Wednesday, April 11, 2007

New Toy

I must admit, I didn't stay completely away from the computer over Easter. I spent a little bit of time building a new toy: The Kirin & Co Pattern Tester!

It's a little Flash based interface that allows people to play around with the base fabric and ink colours for a range of my patterns. I figure it will come in handy for anybody who wants to place a custom fabric order (see my etsy shop for details).



The fabric colour options are based on the cotton drill available through my fabric supplier, so they're basically fixed unless I venture out into new fabrics. The ink colour can be anything one likes, however the way the ink appears on the base fabric isn't quite accurate here. The fabric is printed using a water based ink, so the base colour will always show through a bit. So light coloured inks on a dark background don't work so well.

Anyway, please have a fiddle and let me know what you think! And if you come up with any ace colour combinations you'd like to share, just send me the details from the caption :)

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice, indeed.

Anonymous said...

Your pattern tester is amazing!

I would love to reupholster two old chairs with your fabric... it's hard choosing the pattern!
{But first, I'd have to win the lottery}

sheetal patel said...

what a great idea!

i'm really into this colour combination lately (Flowing Dots in #AC1A8C on Pumpkin), which is so bizarre for me b/c i'm usually so scared of colour!

Anonymous said...

I've been reading your blog for a couple of weeks now and it's given me so much inspiration. Your latest tool is so cool - I played with it for far too long :-)

Anonymous said...

that's a pretty nifty little widget, Lara. If you had even more time it would be neat if there was like another little panel where you could save the combinations you made for easy comparison.
AND some kind of 3d window where you could see what the fabric would look like made into various things
AND -

Anonymous said...

oh my god I could play with this for hours. so far I love Raindrops in #5C91AC on Gunmetal and Retro Poppy in #AC1106 on Red, but I only just got started.

Anonymous said...

AWESOME! This is so much fun.

Anonymous said...

oooh thats neat dude.

lori said...

that is an amazing marketing idea. i *just* found out about your fabrics and am excited to try them out.

Jason said...

No way! That is just amazing - I can see this as a new marketing tool for all kinds of designers. It's inspirational and very slick. Way to go Lara! Jason

nicole lecht said...

You go with your bad self girl!!!
you impress me everytime! i'm sitting back eagerly awaiting for the fabric to come in so i can buy up my bundle!!!!!

Sidsel_._ said...

oh this is wonderful - and a true timewaster... but I´ll play along. Great fabrics!

Anna said...

that is such a cool idea!

Jason said...

This new product of yours is very useful. I want to use it too!

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOD!! you are a freak, this is so awesome.
Patent it, patent it!!

PS. My fabric is being delivered tomorrow and then it off to the cool dues down the street!! yipppeeee....

Anonymous said...

Coool toool! You're one talented designer, and I love love love your prints! :D

Anonymous said...

Riverstones in #AC0927 on Pumpkin

This is totally going to keep me occupied for ages...

Hurrayic said...

Wow, wow, wow! This is wonderful! Thanks for your hard work. Do you think you could share some tips as to how you made the pattern maker?