches and cushions). There’s a lot to look forward to and I can’t wait to share this new collection with everyone.
LAZE scatter cushion, anyone? Sounds good to me! You can find more of Mimi’s work and keep up with her new releases over on her website.
All images provided by Mimi Hammill
