Kelly Ventura has been an artist for as long as she can remember. The Milford, Michigan–based textile designer was often drawing and painting as a child, and hasn’t stopped since. “I love that all of these years later, I’m still creating and making things every day,” she tells Business of Home. “I’m still playing and exploring new mediums, which have led to some beautiful partnerships.”
Ventura graduated with a fine arts degree from the University of Michigan, where her studies ran the gamut from bookmaking to printmaking, figurative painting, textiles and mixed media. After graduating, she moved to New York and began an internship with bespoke design firm Elizabeth Dow, where she was introduced to the craftsmanship behind high-end interior products. “On my first day at the studio, I watched as several seasoned employees hand-painted wallpaper that would later be installed in Madonna’s house,” she recalls. “I was truly in awe of the process involved to create these one-of-a-kind pieces.”
From there, Ventura was hired as a studio assistant at boutique rug company Emma Gardner Design in Litchfield, Connecticut, where she learned the ins and outs of textile design. “I would see Emma’s sketches go from paper to computer to pattern and come back as incredible wool-and-silk-blend rugs from Nepal,” she says. “This is where the design spark happened for me.”
Eventually, the artist landed a job designing seasonal products and decor for Chicago-based lifestyle brand Tag, while painting in her downtime. In 2011, she embarked on a freelance career and began licensing prints of her botanical watercolor motifs to mass retailers, leading to a major deal with Crate & Barrel—which offered her prints as a bedding pattern. “From there, I showed at Surtex in New York, which further expanded my licensing business across a wide range of brands and product categories,” she says.
Ventura’s past collaborations include everything from peel-and-stick wallpaper for Chasing Paper to leather baby shoes for Mon Petit and greeting cards for Hallmark. “I love that I get the opportunity to share my design perspective on a range of products with both large and small brands,” she says.
In 2017, Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge reposted one of the watercolor artist’s large art prints on Instagram with the caption: “I would love this pattern as a wallpaper in my mudroom!” Within days, textile designer Rebecca Atwood (who commented on Bonney’s post in agreement) offered to introduce Ventura to her wallpaper printer, Twenty2, and the rest is history. “We debuted our first wallpaper collection at ICFF in 2018,” she says. “We built out a beautiful booth, and though [my team] had very little knowledge about the industry, there’s no better way to learn than throw yourself in.”
All of Ventura’s patterns start with a hand-painted watercolor on paper, usually depicting a plant or flower inspired by her surroundings or a vintage floral motif. A recent release, Foliage, showcases a rhythmic, frond-filled motif in multitonal hues, while bestsellers Thicket, Verte and Farm Weeds all draw from illustrations in an old Canadian agriculture handbook she discovered at a bookstore. “I’ve always loved how these so-called ‘nuisance’ weeds have been transformed into something truly beautiful through design,” she says.
In addition to wallcoverings, the artist offers an array of European linen and cotton-linen fabrics. Last summer, she teamed up with Sunbrella for Sylvan, a line of six woven performance textiles, including the lily pad–covered Marsh, the blossomy Flora, the graphic Pillar and the leafy Knoll. “We started with a mood board filled with inspiration imagery, color palettes, and weaving samples from Sunbrella,” she says. “From there, we developed patterns that reflect our brand’s signature aesthetic, from bold florals and modern geometrics to delicate botanicals.”
Ventura has plans to roll out an assortment of holiday-ready designs in the coming weeks, ranging from ceramic pieces to hand-painted ornaments. She’s also looking forward to participating in the Design Social Pop-Up next month in Charleston, South Carolina, where she will connect with interior designers from around the country. “We work directly with the trade, and all of our showrooms service the trade in their regions as well,” she says. “We love getting the opportunity to learn about their project needs and hear more about what they’d like to see in future collections.”
