Lolita Garcia is invigorated by the world around her. Whether she’s exploring a bustling city or soaking in the serenity of the outdoors, she draws inspiration from environments both built and natural when dreaming up her hand-printed textiles. “My surroundings are my greatest muse,” she tells Business of Home.
Growing up in a small farming town in California’s Central Valley, she started drawing and sketching at a young age. Her mother crafted handmade custom dresses, and Garcia was always fascinated by the gathers and folds of the fabric. “I’ve since applied this same concept to designing textiles,” she says. “I focus on how they will drape and flow on finished upholstery furniture.”
In college, she studied art and photography at San Jose State University, before landing a coveted internship with Sonoma-based textile designer Barbara Beckmann. “I learned about everything from shipping to organizing a sample library to textile-painting techniques,” she says. “I quickly discovered that selecting fabrics was my favorite part of any project.”
In May of 2021, she launched Lolita Garcia Textiles in the Bay Area with the Beach collection, a series of four hand-screened patterns—Deco, Côte, Pebble Stripe and Rivi—and a digitally printed ombre panel adorned in colors and motifs that draw from the NorCal landscape. “The line was born from yearning during the pandemic—for the texture of sand underfoot, the scent of the ocean, the warmth of the sun on your skin,” she says. “The natural ground recalls the sands of Carmel-by-the Sea, while blue evokes the hue of water, and pink recalls the rosy glow of shore rocks.”
Garcia’s mission is simple: She wants to create beautiful, sustainably-made textiles in natural materials. All of her designs are hand-printed in California on pure Belgian linen using water-based, solvent-free inks, and her digitally printed pieces are cast on 100 percent Irish linen by artisans in Vermont. “I love screen-printing because the subtle imperfections lend character,” she says. “Perfection has never been my aim.”
Though materiality takes center stage in her work, simple patterns and minimalist color combinations also play a pivotal role. Garcia begins each design with a hand-sketched graphic motif that slowly evolves into a digital repeat that’s sent to her San Francisco–based printer before being turned into a physical screen. “Together, we fine-tune the color, and hand-screen each design onto fabric atop a long-format printing table,” she says.
Later this month, Garcia will unveil Vista, her first collection of wallcoverings. The debut introduces the architectural Grace and the window-inspired Lu, as well as a paper version of her popular Pebble Stripe fabric in a new ombre colorway. “It will cascade in layered colors,” she says.
In addition, she partners with interior designers on bespoke projects and pieces. “Our trade program supports interior designers with memos, strike-offs, pattern insights, stock details and early updates on new launches,” she says. “I love collaborating with designers—it’s rewarding to see where our fabrics travel and how they come to life through [their] creativity.”
