Block Printing with The Crafter’s Box

March 13, 2016

In case you missed it last week, I debuted my first online block printing class with The Crafter’s Box! When you sign up for a subscription by 3/20, you’ll receive all the supplies and materials you’ll need to print your own beautiful linen table runner. You’ll get access to an exclusive online video tutorial, where I’ll give you all my tips and tricks for creating beautiful block printed textiles.

If you want to learn to block print on fabric, sign up for The Crafter’s Box now! Enrollment closes on 3/20, so don’t miss out!

Creating patterned notebooks with Scout Books

May 16, 2015

If you follow Cotton & Flax on social media, you may have seen previews of a new product that debuts on Monday: patterned pocket-sized notebooks! I was so excited to partner with Scout Books to expand their collection of artist-designed notebooks, and to add these new pieces to the Cotton & Flax collection.

While I was in Portland in April, I met with the team at Scout Books as we worked to put the finishing touches on our collaboration. I had the pleasure of touring the Scout Books headquarters, and getting a look behind the scenes in their offices and workshop. You may have seen the photos I took over on Instagram, and Meg from Scout Books sent over a few extra photos for me to share.

Scout Books creates custom notebooks using 100% recycled papers in their SE Portland studio. After combing their archives, I was impressed with the wide variety of projects they’ve taken on over the years – so many awesome notebooks designs created in collaboration with some of my favorite artists!

The collection we created for this collaboration consists of seven notebooks, four gold and three light blue. The team at Scout Books worked with me to match the gold ochre and light blue inks with the fabrics I use for my collection. After looking around the Scout Books studio, I was really impressed with how efficient their setup is. It was so cool to see the presses in action, and to see how the notebooks were made.

The new notebooks will officially debut in the shop on Monday! If you’re planning to attend the National Stationery Show in New York this week, stop by booth #1340 to say hello to the Scout Books team, and see these notebooks in person. I’m a huge stationery nerd, so I wish I could be there in person – instead, I’ll just be cheering from the sidelines, and following along on Instagram.

Don’t forget to sign up for email updates, so you’ll be first to know when the new notebooks go on sale.

Recap: Custom Stationery Workshop at West Elm

August 21, 2013

I had so much fun teaching a custom stationery workshop at West Elm last night! I was blown away by the amazing designs my students came up with in just a couple of hours. So much creativity!

Each attendee received a little gift bag filled with supplies – a small EZ-cut linoleum block, as well as paper for sketching, and multi-colored postcards for printing on. I provided all the carving tools and ink, and after a bit of sketching, everyone just went for it! Love to see creative bravery in action.

Thanks again to everyone who attended the workshop! I’m hoping to teach more workshops soon, so stay tuned.

How Cotton & Flax coasters are made

July 15, 2013

When I sell my work in person, the felt coasters are always the most fondled item of the whole collection. Everyone seems to want to pick them up and touch them! I can’t say that I blame my customers for being curious, the thick wool felt I use really is appealing. Today, I thought it would be fun to take a peek into how Cotton & Flax coasters are made.

Cotton & Flax coasters begin their lives as raw wool, which is milled in Germany. The photo above shows the mill which processes the felt I use. Kind of picturesque, wouldn’t you say?

Wool felt is one of the oldest man-made textiles. To produce felt, raw wool undergoes a wet “felting” process, which involves matting, condensing and pressing the fibers. You can see a little of the milling process below, I find those giant machines fascinating.

The felt I use for Cotton & Flax coasters is high quality, eco-friendly, comes in highly saturated colors which are a perfect canvas for my bold patterns. The high standards for fabric dyeing in Germany make this felt safe for everyday use in your home, and safe for the Earth! I order several yards of this luxuriously thick felt at a time, and then hand silkscreen print my patterns onto the felt before cutting it down to size.

So there you have it, a glimpse into how Cotton & Flax coasters are made. You can find lots of fun patterned coasters in the shop, grab a couple sets for your next cocktail party!

Printing (and not printing)

June 25, 2013

I know I promised you a post with a more in depth look at my printing process, but something pretty out of the ordinary happened over the weekend… I took two days off from printing! It was nice to rest my back muscles a little, and enjoy the first days of summer. I am working with a friend to develop a short video showing my printing process, but I’ll certainly be sharing more photos before then.

Cotton & Flax business cards

April 17, 2013

I’ve gotten a few emails about my business cards this month, so I thought I would feature them again. I wrote about the process behind them back in September when I first watched them being made, but for those who missed that post, here are the basics.

My cards were letterpress printed here in L.A. by LuluDee Design at Dee & Lala Press.
My logo was also designed by LuluDee Design.
The patterns you see in the background were printed using a process called blind emboss, where the plate is pressed into the paper without ink.

These are hands down the nicest business cards I’ve ever had, thanks to Laura Carignan from Lulu Dee for creating them for me!

Blog - Cotton & Flax

Behind the scenes at Cotton & Flax