Introducing the New Farmers Market Collection

Who doesn’t love a farmers market? I don’t think I know anyone! While living in Providence, Rhode Island, I visited the Hope Street Farmers Market on Saturday mornings to buy fresh produce, flowers, and seafood. (And, of course, pet other people’s dogs.) I loved supporting the local farms and small businesses and buying what was in season. From Providence, I moved to North Carolina and loved the market in downtown Davidson.

Since moving to New Hampshire, I haven’t found a regular market, but I always pull over whenever I pass a farm stand. Summer is short in New England. We need to take advantage of it while it’s here. For me, that includes all the delicious fresh food.

These markets were the inspiration for the Design Pool Farmers Market collection.

For this collection, I began by drawing various fruit and vegetables, such as asparagus, onions, and raspberries. Working off my drawings, I created several blocks of fruits and vegetables and an array of leaves. I learned to block print in art class in junior high. Back then, I used a linoleum block that had to be heated first with an iron and was very hard to cut into. Now, they make pink rubber blocks that are much easier to carve. Plus, there is a very satisfying feeling carving these soft, supple blocks.

Once I had all my blocks carved, I played with them, printing them each on paper. Next, I scanned the prints and brought them into Illustrator. Once digital, I could play around with the motifs and put them into repeat. When I was happy with the layout of the patterns, I played around with different woven textures to add depth to the imagery. The resulting collection features eleven patterns, each with its only color line.

Fruits and vegetables were a lot of fun to use as a design source because of their interesting shapes, texture, and beautiful colors. I also love when there is an identifiable image, such as an artichoke, but I color it in a very non-traditional color for an artichoke, such as pink.

The Farmers Market collection is now available in the Design Pool licensable library. View the collection today and get started using it in your next project.