our new fabric series

Inspired by The Cabbage Tree Palm

Cecille’s Design NOTES:

I’m so honoured to be given this opportunity to create a fabric design based on our distinctive Australian cabbage tree palm. My hope is that by revealing the inspiration behind the designs, it will expand our local knowledge and appreciation of this important protected native tree species – and add richer layers of meaning to the fabric for those who experience it.
From my studio window I can see a large cabbage tree palm nestled amongst the jacarandas, framing the water views. My home in Clareville, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, is nestled between Pittwater on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. At the end of my street is the long, winding bush track of the Angophora Reserve. It’s a joy to walk this shady track when the sun is high in the sky. Towards the end of the path are clusters of tall, slender Cabbage Tree palms. Each palm casts a shadow to the one below creating magical geometric patterns as you walk under the canopy. I have tried to capture all these lived experiences in this fabric series. The colour palette of the fabric series reflects the sea and sand as well as the deep and brighter greens of the palms themselves. This is in recognition of the coastal rainforest that once ran from the hills down to the sea, to which the Cabbage Tree palm belongs.

As part of the Northern Beaches Council Creative Grants Program, I was commissioned to design a new fabric based on the cabbage-tree palm (Livistona australis) an Australian evergreen tall, slender palm that grows to about 25 meters in height.

The 3 Designs in the Cabbage Tree Series

This series features three complementary designs which have been digitally dyed to the highest production standards in Australia’s premium digital fabric print house “Think Positive Prints”.

Fabric width is 1.34 metres (see care instruction below) and the repeat is 1 metre

The three design in the series are:

Through my Window - representing the view of Cabbage Tree Palms from my window filtering glimpses of the blue sea -
Ocean Ripples - acknowledging the location of Sydney’s northern beaches where clusters of cabbage tree ferns are protected native species are a a remnant of the coastal rainforest that used to run down to the sea
Under the Canopy - representing the blissful experience of walking in the Angophera Reserve in Avalon, where pockets of large cabbage tree ferns created a kaleidoscope of geometric shadows above you as you walk.

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Through My Window

Ocean Ripples

Under The Canopy

Click to read a short overview of the Story of the Cabbage Tree Palm - from its importance to First Nations peoples and colonial usage.

“Under the Canopy” feature cushion with “Ocean Ripples” square standard cushion cover in the background

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR this linen series

The process for cleaning upholstery is to DRY CLEAN, however, we do gently machine wash our linen when made into cushion covers and curtains.

Note that the fabrics are washed after printing in hot water so they are already pre shrunk and able to be washed with care in water. We use a very mild liquid dissolved detergent and wash in cold or warm water and spin moderately. Air line dry or tumble dry

Never any bleach or napisan
No chemicals or strong detergents
Please do not soak or leave wet at all - in other words dry very quickly once the washing process is complete. (soaking and leaving wet will dislodge the dyes)