Caroline Davidson, has recently re- launched her company, ‘Fruit Farm Fabrics’, as 'Caroline Somerville Design'. Based in Suffolk, she designs and produces unique ranges of surface patterns for textiles, wallpapers and products for the home.

Her parents sold handmade lampshades, so her early years were filled with colour and patterns, samples of which Caroline still has, hoarded in drawers and folders, and providing inspiration for her own work.
Says Caroline Davidson:

“All my designs have a story, which perhaps reflect the fact that I’m older. Modernism has always interested me and my work does have an intrinsic retro feel”.

She goes on: “My designs also mirror places I live in and visit – such as the trees and countryside surrounding our barn on the Suffolk /Norfolk border. We have a holiday home on the North Devon coast that has inspired my Coastal collection and a visit to friends in California inspired the ‘Palm Springs’ collection”.

Caroline taught textile design to A level in local schools for over twenty years before taking the plunge to leave teaching and pursue her own career as a designer/maker.  After gaining an MA at Norwich University of the Arts, she completed a course in digital printing at Chelsea School of Art, travelling from her home in Suffolk.
Says Caroline:
“Many of the adolescents I taught at A level were fascinated by Surrealism and those ideas have found their way to my ‘Trompe L’oeil’ designs, which re-invent knitting, crochet, tapestry and embroidery.”

Currently her range features the ‘Retro’, ‘Floral’, ‘Coastal’ and ‘Trompe L’oeil collections.

 The ‘Palm Springs’ collection will be launched this autumn at Mid Century Modern, on Sunday November 22nd at Dulwich College, London SE217LD, at http://modernshows.com.

For those who want to take the creative spirit to the next stage, Caroline also runs workshops where clients can create their own designs and leave with their own silk-screen printed fabric.