So you’re plugging away in your studio, and an email pops up in your inbox from West Elm. They want to see some of your designs – are you interested? Uh… why, yes. Yes, I am!

Such was the case when West Elm approached Alyson Fox for their Fall ’12 collaboration. She sent them her portfolio (at their request). They selected a few designs. Four months later, she saw the samples.  And four months more, the collection was ready to launch. C-razy.

A glammed up Alyson wearing bracelets of her own design.

I first became aware of Alyson’s work via Design*Sponge. Her faceless figures and dinnerware were favorites of Grace Bonney’s. But since I am more of a geometric kinda girl, it wasn’t until this recent collaboration that I connected the dots to find that this Alyson was the one and the same.

So what’s it like to go from Indie designer to selling your designs via millions of catalogs? I wondered what a typical day of a successful, working maker was like and how that had changed since her high profile collaboration. I reached out to Alyson to find out. From her studio in Texas, we chatted, and then I plunged right in with a flurry of questions concerning everything from bookkeeping to maintaining her creative spirit.

With her art table in the center of her studio, Alyson has several projects underway simultaneously. Since her work is in a variety of phases, she moves between the table and her desk, spending time creating new designs, refining current projects and translating other works into computer mock ups on Illustrator. Most inspiringly, she leaves time in her schedule for playing.  “Every day I sit down at that table and do…something,” she says.

I admire how Alyson maintains her sense of playfulness, not getting sidetracked by the minutia of her necessary computer work. (To that end, she has even outsourced her bookkeeping.) Her commitment reminds me of Gladwell’s Outliers.  Speaking with Alyson rekindled my passion for making and reminded me not to prioritize creating for others at the expense of creating for ourselves. Only through this playfulness do we keep our creative muscles strong.

Wood block sculptures by Alyson Fox

At one point in our conversation, Fox casually mentions that she often uses grocery store watercolors and even crayons in her work. Yet another trap I fall into – convincing (er, rationalizing with) myself to spend money on expensive materials. Creating doesn’t need to be so precious. One of Fox’s favorite materials is plaster she says, “Because I don’t really think about what I’m doing.”

Plaster and weaving by Alyson Fox

Fox says she doesn’t read many blogs and is not on Facebook or Pinterest. “It can hinder me creatively and become a total time warp. I remind myself that there is room for everybody. Internal voices can be the death of you.”

Fiber art by Alyson Fox

Fox thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative process with West Elm. It must be a dream to be able to see her designs executed so beautifully, with such quality and care, not to mention now so easily attainable they now are. She said that the folks at West Elm worked hard to maintain her creative voice throughout the process, even committing to using her specified colors that are outside of their typically crisp palette.

Fox is now working in collaboration with a major fashion retailer (still under wraps) and has recently hired a production manager to oversee her own collection, including some new woven pieces. For those, Fox creates line drawings and Illustrator files, provides the measurements and Pantone colors to the production manager who then sees the production through. She recently even bought a loom so she can see for herself the limitations and creative avenues available.

Always thinking about her work, whether trolling the hardware store for undiscovered supplies or baking in the kitchen, Fox’s inspiring attitude, confident and self-aware work ethic, not to mention her stunning designs make her an artisan to watch.  Fortunately for us, we get to enjoy the fruits of her labor.

How do you nurture your creative spirit?

*Photos of Alyson by Amanda Elmore.