Showgirls next to pink Cadillacs find themselves alongside a chorus line of Elvises. Factory workers carry giant blocks of chocolate or sweep up a waterfall of pastel bonbons, and cats are adorned in outfits straight off the runway. Welcome to the weird and wonderful universe of Karen Mabon’s prints. 

The Black Isle-born designer launched her eponymous brand in 2013, creating elaborate illustrative scarves and loungewear rooted in evocative storytelling and a strong sense of nostalgia. Since then she’s collaborated with institutions from French department store Monoprix to Peter Rabbit and Agatha Christie.

And to celebrate ten years of the Karen Mabon label, she has taken a deep dive into the archives for a special anniversary collection. With such an expansive back catalogue, deciding which pieces to resurrect must have been a tricky task. ‘There were many designs that hadn’t really had their moment,’ Mabon insists.

Her Midnight Feast scarf, for example, featuring foxes rummaging among banana skins and old tin cans, is reimagined as part of an organic cotton pyjama set. Same goes with the Bedroom Floor scarf, which has been reworked into its own set sporting Tamagotchis, hair clips and dreamy candy-pink phones. ‘A lot of it was choosing our favourites,’ Mabon says. ‘If we are excited about it, you have to trust that other people will be too.’

Mabon’s trust in her own instincts have allowed her to be a creative risk taker, something she deems essential when starting your own brand. ‘You have to get comfortable with discomfort,’ she states. ‘As a small business there is always going to be an element of risk. You must let go of perfectionism and a little bit of your ego. Sometimes it is all about getting the idea out. You just have to run with it.’ 

Karen Mabon designs find beauty in ordinary, familiar objects. This signature approach carries through into her latest spring and summer collection, inspired in no small part by the birth of her daughter.

‘I made my daughter an alphabet quilt for Christmas and next thing I knew I was designing an “ABC for adults” print,’ she explains. ‘We’ve also created a black and white design this season, because in the first few months babies only see in black and white. It all feels very domestic.’ Herein lies Mabon’s special talent: finding playful ways of taking quiet, everyday moments and transporting them to dreamland.

Karen Mabon designs are at Amaryllis, 687 Great Western Road, Glasgow, or at Karen Mabon's official site.