Fabric imitates photos

WEARABLE ART: Lisa Limer, owner of Bela Monde Studio in Providence, displays her silk creations. The patterns are produced digitally from her professional photographs and printed on fabric. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
WEARABLE ART: Lisa Limer, owner of Bela Monde Studio in Providence, displays her silk creations. The patterns are produced digitally from her professional photographs and printed on fabric. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

For 15 years Lisa Limer traveled the globe as a photographer for Conde Nast’s Traveler magazine, covering everything from cultural issues to architecture.

She left Conde Nast when it restructured in 2014 to open a luxury fabric design company in Providence, Bela Monde Studio, using her photographs as design inspiration.

“The best thing about travel is that it exposes you to so much,” textiles in particular, said Limer, who collected diverse examples in her travels to more than 40 countries.

What drew her to the production end is the versatility of digital printing. Whereas traditional silk screens can only be printed in 12 colors, “digital printing creates a very rich palette,” she explained.

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A Providence native and Rhode Island School of Design graduate, Limer in January was named a Providence Design Catalyst grant recipient. Limer said the $35,000 grant propelled Bela Monde: “I was able to try out the best printers, work with the best manufacturers and actually make fabric.”

Bela Monde fabrics are made locally at companies in Warwick, New Bedford and Fall River and, for now, Limer said her biggest challenge is understanding the steps of the production process. •

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