SLAM pushes Rose+Gaia to the Creative Brink

Claude Monet and his 250 paintings of water lilies have haunted our design team for years. These uber-familiar painterly works have begged to be seen on leggings -- yet in early trials the motif was honestly a bit of a challenge. In these paintings, Monet's blending brushstrokes and sumptuous but subtle colors missed a certain graphic oomph that Rose+Gaia requires for optimal product design. The biggest obstacle, actually: lilies by their nature float on water with a horizontal vibe perhaps not flattering on leggings.

(Years passed. Rose+Gaia got distracted by van Gogh, Bonnard, Klee, Chinese bookplates, French poster art, Indian chintz and William Morris. So much art, so little time.)

An email last week from the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM) caused us to sit up and take notice: did we have leggings with Water Lilies for their museum shop to offer in conjunction with an upcoming show? Just like that, the lilies were back at the top of the list! A deep digital dive unearthed a public domain image that met our leggings standards, and voila, some preliminary designs.

Monet/Mitchell: Painting the French Landscape opens at the St. Louis Art Museum March 25, 2023. It's the first U.S. exhibition to examine the complex dialogue between the work of the French Impressionist Claude Monet and the American Abstract Expressionist Joan Mitchell. Can't wait to see it. I hope you have the pleasure as well.