Lowcountry Unicorns: A Custom Toile Commission for a Little Girl

My sister came to me with a special gift idea for her three-year-old daughter: a custom toile pattern inspired by her love of unicorns and the South Carolina Lowcountry she calls home.

The request brought together two wonderful starting points for a personal commission—a favorite subject and a meaningful place. My role was to weave them into a design that felt unmistakably hers.

The result is Lowcountry Unicorns a pink unicorn toile filled with familiar coastal scenery and a little childhood magic.

Unicorns in a Landscape She Knows

My niece loves unicorns. For this commission, I wanted to imagine those magical creatures within the environment she recognizes: palmettos, mossy live oaks, tidal creeks, docks, and marsh grasses.

That connection gave the project its direction. The unicorns would inhabit the Lowcountry, exploring its shorelines and resting beneath its trees.

Growing up in Charleston and Mt. Pleasant made this landscape personal to me, too. Drawing it for my sister’s daughter added another layer of meaning to the work.

Developing the Individual Illustrations

With the concept established, I developed a series of scenes that could each tell a small story.

One unicorn stands beneath an arching live oak beside the marsh. Another explores the shore near a striped lighthouse. A resting unicorn settles beneath a flowering tree, while a more adventurous character takes to the creek aboard a little sailboat.

The settings connect the illustrations to South Carolina, while the unicorns bring the playfulness my sister wanted for her daughter.

This is one of my favorite parts of a custom toile commission: translating a personal idea into specific details. The choice of landscape, the activities within each scene, and the smaller supporting elements all help make the finished pattern individual.

Bringing the Scenes Together into a Toile Pattern

Once the illustrations were developed, I arranged them into a repeating toile.

Each main scene needed enough space to remain readable, while birds, palmettos, and small clusters of marsh grass helped connect the composition. Open white space keeps the pattern airy and invites a closer look at each vignette.

Soft pink linework on white gives Lowcountry Unicorns a sweetness suited to its young recipient. The traditional toile structure brings a timeless quality to the design, with details she can continue to discover as she grows.

The finished pattern holds both parts of the original brief: the unicorns she loves and the place she knows.

Exploring the Possibilities for the Finished Design

To show how the artwork could become part of her world, I created a series of styled mockups featuring the pattern on fabric, wallpaper, and paper goods.

These imagined applications include wallpaper behind a white spindle bed, a flutter-sleeve cotton dress, pink-piped pajamas, and a tablecloth for a little porch tea party overlooking the marsh.

Individual illustrations also lend themselves to smaller keepsakes. I pictured the sailboat unicorn on a note card, the live oak scene as a framed print, and the resting unicorn on a box for tiny treasures.

The mockups explore the versatility of the commissioned artwork, showing how a single personal design can carry its story across different surfaces.

A Custom Gift with a Personal Story

My sister’s request was rooted in a moment in her daughter’s childhood: three years old, enchanted by unicorns, and growing up in the Lowcountry.

The commission gave me a way to preserve that combination in a pattern made especially for her.

That is what makes a personal toile such a meaningful gift. Its story can come from a child’s imagination, a family’s history, a beloved home, or a place that brings people together. Thoughtfully chosen details give the artwork a connection to the person receiving it.

Commissioning Your Own Custom Toile

A custom toile project begins with your idea and the person, place, or occasion you want to celebrate. From there, I develop the illustrated scenes and bring them together into a cohesive repeating pattern.

Lowcountry Unicorns began with my sister’s wish to give her daughter something personal. Your starting point might be entirely different—a collection of family memories, favorite destinations, or the details that make a place feel like home.

If you have a story you would love to see illustrated, explore custom toile commissions with Hughes Studio. I would love to hear what you have in mind.