Sonja Steffen
Naturalist photographer, artist and surface pattern designer.
I observe the natural world first, then transform those observations into patterns for fabric, paper and home.
It begins with noticing
Most of my work begins long before I sit down to design a pattern. It starts with something I've noticed — a flower changing in the garden, the shape of a fallen leaf, tiny creatures among the plants, shells collected along the beach, or a colour combination I hadn't seen before.
I'm endlessly curious about the natural world.
I photograph it, collect from it, grow it, paint it and sometimes pull it apart just to see what happens. Pressed petals, scanned leaves, photographs, paint, hand-drawn marks and found objects all find their way into my work.
I rarely begin knowing exactly where an observation will lead. That's part of what I love about the process.
I follow the little nudges of curiosity, experiment, and allow the work to reveal itself along the way.
At Brush Born Studio, every collection begins with observation.
An observer first.
I’ve always been someone who notices things.
The changing shape of a garden through the seasons, the texture of a leaf, the tiny creatures living among the plants, the colours that appear when a flower begins to fade. Photography became a natural extension of that curiosity, a way of looking more closely and keeping a record of what I found.
Over time, painting, photography, gardening and collecting have all become part of the same creative practice. Surface pattern design has given those interests somewhere to meet.
I’m less interested in following trends than I am in following what genuinely catches my attention. Sometimes that becomes a photograph. Sometimes a painting. Sometimes a pressed petal, a scanned leaf or a pattern. The outcome changes, but the starting point rarely does.
Notice something. Get curious. See where it leads.
Where it all comes together.
Brush Born Studio grew from the realisation that the things I had been doing for years — photographing, painting, gardening, collecting and experimenting — weren't separate interests at all.
Surface pattern design gave them a place to come together.
A photograph of a flower might become the beginning of a pattern. A leaf collected from the garden might be scanned. Fallen petals might be pressed and rearranged into something entirely new. Even the smallest detail can become the starting point for an idea.
The studio is still evolving, and I hope it always will. I'm interested in creating work that feels human, considered and connected to where it came from — patterns with a story behind them, made for the objects and spaces we live with every day.
Collect. Observe. Transform.
Work with Brush Born Studio
Brush Born Studio creates original surface pattern designs for licensing and collaboration across paper, textiles, homewares and beyond.
If you’re interested in licensing a design, discussing a collaboration or simply starting a conversation, I’d love to hear from you.