Step #3...Making the Plate

The original fabric on the State Department Sofa.

When Chris first approached us about the possibility of embossing a pattern from the State Department Sofa we were excited, a little bit apprehensive but full of enthusiasm.  Unfortunately the first photos that we received of the fabric were not of the highest quality but with hard work and diligence we were able to start and extract a design.  None of this would have been possible without the highly skilled expertise of my two colleagues, Alison Pyott and Zoe Sheehan Saldana, who transformed an almost illegible photo into a workable design.

The first thing Alison did was to blow up the photos and then meticulously trace around the design so that we could send a clearer picture for Zoe to scan in the computer.

Zoe starting to extract the key elements of the pattern from the design.

Zoe and Alison conferring about the pattern.

After the design was scanned into the computer Zoe worked up the key elements and then printed them out in multiples so that she and Alison could begin to form the layout.

The main elements of the design laid out in the size of the pattern repeat.

The next step was to add the secondary designs and start to tie it all together.

Alison and Zoe fine tuning the pattern repeat.

The final draft printed out to scale with a sample plate of the "pomegranate".

The finished plate ready for embossing this coming week! Stay tuned for the first run through.