
The Designer Who Refuses to Go Digital: The Hand-Drawn Journey of Deb Strain
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About this listen
Join host Misty Doan on Homespun as she sits down with Deb Strain, Moda Fabrics' longest-standing designer with an incredible 27-year career. In this captivating episode, Deb reveals her extraordinary creative journey from public school art teacher to greeting card entrepreneur to becoming part of the Moda family after a serendipitous trade show encounter. Discover how she creates beloved fabric collections entirely by hand using traditional pen, ink, and watercolor techniques that haven't changed in centuries. Learn about the surprising technical constraints that shape every collection, witness a live demonstration of ancient damask creation methods, and see how Christmas color trends have evolved over nearly three decades of design.
Key Episode Highlights:
- Deb's unexpected journey from art teacher to greeting card company owner to Moda designer after a chance trade show meeting 27 years ago
- Her completely hand-drawn design process using pen, ink, and paint - refusing to go digital despite family pressure to modernize
- The 17-color printing limitation that constrains every collection and how she hand-mixes paint recipes for consistency across years
- Live demonstration of creating symmetrical damask patterns using the ancient mirror-and-paste technique
- How fabric collections are designed like stories, with panels as main characters and coordinating prints as supporting cast
- The evolution of Christmas color trends from deep primitive '90s colors to bright neons to today's traditional palette
- Working 18 months ahead to predict future trends and the partnership with quilt designer Barb from Coach House Designs