ILLUSTRATION / PATTERN / TECHNICAL DESIGN PORTFOLIO
Welcome!
Hello! I'm Anne Hammes, an artist and technical designer based in Northern New Jersey creating hand-painted and vector based designs for the apparel and home fashion industries. I raise butterflies and rescue felines and I’m often kept company in the studio by my four cats - one in particular provides the main source of inspiration for my tuxedo cat illustrations!
I mostly grew up in Peekskill, NY and finished high school in Ohio where I was often asked if I knew Blair and Tootie. I started my college studies with Kent State University's fashion program but switched my focus to art and graduated with a BFA in painting. I circled back to fashion after landing my first job in NYC's fashion industry in the 90's.
It was here that my surface pattern design journey started when I was exposed to viewing artwork from various print design studios. It was magical to see incredible hand painted art being presented, one by one, for selection to use in garments - and to know there was an outlet that combined my interest in fashion and painting! One of these studios appreciated my enthusiasm and sold my work on a commission basis. They fed me trend and color direction that I eagerly followed to create hand painted designs on silk using gutta resit and dyes. I worked on these designs at night after my day job and this passion lasted for several years until my corporate fashion career took up more of my time.
While my painting pursuits were on the back burner, I learned a great deal about the technical design aspect of the fashion industry including conducting fittings, creating tech packs and line sheets and traveling overseas to factories for product development. I used this new digital design experience to create illustrations and repeat patterns and found a vehicle to showcase my work through a small product based business, Tilia Press. Tilia Press made its debut in 2009 at the National Stationery Show in NYC followed by an online Etsy shop as well as several repeat US wholesale accounts. Many years were spent experimenting with different illustration styles and printing techniques - including learning how to letterpress print and acquiring two vintage tabletop presses - and an abundance of vintage printing blocks! While I continue to work as a technical designer, I have steered back to creating hand painted and digitally designed surface patterns for home + apparel and look forward to continually share my work!