Night Shade by Tula Pink

Editor's Note: It's May and time to get to know the truly talented and creative Tula Pink. What makes an artist hide designs within her art? Read below as she tells you the story behind her newest FreeSpirit collection, Night Shade celebrating her favorite holiday, Halloween! 

You may be familiar with my light side, little critters illustrated in bright colors, a happy frog with a fly in his belly, a cameo of Marie Antoinette with head full of hair in the shape of a ship or a mouse… I would like to introduce you to my dark side. Please meet Nightshade (15 Cotton SKUs availble in May), the pinnacle of dark elegance and the sinister mystery of the three Von Black sisters of Blackwood Manor.

The question that designers get asked the most is where they get their inspiration from. My inspiration comes from narrative. I tell myself stories and then I illustrate them. Storytelling in the form of books, movies, tales passed down through generations from father to son and mother to daughter are at the core of what makes me want to create.

For me Halloween is about a mood. Sure, the candy is awesome and I will never stop pondering how two people decide who gets to be the front of a cow and who gets to be the back. Sugar and costumes aside Halloween is about mystery, magic, shadows and intrigue. This is what I set out to capture when I designed Nightshade. It's a Halloween collection inspired by victorian decadence and dangerous beauty with a touch of quirky fun. Let's face it, if it isn't fun it's probably not worth doing.

I am excited to see how people use this curve ball I have thrown at them. When the photos of finished projects start popping up I feel like it's my birthday! I adore seeing what everyone comes up with.

The Von Black Sisters: A Brief History

Neptunia Von Black, the youngest sister, left home at the age of nine to pursue a career in Pirating. By 12, Neptunia was captaining her own ship and striking fear into the hearts of yellow bellied pirates across the seven seas. Neptunia is also responsible for procuring exotic ingredients and tracking down mystical relics for her two sisters. It was during one of these relic hunts that Neptunia lost her eye in a fight with a sea turtle, hence the eye patch.

Scarlett Von Black is the oldest of the three sisters. Scarlett’s ninth and most recent husband perished in a freak weather accident much like her previous eight husbands. Although law enforcement has never been able to prove her involvement some still speculate as to how a man can drown in three inches of rain. Most of the Von Black family wealth is attributed to Scarlett thanks to a shocking lack of prenuptial agreements.

Bella Donna Von Black is the middle sister, the alchemist, the brain, the pride and joy of the Von Black family tree. Bella Donna allegedly poisoned her entire calculus class with a batch of smoking absinthe cookies as a 16th birthday present to herself. They’re collective lack of ambition was holding back her education. Her genius lies in managing to transform the most innocuous compounds into a rainbow of deadly vapors. Bella Donna is named for the flower which grows all over Blackwood Manor and is more commonly known as Nightshade.

XX,

Tula