ERIN WALLACE X NETTLE ~ A DREAM COLLAB
How a longtime art crush, a palette of archive colors, and a few wild ideas turned into four of our most playful prints yet.
If you’ve been following Nettle for a while, you know we’re always dreaming up new ways to tell stories through prints — and this one starts with a DM to Seattle-based illustrator Erin Wallace. Alex had been a fan of her surreal, sweet, and slightly strange drawings for years, and finally reached out to see if she’d be down to collaborate. (Spoiler: she was!)
Fast-forward through months of sketching, color-matching, and letting our imaginations run wild — and we ended up with four brand-new custom Nettle prints. Petal Pop 🌸 and Picnic Prance 🦋 are dropping in our Summer 2025 collection, and Pony Pups 🐕 and Pomme Freaks 🍏 are coming later this year!!!
In honor of these amazing prints, we decided to sit down with Erin to talk all things collaboration, illustration, and how it feels to see your art walk around in the world.
Let’s take a peek behind the process.
Q: Let’s start at the beginning—what made you say yes to collaborating with Nettle Studios.
A: I said yes because I felt the instant sense of kindred creative spirit seeing all Nettle Studios’ work and community base. And finally meeting with Alex and her team—so sweet and easy to talk with.
Q: Do you remember your first impression of Nettle? What stood out to you?
A: The intersection of playfulness, representation, inclusivity, experimentation, and dreaminess is so so palpable with the brand. NS’s unabashed use of color and pattern is a creative element I strive for within my own work.
Q: What was your favorite part of the design process? Any unexpected moments or creations? *cough, pony pup, cough*
A: It’s hard to choose one favorite part! Sifting through Alex’s moodboard was a treat; it’s always special to see the inner workings of another creative person, especially someone in a different field. The playfulness was persistent throughout the process, and yes—Pony Pups is absolutely somewhere I didn’t know I could go! So, getting pushed and mushed (in the best way) around a silly, dreamy, color-filled playground was my favorite part.
Q: You created something totally original for us—can you walk us through the inspiration behind the print(s)?
A:The inspiration came from several places. Wallpaper, distorted scale, vintage children’s clothes. Honestly, there was a huge amount of inspiration from Nettle Studios’ history and ARCHIVE collections; the colors and shapes are illustrative and graphic in their own right.
Q: How did you get into illustration? Was art always your thing growing up?
A: I was always definitely a little art dork. I had been into making things and colors for as long as I can remember. After I graduated school, I was kind of floating around a bunch of different mediums and paths that I could creatively take, and it kept seeming like projects I was getting into were illustration forward. And when I started pursuing that more full-time, it just kind of snowballs! And I have been doing it freelance for the last eight years almost!
Q: You’re based in Seattle—how does the PNW show up in your work, if at all?
A: Seattle and the PNW definitely shows up a lot in my work in the form of nature. It’s definitely a huge theme in my life and art; I love looking at flowers and dreaming of imaginary ones, tree lines and leaves, critters and creatures!
Q: Are there certain motifs, colors, or moods you find yourself drawn to again and again?
A: I definitely find myself doing a lot of work focused on food and food adjacent worlds. I love to draw ingredients and drinks, glassware, and plates. Kind of all the things that are around that world. A lot of the work that I end up doing is with clients who are more food centric like wine, bars, bakeries, and restaurants.
Color-wise, I really love a warm palette. I think the color that dominates my closet is warm, rusty clay. But lately I have been kind of into purple? I didn’t know that I had such a bias against it for so long, but it’s a pretty versatile color and I am going to appreciate it more and more.
Q: What inspires you creatively these days—anything surprising or unexpected?
A: Surprisingly, being alone lately has given me some creative flow. I think it’s letting my brain just jump around from one thing to another, be quiet or loud, or just lying down on the floor? I feel like I absorb so much creative fodder constantly—art, nature, dancing, clothes—that I keep piling on without giving myself time to process. And maybe creativity is a product of processing what stimulates and resonates with us.
Q: We’re popping up in Portland on June 21st & 22nd because PNW has become one of Nettle’s top customer regions—why do you think Nettle resonates so much here?
A: I would guess that NS is so loved here because of the unabashed inclusivity and effort for representation. The palettes and the cuts are for every body and seeing the joy and freedom that brings is pretty infectious. With Nettle, clothes for fat bodies aren’t relegated to some camouflage version of a pattern—instead, every piece is equally bright and playful and loud. Bright pink is basically a neutral and that is a real tenet to live by.
Q: Do you have a favorite piece from our collab? How would you style it?
A: I love the Tee in Petal Pop. I loved playing with this pattern when it was being developed. I remember sending over a version with everything scaled up 10%, but then five minutes later sending a version at +25% and everyone was like: YES. So, getting to wear this graphic, playful pattern in such a great piece is a dream.
To learn more about Erin's work, check out erinwallace.org