Design Room: Q&A with Artist Gina Langford
Our founder and designer Shannon Latham has a deep love of collecting art, especially from up-and-coming Southern artists. This love has translated into some incredible collaborations to create some of LE's most coveted prints. One of these popular collabs has been with Gina Langford, a Southern watercolor artist who is the brush behind both our Kensington Floral pattern and our London Calling pattern.
For this installment of Design Room, we asked Gina all about her artist roots and her process in creating such unforgettable works of art.
LE: Tell us your story! What led you to become an artist?
GL: I come from a long line of artists, so I’ve always been surrounded by art. My house is literally filled with art from five generations of women in my family. After studying in Paris for a semester abroad, my mom and I traveled around France and Italy painting together for nearly a month! It was like taking a private master class every day. It wasn’t until I decided to stay home and start a family a few years later that I began to dabble in watercolor again. I started selling small works at church and in my local community, but my business quickly expanded when I joined Instagram as a way to showcase my latest projects.
I love being able to stay home with my children and have a creative outlet and business at the same time.
LE: Explain the collaboration and design process for your LE prints.
GL: I love collaborating with Shannon and Dunn, the mother daughter duo behind LE! Usually they have a few ideas for a pattern and then I get to run with it. Some patterns are more simple than others. The London jammies were more detailed so I sent Shannon and Dunn several sketches and phone pics of my work as the print was coming to life. Our tastes align so well that it makes working together seamless!
LE: Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
GL: I look to nature a lot for design and color, but I also find inspiration from books, objects, textiles and interiors.
LE: What is your favorite thing to create?
GL: My favorite thing to create is probably a custom crest. I really love playing with the elements of design and making something so personal and special for a client.
LE: What is your favorite Little English collection or piece?
GL: Oh, that’s a tough one because there are so many! I always love the sailboat collections, but my favorite are the crochet layettes for babies. I put my youngest, Samuel, in the the puppy dog crochet playsuit and sweater weekly because I wanted to get as much use out of it as possible before he grew up! I’m a big believer in letting children be little!
We couldn't agree more, Gina! Stay tuned for more exciting collaborations with Gina Langford in our Fall 2019 collection! In the mean time, shop Gina's work in our Kensington Floral Collection and London Jammies for boys and girls.
Don't forget to follow along with Gina on instagram to see her beautiful artwork!