Creativity unlocked

Embroidery with an artistic touch.

Lisa Törner is always on the run to do the next thing on her long to-do-list. She is a well-known – and multitasking – artist as well as the innovative Partnership Director at the online gallery Absolut Art.
There’s a theme to her life, and it is spelled: the passion for creativity.
Now, for the first time, Lisa’s art is exposed on a denim jacket, using the Coloreel technology.
– I’m amazed by the results, it looks as if I sketched straight on the jacket by hand, she says.

Scrolling through Lisa Törner’s work, you find the front page of The Times, with headlines about the famous designer Karl Lagerfeld’s passing away. Lisa has painted the page with an amazing turquoise peacock.

– The peacock symbolizes the fashion industry and Mr. Lagerfeld himself who always was dressed up, she says.

It is part of her best-known artwork, when she sketches on the front pages of famous newspapers, embracing, and interpreting, highlights of important events. Lisa has her special creative style, mixing black ink, oil paints, and acrylic straight onto the original newspaper.

– I only have one go once I start to sketch, it can be nerve-wracking not to get it wrong, she says and fills in that she loves the challenge.

Lisa Törner shares her creative process on social media, filming as the motive comes to life. It’s fascinating to see how she turns a written story into a storytelling artwork. The motives she uses? Wild animals.

– I enjoy exploring the symbolic connections between human behaviors and different animals, especially those animals who aren’t always considered beautiful.

Another classic artwork by Lisa is ”Monkey Business”, a monkey on the front page of Wall Street Journal, as a symbol of the bankers on Wall Street and the way business sometimes works around the world.

– I want people to discuss and talk about my art, what feelings it brings, and reflect on events going on around us, she says. If someone sees my art and just passes by, it’s a failure to me.

Multitasking artist finding new creative expressions

Today, apart from creating her art, such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, and designing furniture, she is the Partnership Director at the startup Absolut Art. An online gallery that brings contemporary art into homes all over the world. Lisa does what she knows best. Finding new creative collaborations, unknown artists, and exhibitions worldwide. There’s no limit to her creativity.

– I love street art, and one project I did was when I invited artists to paint on cars, she says.

I ask her if she doesn’t get overload, having so many creative projects going on at the same time.

– Not at all. That is how I thrive! The key to finding inspiration is to always try new things, at least that is what works best for me, she says.

Limited fashion collection using new embroidery technology

On her quest to seek new creative ways to show up her art, Lisa has been searching for an embroidery partner for years.

– Traditional embroidery can feel a bit flat, with very limited possibility to bring life to the colors, she says.

She searched the world to find an embroidery method that was able to match her high demands on reproducing her art genuinely and authentically, without having to use prints.

– I’ve always wanted to do an exclusive, limited fashion collection of my artwork. Embroidery with an artistic touch. When I got in contact with Coloreel I knew that this was a perfect match.

Once she heard of the Coloreel technology she wanted to try the technology immediately. How would her art look when embroidered? And will it work?

– It was even better than I could’ve imagined! The gradients, and the smooth color shifting and shading, the 3D-effect... I was blown away. It looked as if I painted straight on the jacket by hand!

The collection consists of five different pieces of artwork. The first item being a denim jacket, Lisa is inspired by the ongoing world events. The pandemic has affected our way of living, and she wants to use her art to draw attention to social distancing.

– Greedo is a bounty hunter character in Star Wars. I was inspired by him, as a symbol of the debt collector that will punish us humans if we don’t take the social distancing seriously during the covid-19 pandemic.

When she’s been wearing her jacket, she gets a lot of reactions and comments.

– The color-matching and authenticity of my original art is perfect. It’s only when you take a closer look you can tell it’s embroidery. People think it’s so cool and looks exclusive! They are surprised when I tell them that it is embroidered. Another perk of using the Coloreel technology is that the embroidery is sustainable, durable, and has excellent resistance to washing.

– I’ve just washed the jacket in 60 degrees, and it didn’t make any difference to the embroidery. The colors stayed the same and I’m impressed by the quality, says Lisa.

Many artists, creators, and designer friends have already reached out to Lisa Törner to find out more about the embroidery technique she used and what possibilities there are when you want to keep the artistic touch.

– Some haven’t thought about embroidery being an alternative, due to its normal limitations in colors and depth, but now they know that there are limitless possibilities. Sharing and showing your art can feel very exposing, and vulnerable.

– That’s something many of us artists struggle with, finding our unique way of creativity, our style. You want to help your viewers identify your style, immediately when they see your art. They know it’s yours.

She pauses for a moment. Takes it in.

– I have found my style, one that I am proud of and can identify with. I am so glad about that. I dream about creating, not just a limited collection, but a full fashion collection with my artwork using embroidery technology, says Lisa Törner.