Kirstyn Cogan

Kirstyn Cogan is one of those people who just knew she wanted to be involved with art from an early age. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area eventually earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Communication (Design & Illustration) from San Jose State University and later a degree in Interior Design from Bellevue College just outside of Seattle, Washington.

Kirstyn's love of design evolved into a passion for surface design and product development. Her work has appeared on greeting cards and stationery, picture frames and photo albums, animated websites and lots of clothing for companies both large and small. It was her work designing embroidery, applique and screen prints within the garment industry that morphed into designing stitch patterns and fabric for the quilting market.

“As a staff designer, I had to employ a wide style range, but as I’ve developed my own line of patterns, my Scandinavian roots have surfaced. I grew up surrounded by the modern midcentury Scandinavian furnishings my folks loved and being Swedish (with a dash of Finnish for good measure), it has been a natural progression for my own work to be inspired by Scandinavian design.

Scandinavians are a practical bunch and modern Scandinavian design stems from that practicality. It is unmistakably unfussy and aesthetically simple. Scandinavian design is not only an aesthetic however, but also a philosophy for simple living and life/work balance.

Kirstyn is author of “Urban Scandinavian Sewing” published by Stash Books and most recently, designer of the Urban Scandinavian Collection for P&B Textiles. Her studio is in Seattle – just a short distance from the shores of Puget Sound.