An ode to simple pleasures, our Americana Collection celebrates the pastimes that ground us in who we are and what matters most.
With original designs by artist Carleigh Courey and a debut pointelle fabric, there’s so much to love about this new collection of wraps and baby essentials. Here, our Creative Director shares the details of how it came to life.
The Inspiration
One of the sweetest things about that first year with baby is all of the firsts you get to experience together. That first summer, spending days watching the garden grow right alongside your little one, was the inspiration for this new collection.
The Collaboration
We’ve long been fans of Carleigh Courey’s stunning work and had been looking for the perfect opportunity to incorporate her hand-painted floral and botanical designs in our pieces. We contacted her about a design partnership just after she had her third baby and were thrilled to find out that she had used and loved Solly Baby products for years. It felt like a perfect match.
The Process
After sharing our summer garden inspiration with Carleigh and landing on a strawberry motif, she began the process of designing. She started by sketching various concepts, then moved forward with a few of her favorites in detail and paint.
The result was five finished ideas, each beautifully hand-painted using watercolors. Trying to pick a favorite was the hardest part of our collaboration with Carleigh. We loved each design she created, but were most entranced by the exquisite detail and nostalgic feel of those tiny strawberry vines.
Once the final design was chosen, it was scanned to the computer where it underwent several revisions to ensure that the detail and variation of Carleigh’s watercolor work really came through in the fabric. Up close, you’ll notice lovely variations of different shades of red in each little strawberry and delicate green vines wandering throughout. The final result is the perfect vintage-inspired summer print.
The Pointelles
In addition to the Strawberry print designed by Carleigh Courey, this collection features our debut pointelle fabric. Inspired by our double-knit Stormy Houndstooth Wrap from autumn, we wanted to try a playful new summer texture. Pointelle is a classic fabric and seemed like just the right thing to bring into summer with Strawberry.
As we experimented with different iterations of fabric blends, we found that a blend of breathable Pima Cotton and buttery soft TENCEL™ Modal was just right for maintaining the integrity and delicate details of the pointelle, while providing a bit more structure than our 100% TENCEL™ Modal Wraps.
Our Pointelle Wraps are available in White and Red. After years of requests for a white wrap, we’re so excited to be able to offer this beautiful, true-white option. The Red is a limited-edition dyed pointelle for the perfect pop of summer color. Think cherry tomatoes and the bright red popsicles of your childhood.
