Shelly Kent is pretty fresh to the world of small biz, starting Orange Owl Textiles only about 18 months ago, while she was still studying textile design at uni.

orange owl – avery (tangerine)
After graduating from RMIT in 2011 and undertaking the NEIS program for new small businesses, she then went about setting up her studio, taking over the home garage and building a 4 metre print table. “I also took over the shed and laundry, as well as the only spare room in the house! The space where I print needed some urgent repairs, so my partner and I did some crash courses in plastering and concreting. It looks more like a studio now, especially since we moved the lawnmower out. I like to have the garage door up while I print so I can look out onto the street and chat with my neighbours when they come past.”

orange owl – vintage fan (black on denim)
Shelly takes the raw materials from cloth and ink right through to the finished product. She usually draws out her designs on pencil and paper, before scanning and working on them in Illustrator and Photoshop. “Depending on the pattern I may expose this onto screens ready for hand printing or send it off for digital printing. The fabric is then made up into homeware items or clothing.”
To give you an idea of what’s involved in screenprinting a length of fabric, Shelly sent me this fascinating short video of her printing a four colour length.
Four-colour printing from Orange Owl Textiles
“Screen printing in repeat with multiple colours can be challenging at times and quite a few things can go wrong. It’s a matter of testing, and testing again and more testing…”
“Apart from lack of time I would have to say the hardest thing is lack of funds. I know a lot of artists who work in a variety of art forms – photographers, machine knitters, musicians – and we all agree that one of the toughest obstacles is finding regular cash to sustain the art practice, especially when you’re starting out. Screen printing requires a lot of materials on an ongoing basis: equipment, inks and of course fabric. Many artists that I know need to also work part time, usually in unrelated fields. I admire anyone that takes the plunge to give up financial security to follow what they believe in.”
Her best piece of advice is to “‘Just try it!’. I went back to school to study at uni when I was 32 yrs old and I really didn’t know if I would enjoy it or not – not to mention being nervous about the concept of going back to study after 15 yrs! I’m so glad I listened to my friends.”

orange owl – full bloom
Inspiration comes from many places, including botanicals, popular culture, classic movies and music; and loves the work of Florence Broadhurst, Hannah Bertram, Louise Bourgeois and Banksy. “I’ve always loved fabrics. In my teens I never followed fashion trends and found it difficult to buy clothes that I liked. I remember going to the op-shops and purchasing bed quilts, curtains, sheets, hankies and even some over-the-top dresses. I would take them home, cut them up and make some pretty ‘interesting’ garments. As much as I enjoyed the sewing I really loved the fabrics.”
Shelly also counts herself lucky enough to be part of the Olive Grove Collective, a studio & retail space in Brunswick, Melbourne, operated by 7 designer/makers. “The collective has been operating for about 13 years. We supply the shop with our items and take it in turns operating the retail side. It’s such a fantastic space, and besides being a great support network, it’s wonderful being surrounded by talented lovely people who have such great passion. I find it truly inspiring. If you’re ever in Sydney Rd, Brunswick drop in, and say hi; you’ll usually find one of us working away.”
You can find more of Shelly’s work on her Facebook page and her own website, and you can find more about The Olive Grove Studios on their Facebook page.
the video was wonderful & I love the gorgeous fabric