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photo courtesy of Jennifer Moore
An apple blossom painting depicts one of the possible new fabric lines for Walnut Creek artist Jennifer Moore’s company.
photo courtesy of Dave Miguelucci
Walnut Creek artist Jennifer Moore, seen sketching above, owns the eco-friendly local fabric business Monaluna, for which she has created more than 300 designs. Monaluna, a small business she initially started on the side in 2010, now sells to fabric stores and small manufacturers and also directly to retail customers online. She has distributors in Scandinavia, Britain and South Korea and wholesale customers worldwide. A part of Moore’s business model is to give back when she can.
photo courtesy of Jennifer Moore
These are samples from Monaluna’s Vintage 74 Cotton Lawn Collection.
photo courtesy of Dave Miguelucci
Walnut Creek artist Jennifer Moore owns the eco-friendly local fabric business Monaluna, for which she has created more than 300 designs.
photo courtesy of Jennifer Moore
These clutches were sewn from the Simple Life Canvas fabric line from Walnut Creek artist Jennifer Moore’s company.
photo courtesy of Jennifer Moore
A stack of bolts (units of fabric) shows Monaluna’s Modern Love Collection.
She’s not Cyndi Lauper, but she’s definitely a “material girl” when it comes to creating and distributing her own fabric designs — organic ones at that.
Related Articles Local News | Walnut Creek’s El Charro 1947 has closed after nine months Local News | Drought-friendly Walnut Creek car wash owner confident idea holds water Local News | Pleasanton’s seasonal Greek restaurant expands to Walnut Creek Walnut Creek resident Jennifer Moore owns Monaluna, a small business she initially started on the side in 2010. A couple years before, she was licensing her artwork to a fabric company, but after trying and failing to get the company to print on organic cotton fabric, she decided to pivot.
“I first became interested in organic cotton because of a radio piece on NPR (National Public Radio) which highlighted the problems with conventional cotton production, especially in India,” said Moore. “At that time, most organic fabric was produced there, and it really made me think about the impact of the products I was designing.”
Moore decided that if the company wouldn’t shift to organic cotton that she would cut ties with that company.
“I saw a need in the marketplace, so I decided to print a collection of modern, organic cotton fabric with the intention of selling it as a side project,” she said.
Setting aside her degree in cultural anthropology, Moore tapped into her background and work experience as the basis for turning her side project into an actual business.
She took some design classes in college and said she’d always had an interest in art but that it was her past employment that gave her the on-the-job training as a designer. She started her first designing job with soft toys for Manhattan Toy, later worked as a surface designer for Target Corp. and then became a product designer for Pottery Barn Kids. For her own business, Moore looked for a more adult name.
“When I was working as a toy designer, I did some freelance work under the name Monkey Moon,” she said. “I liked it but wanted a name that was slightly less kid-like. My friend was studying Spanish and suggested ‘Mono Luna,’ just ‘Monkey Moon’ in Spanish. I played with it and decided that I liked the more nonspecific Monaluna (one word) best. So really, it’s just a made-up name, loosely based on my original business name.”
A fabric designer for more than 12 years, Moore has produced roughly 300 designs on fabric and has created many more that haven’t yet made it onto fabric. She said there’s so much to love about creating fabric designs.
“I enjoy dreaming up the collections and creating the artwork, seeing it become a product, working with my customers and especially seeing what the end result is,” said Moore. “I often get photos from customers of their babies or grandkids in clothing they’ve made, baby blankets and quilts or cool handbags and totes photographed in various spots around the world. I love getting to be creative in my job but also getting to inspire creativity in others.”
She also loves lowering her carbon footprint on the environment — which is why she only uses fabrics certified as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).
“It ensures that they meet strict environmental as well as social standards — fair trade, low water use, safe and equitable work environment, nontoxic through the entire supply chain etc.” she said.
Moore draws design inspiration from many places, especially gardening and hiking local trails. Her design method is simple.
“I usually start with a painting or drawing, and then I import it into Photoshop to clean it up and put it into a repeat pattern,” she said.
Her husband, Dave, who assists her with trade show booth displays, also helps her with fine-tuning her collections.
“He has a background in design and has a good eye,” said Moore. “I generally get all my near-final drafts printed and pinned on a board, and then Dave and I will often pour a glass of wine and analyze the group, seeing how it all holds together and tweaking color and scale.”
Currently, Moore sells to fabric stores and small manufacturers and also directly to retail customers online. She has distributors in Scandinavia, Britain and South Korea and has wholesale customers worldwide. A part of Moore’s business model is to give back when she can.
“I donate $1 per order to plant trees through One Tree Planted. I will occasionally do specific donations — for example — I gave 5% of the sales from my Elephant Parade print to help abused elephants in India through Wildlife SOS, and I often donate fabric to groups who sew goods for charity,” said Moore. “During the lockdown, I donated a lot of fabric for mask-making.”
It’s anyone’s guess at this point as to whether her daughter could also end up becoming a ‘material girl’ as well.
“Anabelle has acted as my main model over the years, starting when she was a newborn. Once the fabric samples arrive, I generally sew samples, sometimes quilts, but often apparel or accessories, and I usually have her model them along with many of our friends and neighbors,” said Moore. “Now that Anabelle is 12, she’s just starting to weigh in on the designs themselves, lending her input on what she thinks works well.”
To learn more about Moore and peruse her fabric designs, visit monaluna.com.
Charleen Earley is a freelance writer and journalism professor at Foothill and Diablo Valley colleges. Reach her at charleenbearley@gmail.com or 925-383-3072.
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