Over the past 18 months Nathan Dalla Riva has slowly built up a little home studio for screen printing. Operating as Forme, Nathan designs and prints a range of apparel inspired by 90s culture, his heritage, and skateboarding.
Based near Doncaster in the U.K, Nathan describes his upbringing as “typically British”, however he also had a big Italian influence from his father’s side of the family, which is occasionally reflected in his designs as well as his studio’s name.
Nathan first entered the world of screen printing in 2017 after he became interested in garment printing. He purchased himself a basic kit and completely submerged himself into this new world. “I spent the next few years trying to teach myself as much as I possibly could. A lot of trial and error ensued and while frustrating at times, it’s been hugely satisfying. I absolutely love the whole process, it’s a constant learning curve and one thing that especially appeals to me is there seems to be a certain freedom to it all, where there isn’t necessarily a right answer, it’s just what can work best for you, just need a little bit of ingenuity at times.“
Initially creating designs based around the interests of his family and friends, after a lot of positive feedback Nathan decided to start concentrating on his own interests, and launched Forme after developing his own style. “I have always enjoyed keeping up with fashion so choosing clothing as my substrate was an easy decision” says the designer. A child of the nineties, the influence of the era and the skateboarding cultured that emerged during it is clearly reflected in designs. He describes skateboarding as; “an area that has always encouraged creativity along with its unique and interesting graphics and I will also occasionally try and inject a slice of humour into the odd design”.
Nathan’s designs always start out as sketches which he then goes over in pen, photographs, and uploads to the computer. He then edits them on Inkscape and Photoshop, where he brings everything together to try out different looks and styles. Once the design is to his liking, he prints it out onto a transparency film, burns a screen with a halogen light, and, after the wash out, uses a four-colour carousel to lay down the print with water-based ink.
“I know I’m fairly new to all this but I’m excited to see how this journey continues to grow,” concludes Nathan.
www.formeprints.com
@forme_printsuk
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