Cicada Studio

Cicada Studio’s Michelle Engel Bencsko

Written on January 27, 2010 at 7:13 am, by Magic Touch (Angie Packer)

When we discovered the fabrics of Cicada Studios on Etsy.com (we featured Dandelions in our “Console-tation” story in the winter 2009 issue of Do It Yourself — see page 86), we just had to know more about the creative spirit behind them. So we sat down with fabric designer Michelle Engel Bencsko to find out more about what goes into her gorgeous designs, her craft, and what’s next for her on the textile horizon.

What was the inspiration behind your Dandelions?
This fabric was part of a series called Earthly Delights that I created for Cicada Studio, which is my personal retail/craft business that I operate on Etsy and Supermarket. I wanted to focus on plant life and yet keep them all rather separate from each other. I have Pussywillows (shrub), Mushrooms (fungus), Lily of the Vally (flower), and then lastly the “weed”, Dandelion. I often like to balance motifs within a collection so there’s no real duplication of an idea. Also the colors were a nice contrast to the other prints, too. This range was very influenced by the art nouveau movement — very stylized, yet organic motifs.

Fabric design — what got you started in that?
It was really just luck. I studied photography in college, but my first job afterwards was through my mother at a men’s pajama company as design assistant. I have always loved working with fabric, so it was natural I should take a position like this. I picked up things very quickly and grew from assistant to surface designer. Eventually I moved on to another company as a design director where I was responsible for creating thousands of prints and plaids in my career there. Everything I know was through experience — I had no formal training.

Where do you get your design ideas and how do you create them?
Most of my ideas are primarily referenced from nature and natural motifs. As noted above, I like to work in collections, so it becomes a bit of a puzzle to fill in blanks, too. I will often sketch ideas from what I see on a walk or a drive, or even in my back yard. If I see something that moves me, like a dandelion, I will also scour images online in order to find the perfect viewpoint. I typically kick off with one idea that I really love, then the rest start to fall into place.

While I’m familiar with different printing methods, I don’t personally print my own fabrics. Cicada Studio fabrics are digitally printed on a beautiful mid-weight cotton/linen blend that is ideal for upholstery, various crafts, or window dressing. It took me a long while to find a professional printer I could work with and who would maintain my high standards. As a result, my fabrics are very costly. I’m very excited about the fact that people buy them regardless of the price. They are truly a pleasure to sew with, and I’m glad my prints appeal to so many.

When and why did you launch the Cloud9 Fabrics line?
In the early part of 2009, I got together with a former colleague to discuss the possibility of mass producing fabrics for Cicada Studio so that I could begin selling them wholesale (digital printing costs prohibit wholesale pricing!). Within a short time, Gina, now my partner in Cloud9 Fabrics, and I formulated a business plan that was rather new to and certainly wanting in the market: organic print cottons, with eco-friendly print methods, specifically for the quilt and craft shops.

We both understood the importance of the organic cotton movement, and we were excited about being on the cusp of this growing industry. While others have been here before us, it’s our goal to help bring organics to the foreground, and we do so with competitive pricing, contemporary prints, small collections that will rotate quickly and yet tie in to each other over time. We’re building a brand in Cloud9, and we hope to broaden our scope to products down the road.

Indeed, we’re moving pretty quickly, mainly thanks to our garment production backgrounds. Cloud9 Fabrics, Inc. incorporated in March, shipped our first collection this September, our second collection is due to ship in March 2010, and we have plans for another for Fall ‘10.

Who and what inspire you?
With Cloud9 there’s lots to be inspired by: the idea of running our own business, the betterment of the cotton print industry, our children (I have two boys, Gina has a daughter and another on the way), the health of the planet and the people who work the land and process the materials. As far as theme goes, it’s always back to nature for me.

Can you offer any advice to our readers who might be considering launching a product line?
I can honestly say that I could not be doing Cloud9 without my partner. I know many people who are capable of these challenges as a whole, but for me, the key was having someone to work with. Gina is the yin to my yang. We don’t overlap, and we compliment one another.

I know this partnership is not always easy to find, and had we not worked together in the past, we probably would not find ourselves here now. But essentially, I mean to say look for opportunity and seize it. Dream big, keep your sights focused, put your goals out there, and sometimes the universe hears you. Gina and I weren’t looking for this when we found it, yet here we are today because we knew we wanted to be successful in a self-made business and we embraced the possibilities and the opportunities.

I was very capable of formulating and running Cicada Studio by myself and I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved, yet it did not grow at the rate I hoped it would, which is why I reached out. Now my primary focus is Cloud9, while Cicada Studio will hang low for a bit while I work with Gina to take the next big step there, too. It takes work, dedication, confidence… and, oh yeah, money!

Shade Garden Fat Quarter Bundle by Cicada Studio