Gemma Kaur is a printed textile designer from Edinburgh, United Kingdom, residing in Dubai. She specializes in screen-printing for interiors and stationery, and holds a BA Honors in Design for Textiles from Heriot Watt University. Since moving to Dubai in 2017, she has worked and designed textiles for art fairs, events, exhibitions, interiors and retail, and carried out textile related workshops.
Gemma is passionate about textiles and her inspiration comes from her daily surroundings, travel and her culture. She desires to work on more interior projects and continue with teaching workshops. Let’s learn more about her printed textiles and her design process.
(Image courtesy - Gemma Kaur)
Dea: What do textiles mean to you?
Gemma: Textiles are a way of expressing your thoughts and creativity in a story telling way. It’s a craft that is always changing and there are so many techniques and layers to it.
Dea: What's your background and what lead you to working with textiles?
Gemma: I am a British Indian from Scotland, I studied Art and Design for 2 years in College and then went on to School of Textiles in Galashiels to study Design for Textiles.
From a young age I was always interested in art and print making and as I got older Interiors also became an interest. This led me to studying my University Course because it had a balance of all three things I had a passion for.
(Image courtesy - Gemma Kaur)
Dea: Where do you find your inspiration?
Gemma: I find inspiration from my surroundings, my travels and my culture. I like to make each piece of work to be something personal.
Dea: What's your creative process like?
Gemma: For my textiles, I begin with research and mood boards, and then I create layout developments whilst experimenting with materials, and then the final prints are created - which are either shown through Photoshop simulations or Photography. I like to work mainly doing screen-printing however for many of my projects I do overlap and do both screen and digital printing.
(Image courtesy - Gemma Kaur)
Dea: Have you or your business been affected by the current global situation? Are you doing anything to overcome it?
Gemma: Business is not affected. I am currently working on other things which include rebranding and I think it’s a great time for others to see what improvements they can bring to their practice.
Dea: Do you have any tips for people currently working at home? Any DIY ideas?
Gemma: I think everyone creative should embrace this time to learn new skills/ courses or even a hobby online – a lot of them are free and shared through Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I think do some research and you’ll be amazed at how much the art community is out there and doing something to help not just for the creatives but in all fields of work.
(Image courtesy - Gemma Kaur)
Dea: Any tips for aspiring creatives?
Gemma: Work on your dream job every single day, make it part of your routine even if you can give it only 30 minutes a day – but do something and keep going. Use your passion, skills and always have a WHY to what you are doing and it will all come from there.
Are you inspired yet? We definitely are! Let's keep those creative juices flowing! We will continue to bring you stories of how textiles are being used around the world.
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(Image courtesy - Gemma Kaur)
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