Meet the Artist: Marina Ellen Simillide of Studio Sunshine
Marina Ellen Simillide is the Cyprus-based surface pattern designer behind Studio Sunshine. Her joyful artwork combines Mediterranean color, playful illustration, coastal imagery, and carefully coordinated repeats created for fabric, apparel, accessories, and home décor.
Marina discovered her interest in pattern during her Art and Design foundation studies in Canterbury. She later earned a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design from UWE Bristol, specializing in printed textiles.
Her professional experience includes creating seamless repeat patterns for fashion and lifestyle brands. Bright palettes, cheerful motifs, and uplifting compositions have become defining elements of her work.
Studio Sunshine reflects Marina’s belief that pattern can make everyday products feel more expressive and enjoyable. Life on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, along with nature, travel, and ordinary moments of visual delight, continually provides new inspiration.
Her debut Textile District collection, Underwater Treasures, transforms starfish, seashells, coral gardens, seaweed, and ocean life into coordinated coastal fabrics for apparel, quilting, accessories, children’s sewing, and beach-house décor.
Playful Mediterranean Pattern Designed to Lift the Mood
Studio Sunshine is known for what Marina describes as feel-good or dopamine-inspired design: pattern that uses energetic color and recognizable imagery to create an immediate sense of optimism.
Her approach is playful without sacrificing structure. Hand-drawn sea creatures and organic coral forms are balanced by scalloped geometrics, vertical botanical stripes, small-scale shell blenders, and orderly repeating layouts.
This balance makes the collection easy to use across a complete project. A detailed ocean-life print can become the focal fabric, while a shell fan, seaweed stripe, coral sprig, or miniature seashell design provides contrast without introducing an unrelated style.
The result is coastal fabric that feels colorful and contemporary rather than traditionally nautical. Soft lavender, periwinkle, coral, pink, yellow, orange, mint, and clear ocean blue replace conventional navy-and-white themes with a fresher Mediterranean palette.
Underwater Treasures Coastal Fabric Collection
Underwater Treasures includes eight coordinated patterns, each available in Blue, Multicolor, and Pink. Together, the designs provide a useful mix of focal prints, structured geometrics, directional coordinates, and small-scale blenders.
Ocean-Life Focal Prints
Ocean Life Coastal Toss combines starfish, shells, coral, and other sea-inspired icons in an easy allover layout. Playful Starfish Scatter focuses on varied starfish shapes with dots, stitched details, and graphic linework.
Underwater Coral Garden Patchwork creates a more immersive underwater scene through layered sea plants, coral formations, anemone-like shapes, and contrasting sections of texture. Its visual variety makes it particularly effective for feature quilt blocks, bedding, large pillows, curtains, and statement apparel.
Shell and Seaweed Coordinates
Layered Scallop Shell Fan arranges overlapping shells into a clean geometric repeat that can function as either a focal pattern or a strong coordinate.
Flowing Seaweed Stripe uses wavy vertical ribbons filled with delicate seaweed fronds. Wavy Shell Border Stripe alternates shell details, leafy sprigs, and undulating lines to create decorative vertical movement.
Tropical Coral Leaf Toss provides a lighter botanical option through upright coral-like fronds, while Mini Seashell Confetti offers the collection’s smallest and quietest repeat for quilting, linings, bindings, small accessories, and detailed garment pieces.
Three Coordinated Color Stories
- Blue: Ocean blue, periwinkle, lavender, mint, and white create a calm coastal direction for bedrooms, quilts, pajamas, curtains, and relaxed apparel.
- Multicolor: Blue, pink, yellow, orange, lavender, and other sunshine brights produce the collection’s most energetic look for children’s sewing, beach accessories, colorful quilts, and statement projects.
- Pink: Coral, rose, warm pink, and light neutral grounds create a cheerful seaside palette for summer apparel, nursery décor, pillows, bags, and gift sewing.
Explore the Underwater Treasures Collection
What Makes Studio Sunshine Fabrics Distinctive?
- Mediterranean inspiration: Marina’s Cyprus setting gives the collection a sunny, colorful coastal perspective.
- Professional textile training: Her printed-textile specialization supports thoughtful repeat construction, pattern balance, and product versatility.
- Feel-good color: Bright blue, coral, pink, yellow, orange, lavender, and mint create an optimistic alternative to conventional nautical palettes.
- Coordinated pattern roles: Character prints, geometrics, stripes, botanical repeats, and small blenders are designed to work together.
- Playful but polished imagery: Starfish, shells, coral, seaweed, and underwater forms retain personality while remaining suitable for apparel and interiors.
- Broad project appeal: The collection supports quilting, resort wear, children’s clothing, bedding, curtains, pillows, bags, table linens, and decorative accessories.
Project Inspiration for Studio Sunshine Fabrics
Coastal Quilts and Patchwork
Choose Ocean Life Coastal Toss, Playful Starfish Scatter, or Underwater Coral Garden Patchwork as the focal print. Add Mini Seashell Confetti, Layered Scallop Shell Fan, or one of the stripes for blocks, sashing, borders, binding, and backing.
Working within Blue, Multicolor, or Pink keeps the palette coordinated while allowing motif size and pattern structure to change throughout the quilt.
Resort Apparel and Children’s Sewing
Use seaweed stripes, coral fronds, shells, or starfish for dresses, shirts, pajama sets, robes, skirts, bucket hats, tote bags, and swim cover-ups.
Directional patterns can visually lengthen simple garments, while Mini Seashell Confetti works well for collars, pockets, facings, linings, and smaller pattern pieces.
Beach-House and Coastal Home Décor
Print the larger ocean-life and coral designs for curtains, bedding, bench cushions, decorative panels, and statement pillows. Use shell fans, stripes, and smaller coordinates on pillow backs, piping, lampshades, table linens, and fabric storage.
Selected designs may also be printed on an appropriate outdoor base for covered-patio pillows, porch curtains, poolside accessories, and seasonal outdoor décor.
Printed to Order on Your Choice of Fabric
Studio Sunshine designs are available by the yard on 15+ base fabrics, allowing you to choose the weight, texture, drape, and performance best suited to your project. Options include cottons, linens, natural-fiber blends, performance fabrics, fleece, and specialty textiles for apparel, quilting, curtains, bedding, upholstery accents, and accessories.
- Printed to order in the USA
- 1-yard minimum
- Eight coordinated coastal and ocean-inspired patterns
- Blue, Multicolor, and Pink colorways
- Focal prints, stripes, geometrics, botanicals, and small-scale blenders
- Natural-fiber fabrics are steamed, washed, and dried after printing for a soft hand and durable, colorfast results
- Detailed digital printing preserves fine seaweed fronds, shell lines, coral textures, and illustrated details
How to Order
- Browse the Studio Sunshine Brand page and select a pattern.
- Choose Blue, Multicolor, or Pink.
- Select the base fabric best suited to your project.
- Enter the required yardage and add the fabric to your cart.
Need help choosing a fabric? Compare specifications and recommended uses in Our Fabrics, order a Ground Fabric Swatch Kit, review our Frequently Asked Questions, or contact The Textile District.
See additional project pairings in the Underwater Treasures Collection Spotlight.
Shop Studio Sunshine Coastal Fabric by the Yard
Studio Sunshine artwork available on The Textile District is licensed for printing and sale on this website.