Welcome to Chameleon Rock. My fantasy rock, a well of inspiration, a forest oasis in bloom and destination in my personal forest of dreams. My name is Anna Switz and my journey to become a surface pattern designer and an artist started in 2016, like many women before me on my maternity leave with my first child. This of course is only part of a story which truly goes all the way back to my childhood.

My interest in natural beauty started as early as I can recall. I used to spend all summer long picking flowers for my mother, our neighbors and friends and arrange them into centerpieces for a dinner or to crown a vintage dresser in a guest room. I was always drawn to a mood or a feeling that needed to become complete by adding as many old, used and growing things possible. Perhaps this drive came from being born in Sweden. Being exposed to such long, brooding winters meant that when spring came around and nature came back to life me and my fellow countrymen and women not only turned our faces towards the sun like thirsting flowers but we needed it inside with us, immediately. No wonder the much loved pattern designer Josef Frank has become a staple in so many Swedish homes. His patterns bring nature straight into our homes with an unusual pop of color. He, along with the classic authority on flowering patterns William Morris have without a doubt influenced my journey to become a designer myself.

As I got older my interest in cooking and fashion grew and had it not been for losing my father at 12 I think I would have headed straight into an indulgently creative career. Looking back at it for all sorts of reasons, that didn’t immediately happen for me and I pushed aside the wild and nature loving side of myself for a degree in engineering and immediately after that a career in programmatic advertising.

To so many women, having a child brings up the most important questions in life. Is what you’re doing with your time worth your while? Are you doing something that makes you happy? I knew long before I had my first daughter that I was far from where I wanted and needed to be. So as I embarked on my journey as a mother, I also started to embrace where I had once come from. What had inspired me and what had made me happy. It became clear over time that I had within me a vision as grand as an entire forest in bloom with a mountain to worship at it’s center. That is my Chameleon Rock. A place that will continue to inspire my work, anchor my belief in the importance of beauty in life and forever change with my mood. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do.