I was surprised to find that there are still a few of my limited edition tea towels left in the Pennyweight Goods shop! Go snatch one up, once they’re gone, I won’t be reprinting them!
Various Interviews
(admittedly dorky photo of me from 2008 in the print studio)
I realized that I haven’t been great about sharing when I’ve been interviewed. Want to know more about me and my process behind designing for Cotton & Flax? Read one (or all) of these interviews:
- My interview for Pennyweight Goods, where we talked about my work process, and daily life in LA.
- My interview for The Things We Would Blog, where I talk about potentially expanding my stationery offerings
- My interview for Standard Magazine, where we get into the details of whether my work is art, design, or craft.
- My interview for Being Elliott, where we talked about inspiration and the one item I think every home should have.
I’ll be sure to post here next time I’m interviewed, sorry for holding out on you for so long!
New Stockist – Firefly in Venice, CA!
I am thrilled to announce yet another wonderful stockist, Firefly in Venice, CA. I stopped by earlier this week to drop off a small selection of pillows and tea towels, and I was so impressed with the selection of gifts, home goods, and clothing available – they even carry jewelry from one of my favorite local designers – Kyyote.
They have an incredible amount of stationery (and washi tape!) for all your snail mail needs.
You’d be hard pressed to comb through Firefly without finding something you love. If you live near Venice, stop by and grab something for your Mom before Mother’s Day!
Weekend Fun – Indigo Dyeing Workshop
Beautiful indigo curtains by Niki Livingston
I participated in an awesome workshop over the weekend, led by Bari Ziperstein and Niki Livingston, which taught the basics of Indigo dying and traditional Shibori techniques. I learned so much in just a few hours, and left the class with a simple tea towel that I dyed using a simple resist (using just chopsticks and rubber bands!)
Prepping the fabrics for dyeing using traditional Shibori folding techniques.
Dipping the fabric into the vat of indigo dye.
Letting the indigo oxidize (it goes from brilliant green to blue as the dye touches the air).
Our finished tea towels. Zac’s turned out so much more complex than mine, I was a little jealous!
I hope to do classes like this more often – there are so many different traditional textile methods that I want to learn. If you live in LA, I would highly recommend taking an indigo class with Niki, she was a great teacher!
Cotton & Flax goods for sale at LEIF
So excited to announce that Leif is now carrying some special Cotton & Flax items in their online shop! To celebrate this new stockist, I’ve collected my favorite items from Leif to share with you all. If you haven’t shopped at Leif yet, they carry some of the most unique homegoods, jewelry, and gift items I’ve ever seen. I want to buy it all for myself!
- Indigo dipped mug
- Gold leather loop keychain
- ‘Dash’ ceramic salt spoons
- Baggu moon bag
- Nola spike studs
- Cotton & Flax confetti coasters (of course!)
Leif is currently carrying our limited edition colored tea towels in my plus pattern design, as well as our charcoal confetti coasters. The tea towels were created just for Leif, so you won’t find them for sale anywhere else. Even though they’ve only been for sale for a few days, the tea towels have already gotten some attention – they were featured on Design*Sponge yesterday! I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Great Sewing Books for Beginners (and non-beginners, too)
I mentioned in a previous post how lucky I am that my mom taught me how to sew, and in my cranky teenage years, no less! She taught me the basics on a machine that is quite similar to the one I use as my primary sewing machine now. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time poring over sewing books in bookshops and libraries, and investing in the ones I found most helpful. Today I’d like to share some of my favorite sewing books for beginners, although I think many of these are great resources even for more experienced sewers….
