Brigitte Heitland

I am born in Germany and I loved spending time with my grandma who sewed a lot of clothes for us children. I always sat down next to her old PFAFF and felt so comfortable. She once told me: “When you are tall enough to get your feet down to the pedal, I’ll teach how to sew too.” I started sewing at the age of six and I hope I can keep sewing until I die. Of course as a German girl I had never heard about quilting. I just sewed my own clothes and loved to have unique things to wear. When it was time to decide which profession to choose, it had to be something creative and I decided on Interior Design. But more and more I was drawn to all the students in the classroom next to mine who were working with needles and thread, and so I ended up as a student of Textile Design. I became mother of three wonderful children who fill my life with their laughter, adventures and individuality and life lead me another path. I took care for the income and worked for years as an accountant. Then one day I happened to stumble on a book with photos of wonderful quilts. I was hooked at once. I had to try it myself and got hopelessly addicted to patchwork. I needed fabrics, lots and lots of different fabrics to dive in. And so it came that I could no longer keep myself from starting my own little online quilting shop. Besides I’m also running my own longarm quilting business, blogging about modern quilting, and sewing quilt samples for international magazines. As a trained Textile Designer I had to create my own line of fabrics sooner or later. And so I did, which led me full circle back to my roots of Interior Design. When developing a fabric or even the design for a quilt, the entire impression of a room comes to my mind. I see the light, the furniture, the color concept, and the style. The resulting quilt is a natural element of this scene, fitting in harmoniously. I like clarity in a room, an environment of simplicity where you are surrounded by only the things you really need and love, where you can relax, find your inner peace and balance. So my quilts have a kind of minimal, pure and clear style. They show just enough color and pattern to catch your eye and let it rest there for a while. I created my own brand, ZEN CHIC. Today I'm working as a pattern and fabric designer and my fabric lines are produced by Moda. My my three childern always encourage me to go for my dreams. Their love is what gives me all I need to do so. Thank you so much!