The Art of Florals

Caroline Duffy's love of nature runs throughout her art and designs, with bold florals and bright colours dominating her collection of prints, clothing and homeware.

- CLAIRE CRAIG

THE INSPIRATION

Caroline Duffy's career as an artist and designer has taken her to New York, Sydney and London but it was growing up in Co. Louth that has been the biggest source of inspiration for the creative talent.

'From when I was a child I knew I loved painting and spending time out in the garden and in nature,' she explains.

This early interest has manifested itself throughout Caroline's work where vibrant colours and vivid florals are a recurring theme.

'It's really all about floral patterns and floral design. I love colour and the feeling I get from painting flowers. It gives me a sense of peace, hope and happiness and seems to really appeal to a lot of other people as well.

'I want to create pieces which make people smile, feel good and make them think differently. Ultimately I think I'm trying to capture that joy we can find in nature in order to reconnect with it for a little bit of calm time in our busy lives.

BACKGROUND

After studying at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, Caroline spent 20 years in the fashion industry, working in America, Australia, the UK and Ireland designing printed textiles for various fashion houses.

'My first job was in New York working in a design studio, it was an amazing experience and a real eye-opener,' she comments. 'I got to work with some amazing people and some great designer brands. One of the first people I sold to was Ralph Lauren who bought a print for a whole sleepwear range so that was unbelievable.

'After that I went on to travel to Australia where I designed swimwear.'