“Tangled” was not just a hit in movie theatres this holiday season…
January 04, 2011
Adult females are the number one demographic for purchasing entertainment licensed fabric, such as the “Rapunzel” fleece designs produced by Springs Creative. We design these fabrics with the home crafter in mind, knowing that so many mothers, aunts and grandmothers out there will want to be able to give the little princess in their lives a piece of the “Tangled” Disney magic.
How does Rapunzel get herself onto fabric? Her journey onto the No-Sew Fleece Throws sold at Jo-Ann, for example, begins long before the movie release. As a Disney licensee for fabric, Springs Creative began designing the Rapunzel fabrics back in July 2010, based on character art and icons provided in the “Tangled” style guide provided by Disney. Orders from retailers such as Hancock’s and Walmart came in almost immediately upon completing the Rapunzel collection, and the designs began shipping out mid-October of 2010. In anticipation of the movie’s success, retailers wanted Rapunzel fabric in their stores by the end of October in order to maximize sales and get in position for the peak selling point immediately after the theatrical release.
As a designer here at Springs Creative, I had the privilege of designing several Rapunzel fabrics. I must admit there was something really fun about getting to see the character of Rapunzel before the movie release. The style guide provided by Disney gave us the art and background we needed to create interesting designs. I was most impressed that this new Disney princess was not your typical “damsel in distress”, but passes her days in the tower with art, books, and her imagination. I kept those themes in mind when designing the fabric and used character art of Rapunzel holding her paintbrush. The most challenging aspect of the character art was working with all that hair! In designing a layout, I would have to account for the space where her hair would be and make sure I used all the elements around the hair in a convincing way.
As a Disney licensee, we here at Springs Creative look will be working with Rapunzel in the near future as she becomes “indoctrinated” as a true princess. For all the crafters and sewers out there, look forward to seeing more of Rapunzel and her hair as she crosses into multi-property groups. Beginning in July, we will be able to include her in group designs featuring other Disney princesses such as Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora and Tiana.
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Comments
by r. crismas on 11/16/2011 at 3:54
Am looking for the rapunzel fabric but no place seems to be carrying it anymore. If you could direct me to someplace that is selling it that would be great.
by Andrea on 02/03/2011 at 10:58
I’ve been searching high and low for the pink and purple striped cotton fabric for the sleeves on a dress I’d like to sew for her.
I’ve found convincing purple fabric for the main body of the dress. Do you think that there will be any Rapunzel-inspired pink and purple striped fabric coming out anytime soon?
Thanks!