Fabric Drawer
“I've always been a creator and maker and loved making things from a young age. My mum studied textiles and was a wardrobe assistant, and there was always fabric in my house growing up.”
“Now, as a surface designer and maker I’m using my mum’s sewing machine, and it’s one that my grandfather bought her.”
Beck Ng specialises in creating colourful and creative patterns for fabric and paper products as Fabric Drawer.
A third-generation Chinese-Australian, Beck Ng’s grandfather, David Chen, was the first Chinese Justice of the Peace in Melbourne. The family have long held ties to the West and North Melbourne area.
Her business now runs out of the same home that her mother and grandparents lived in, a rambling terrace house on Victoria Street. The house is filled with Beck’s bright and vibrant designs, from the couch cushions to kitchen cupboard curtains.
Beck hasn’t always worked with fabrics, and she started her artistic training by studying graphic design.
“I had no interest in fabric, or textiles to start with. I ended up studying multimedia at university and doing a lot of digital and web design, then later print design, with brochures and catalogues.
“But I didn’t want to work on the computer all the time and wanted to apply my skills to something more tactile. So I enrolled in a screen-printing short course, and that’s where Fabric Drawer got started.”
While travelling through London and freelancing as a graphic designer, Beck kept being pulled to the idea of working in textile design. The name ‘Fabric Drawer’ came from her interest in fabrics and patterns.
“I thought one day I'd love to open my own fabric store, and I’d call it ‘Fabric Drawer’. Because everyone who loves fabric keeps a little drawer or tubs of fabric!”
Beck’s designs are a colourful array of stylised shapes and patterns, often centring around florals.
“I'll start sketching some motifs in a sketchbook or on a piece of paper, and then when I've got a collection of little pieces, I'll usually take a photo of them and bring them into my computer to trace and do further work.”
Beck will design a pattern and work on the colour palette and then print her designs using a Thornbury-based digital textile printer, Next State. She enjoys the creative design process as well as the technical challenges of working with repeatable patterns on fabric.
One part of her business is creating designs and producing her own products, such as zip pouches and baby items, while the other side is licensing her artwork on gift products such as partyware, washi tape and greeting cards.
“I've got some stockists here in Melbourne and a couple that are interstate. For instance, my cards are stocked locally in Stranger than Paradise and Metta. I’ve collaborated with a range of local and international companies.”
Beck’s vision for the Fabric Drawer is to open her own studio space and to experiment with producing more products.
“There is a real joy for me in seeing something that I’ve designed come to life. You start with an idea, a bolt of fabric and then create something beautiful and functional from it; it’s really rewarding to witness that process from start to finish.”
WORDS BY JOYCE WATTS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNA ENCIOFabric Drawer
