Despite a family history with deep roots in the garment industry, my first glimpse into NYC’s garment district confirmed the apparel business was not for me. Though I designed my own clothes and had been accepted to Parsons for fashion design, it was only after I completed an interior design degree that my first big break in design and product specification set me on an entirely different path. As part of New York’s Walker Group – a retail interior design company – an unforeseen opportunity was about to lead me outside my “certified” craft.

Unbeknownst to me, there was a product void in the market; an absence of contemporary designs in wallcovering, textile, and floor covering to decorate the modern retail environment. I began designing my own products for obvious voids and positive reception to my work meant I was able to supplement my meager designer income (read: I didn’t have two nickels to rub together!) as a freelance artist. Fortunately, my designs sold well and several products were included in numerous running lines. Demand continued to increase and in 1984 I left the interior design business and established Patty Madden Inc. to design products full time.

Over the ensuing years as a commercial artist and product designer, I focused on perfecting the analog process of surface design and the product development process. It was complex – far more than it is today. Tooling and cylinders had to be strategically designed and fabricated, an understanding of discreet color application was fundamental, and the entire process from concept to finished product was long. Analog products remain instrumental in the industry today and, undoubtedly, provided me a crucial foundation for expanding applications into both commercial and high-end residential interiors.

The onset of the digital revolution, however, with unimaginable color capacity, scale possibilities and near immediate rendering potential, has been a truly exhilarating gift. The integration of science and substrate has enabled me to take my art to an entirely new level.

My digital patterns are a tribute to the latest evolution of my design and a testimony to the fact that possibility is only limited by one’s dreams.