Bethie Tricks

Bethie grew up in Belgium learning French and spending a lot of her childhood absorbing natural patterns in nature around her. Constantly collecting and making, she went on study Textiles throughout school, being guided and nurtured by her teacher Margaret Holland & inspired by the likes of William Morris, Henri Matisse, Mark Rothko & many more!

After gaining her undergrad degree in Textiles, Fashion & Fibre from Winchester School of Art, she spent the next decade working for various creative directors, across a range of companies, as a personal and design assistant. This gave her a wealth of knowledge in how to set up and run a business.

With the help and encouragement from the Prince's Trust, Bethie Tricks Textiles was established in 2018 and is going from strength to strength. As a Young Ambassador for the Prince's Trust, Bethie is hugely passionate in helping others to achieve their goals and business dreams.




The Design Process

I gather inspiration wherever I go, whether it is close to home or on my travels, I love nothing better than to wander the streets and observe everything. Where possible, I will collect fallen leaves or petals that might be worth drying/pressing. Sometimes, if permitted, I take a small cutting.

My drawings/paintings are then scanned, moved around digitally, put into repeat patterns and then sent off to my printers for sampling to double check the colours. Coming up with a successful repeat pattern can take me anything from 2 hours to 2 years.

Using environmentally friendly materials is so important as the fabric industry is responsible for far too much wastage, pollution and damage to our planet. I want my fabrics to be part of the solution rather than add to the problem. This is why I choose to use sustainably sourced, natural materials and water based inks.

Once the sampling has been done and colour checked, I get several metres of each fabric printed to be made into scrumptious cushions and cut into swatches to send to all my stockists and interior designers. Seeing my designs become part of your homes and spaces in the form of headboards, curtains, lampshades, cushions and upholstered onto furniture is truly the biggest privilege. I love nothing better than seeing my patterns used in a gorgeous interior design schemes or just hearing that someone has saved up for one cushion because they loved it so much.



How and why did the collaboration with Kelling Designs come about and how did the concept come together?

Kelling Designs got in touch with me after finding me on social media and asked if we could discuss working together, I was so flattered! I was familiar with the company and Emma’s sense of style and design, and pretty excited at the thought of working together. I went to meet them at their showroom on Langton Street to show them my fabrics, talk through my design process and how important the sustainability factor was to me, which is one of the reasons they said they were drawn to my work. Emma and the team choose a few designs, with a few exclusively for them to use, and then they turned them into wonderful homeware items.

What has inspired the works in the collaboration?

It came together quite organically really, some designs I already had and then others were in the design process. Emma has such a great eye for colour - she suggested different colours and scales for the patterns and the designs married together perfectly. The acid green colourway for Bark wasn’t something I wouldn’t have chosen but it works so well and I love it! So fresh and zingy and gorgeously complimented by the rusty orange velvet that she choose. It’s so beneficial to have fresh eyes and great feedback on your work.

How long does each piece of work take?

Repeating patterns is something I have been doing since my early teens. I taught myself after studying William Morris for hours and hours. There is never a defined point where the design is finished but at some point you have to call it. Bark took four years from sketchbook to final design as it just was not flowing properly. I have to keep coming back to it, again with fresh eyes! Waves took a day. All the others sit in between them, taking days or months to decide upon.