Lilies and Linen: A new print on demand fabric collection and a shift towards creative freedom for this surface pattern designer
- Madeleine Wideland
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Some things take exactly as long as they need to take. That's not always comfortable while it's happening, but in hindsight it becomes clear. This is one of those times.
Lilies and Linen is here. Finally, truly here — the kind of collection that arrives at exactly the right moment, because it took exactly as long as it needed to.
The road here wasn't straight. They rarely are.
In 2022 I launched a handmade premium textile business built on things I genuinely love — quality, craftsmanship, the feeling of holding something beautiful in your hands. But it was also built, if I'm honest, partly on a desire to do what some of my favourite designers do. Not entirely on what was actually right for me.
It slowly revealed itself. Making everything by hand, managing inventory, maintaining what already existed instead of creating what didn't yet — it took the joy out of it. And joy isn't a nice extra. It's the whole point.
I need to create constantly. Learn new things. Feel free to explore as I go. That's not a luxury — it's a prerequisite.
So I walked away.
Walking away is not the same as failing.
Though it felt that way for a long time. I got stuck in the narrative of having tried and not made it, and that being that — finished, done, time to accept it. My one dream, in pieces.
But slowly, very slowly, I began to see it differently. Very few businesses succeed on the first attempt. It's a process of learning by doing, and I promise you I have learned a great deal — about business, about craft, about myself, about what I actually want from my time on this earth.
That kind of knowledge can't be bought. You have to live your way through it.
Finding the model that actually fits my life.
In the search for a way of working that suited my energy, my temperament, and my deep love of creating, I eventually arrived at print on demand fabric — and further down the road, surface pattern licensing. A model where I can design freely, reach more people across the world, work more sustainably, and never have to choose between making something new and maintaining something old.
Print on demand means every piece of Spoonflower fabric, wallpaper, or home product is made when someone orders it — no overproduction, no waste, no boxes stacked in a spare room. Just patterns meeting the people they were meant for.
It fits my life. It fits my energy. It fits the way I work.
And so here we are.
Lilies and Linen — the collection.
This is the first print on demand fabric collection to arrive in this new form. Art Nouveau-inspired, with a Scandinavian surface pattern sensibility — florals that feel both timeless and considered, in navy, cognac, dusty blue, and warm cream.
Available as fabric, wallpaper, cushions, tea towels and more, all printed on demand through Spoonflower, just for you. And if you find something you love but want it in a different colour or scale — just let me know. That's one of the genuine pleasures of this model: there's room to make it yours.
This is the first of many collections. And it feels, finally, exactly right.
Before we move forward — a tender goodbye.
But before we dive headfirst into everything that's coming, there's something else I want to tell you about.
My very first collection of physical products — linen fabric, cushions, cotton fabric, and tea towels — is down to its last remaining pieces. This collection came to life through the spirit of five remarkable women: Ella, Liz, Karin, Brigitte, and Tess. Each one left her mark on every pattern. Each one is woven into what this collection became.
Saying goodbye to these last pieces feels tender. This was my very first collection, and I poured every ounce of heart, soul, and work into it — into the patterns themselves and into the textiles they became. It wasn't the right business model for me, but it was never anything less than made with love.
I'm grateful — for everything I learned along the way, for the women who inspired it, and for everyone who brought a piece of it home.
If you've been waiting, now is the moment. Once they're gone, they're truly gone.
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