Melissa Kirkpatrick , Designer and Founder of MK Collection
Melissa Kirkpatrick’s love of color, pattern and texture was nurtured at an early age in her small Georgia hometown. Curious about the world beyond its borders, and inspired through her weekly art lessons from her grandmother, Melissa couldn't get enough of the art excursions planned by her mother, taking her and all five siblings to farafield to see museum exhibits that showed exotic places through unexpected perspectives. Great artists such as Seurat, Monet, Homer and Wyeth left their indelible mark on Melissa, setting up a lifetime of experiencing the world around her as a visual playground.
This early foundation in art led her to pursue a degree in printmaking at the University of Georgia. Eventually, the techniques she learned in art school would find a place in her own print design, including the decisions to have her fabric line silkscreened by hand, and printed on a copper rotary press.
After working for a few years as a graphic designer, Kirkpatrick moved to California and began doing interior design work including large-scale renovations with a development company and more individualized residential projects with an antiques dealer.
Her interior design work eventually led to a consulting position with the window treatment company Smith & Noble. She was primarily responsible for editing their “Jessit Gold” line, which is sold directly to the trade. Kirkpatrick had always loved color, texture and pattern but the process of discovering and editing fabrics for Smith & Noble inspired her to create her own line of fabrics.
In 2011 Melissa launched the MK Collection. This expansive collection of fabrics features eleven prints and thirteen wovens in multiple colorways. A hallmark of the collection is its ideal marriage of style, substance and high-quality. Rich vibrant colors and Art Nouveau inspired designs are married with just the right weight and texture of fabric, resulting in a line that offers artful patterns, touchable textures and useable coordinates.
“As I worked with great fabric houses in Europe, discovering an endless supply of textures and fabrics to marry with my designs,” says Kirkpatrick. “I knew my passion for art had found its home in fabrics.”