Daily Inspiration: Meet Kristina Trogdon

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Trogdon.

Hi Kristina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I began my career in apparel design and development. My very first company was a western wear company, and this is where I learned the fundamentals of print design. As I began working more in technical development and product development at Sports Authority (at their headquarters in the Private Label department), we often sourced out any print work.

I continually asked why we couldn’t just do it in-house, “I’ll do it.” So, I would pull from all my knowledge and resources to learn how to digitize artwork to the best of my abilities while still doing our tech packs, fittings, and development of the goods we were working on that season. After a few different jobs, a former co-worker from Sports Authority reached out to me when they were hiring a print designer. “I remember you always liked prints. Would you be interested in a Fabric Designer role at Craftsy?”

In all honesty, I wasn’t super hot about leaving the apparel industry, but I loved print design. I had taken a really low paying job as a production artist to avoid a long commute to Boulder, and it really wasn’t a great job long term. So, anything was better than my current situation.

I took the job making the most of it.  When I started at Craftsy designing my very first traditional quilt collection (Gloriana’s Dream), I remember sitting on the floor alone in our design studio with 100’s printouts all over the floor of every print/color combination, just thinking, “How the hell is this supposed to all come together?” I just started with my favorite versions of each print and went from there. It was seriously like someone had turned on a light inside of me. It was at that moment that I knew I was happy.

Designing quilt fabric tapped into my creativity and problem-solving in a way that I loved. I never looked back from that moment. I only wanted to be in the quilting industry. This also sparked me to get back into making quilts, just for the joy and simplicity of it. I got a kick out of finding fabrics that I loved and cool quilt designs to go with them. I was always on what I called “a cool girl quilt” journey. I wanted fashionable quilts, more like what you might find at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters.

After 3 years, Craftsy made the announcement that they were closing (classes got sold, but all e-commerce shut down).  I’ll never forget it. I was actually in the hospital with my husband. He had just gotten out of surgery the day before because he had broken his leg (fluke electric skateboarding accident). I was in the hospital listening to the company’s downhill announcement. I started to cry.

My husband was still super groggy and on a lot of medication, so I just whooshed out, not wanting to stress him out.   I was sad for all the collections I had done that would never get released –  Vintage French Florals, modern minimalism with subtle rose gold metallic pops, and more. (A lot of it can be found at random online retailers these days.)

After being back in apparel for a while, a random opportunity came up with a company called, “Love Sew.  The owner called me from a super bizarre number, but I was answering all calls because, well, who knows?  We had one conversation where I laid out a plan, what I knew about quilting from my time at Craftsy, and what I would do if I had the money to start a fabric company. I honestly never expected to hear from him again, as he is British and spends most of the year in Dubai.

But he called me back and said, “Let’s do it.” It was a rough agreement that I would produce two collections per month. However, this was a huge undertaking with little to no resources. At Craftsy, we had a budget to help get work done when needed. In the role, it was just me. I had to illustrate or digitize EVERYTHING myself. Some French Florals can take 40 hours of computer illustration time. I did the best I could, creating the best fabric and designs I could. It was my goal to not just create fabrics, but to help build the business. So, every collection I made was the absolute best I could do.

After a year of collections, the owner of Love Sew wanted out of fabric, so again, all my work was stuck in the ether.  However, I negotiated back the rights to some of my favorite collections, so those are the ones that I am looking to produce on my own. I decided that if no one would give me a job in the quilting industry, I was just going to have to do it on my own. Quilt fabric is more like a calling than a profession. I love it. I have to do it, and I will find a way.

I’ve recently started doing quilt patterns, but more serendipitously. A woman who had purchased a huge cargo truck full of Craftsy fabric randomly found me. I don’t even recall how she found me. I helped put her in connection with many of the pattern designers that she needed pattern rights for to sell the kits she had. A handful of designers never got back to her, and she asked if I would be interested in reverse engineering patterns for those kits.

I had been dabbling in trying to write patterns since this is much easier to produce than large fabric quantities.  So for the time, I’m really focusing on patterns since they only cost me my time and ideas to make. The ultimate objective is to produce fabric, but the patterns are fun!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not smooth! This shit is hard, to say the least. Fabric is expensive to produce and hard to sell if you don’t have a huge network. Without corporate backing, it’s hard to get enough money just to obtain potential customers. I do have a small loyal following of folks who have become my fabric and quilting cheerleaders, and this helps. But I need a lot more of these people!

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently, my work is focused on the quilt patterns, but my work always begins with fabric.

I usually find inspiration in a single print design that springboards me into a whole collection, and then I start to have a vision for what the quilt patterns could be.  The last little while, I’ve really been focused on painting and textile dying as a means to create prints rather than the digital illustrations.

I don’t consider myself an artist, but getting out the paints and playing around with motifs, brushes, and textures really inspires fabrics.  Same with fabric dyeing.  I love looking at the traditional Shibori dyeing techniques and trying to utilize those in various colors (rather than only the indigos that Shibori is usually made in.)  I’ve had to get a little creative in my approach to fabric dyeing, but it’s so much fun.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My best childhood memories are of how I met my friends.

Annika: we met in preschool.  Me: “Are you a kiss-y girl?” Annika: “No, I’m a new girl.”  Best friends ever since.

Juliet: We were seated together on the bus, both thinking the other was snotty, until something made us laugh uncontrollably, and we realized we got off at the same stop and lived down the street from one another.

Katie: She was getting off at my bus stop to see her grandparents. We walked together, then spent the afternoon laughing at the 6th-grade dramas.  We then left secret notes taped under the desks in math class.

Jaclyn: We met in 4th grade and rode the bus together, singing loudly, pretending we were music stars.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quiltverve.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quilt_verve/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quiltverve
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktrogdon/
• Youtube: @quiltverve
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/quiltverve