Vintage Korean Botanical Surface Pattern Collection, Inspired by My Trip to Korea
Some trips you take for rest. Some you take for adventure. This one I took for inspiration.
I've been to Korea many times. I have family and friends there, and it has always felt like home. But this trip was different. In July I went as an artist, with the intention of experiencing everything through a creative lens, including the gardens, architecture, street food markets, the textures and smells of a place that is deeply part of who I am. I am from Korea, and I wanted that Korean heritage to come through more authentically in my surface pattern design work.
Where the Inspiration Actually Came From
The National Museum of Koreain Seoul was where everything came into focus.
The immersive galleries stopped me in my tracks. Moving images of historic Korean art projected across entire walls, bringing centuries-old paintings to life in a way that felt both ancient and completely alive. It's one thing to see Minhwa in a book. It's another thing entirely to be surrounded by it, moving and breathing around you.
The Korean Minhwa folk paintingswere what shifted everything for me creatively. Hand-painted botanicals so detailed and intentional, wildflowers, climbing vines, butterflies, moths, and bees rendered with extraordinary care on warm, aged parchment grounds. As a Korean American artist, seeing this tradition up close felt deeply personal.
I also spent a wonderful amount of time in the special Korean food exhibit, a fascinating look at the history, culture, and artistry behind Korean cuisine. I'll be adding some of my own photos here because the colors and textures alone were enough to fuel an entire collection. The deep reds, golden ambers, and earthy greens of traditional Korean food have a palette that is so distinctly Korean, and so beautiful.
I photographed everything throughout the museum, details I knew I would want to return to later in the studio.
The visit also deepened my love for Korean celadon pottery, something I have always been drawn to. That particular shade of blue-green, somewhere between sky and sea, so quintessentially Korean. Simple, quiet, and completely beautiful. And then there was the lacquerware. The depth and richness of the pieces intrigued me immensely. More on that very soon. I'm working on something new inspired by it!
From Seoul to the Studio
Back home, I began designing this travel-inspired fabric collection, the Vintage Korean Botanical Collection. It features hand-painted wildflower print fabric, moth and butterfly fabric, and climbing vine designs rooted in the tradition of Korean potter and Korean Minhwa folk art.
This asian floral fabric collection is as versatile as it is beautiful. It works beautifully as:
Home decor fabric: drapery, curtains, and upholstery fabric
Quilting fabric: pairs perfectly with antique gold and cream solids
Cottagecore fabric: for garments, bags, and soft furnishings
Botanical print fabric for statement sewing projects of any kind
The warm antique gold colorway came first, echoing the aged parchment of the screen panels that moved me most in Seoul. The soft celadon colorway followed naturally, that blue-green I have loved finally finding its way into my work.
This korean heritage fabric collection is available in many different fabric types. Explore the full collection here.
Have you ever returned somewhere and seen it with completely different eyes?
Shop the Collection
Available now on Spoonflower in quilting cotton, linen, and other beautiful fabrics. Save your favorites to your Pinterest board for later.
Explore the Emily Maria Studios collections on Etsy and Spoonflower.
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