I have regularly been drawn to textiles and fiber arts in particular; a love affair that has only continued to grow.
I live in Beacon, New York, which is located in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, 60 miles north of Manhattan. I grew up, however, in a small town in Michigan, living across the street from my paternal grandparents in the house my father grew up in, with my mother’s parents just a mile away. I spent a lot of my time with my grandparents, and they are very much a big part of who I am today. Handmade treats, fresh out of the oven, were regularly available. My grandparents had a garden filled with vegetables and raspberries that made their way into pies and jams. Peaches, pears and tomatoes were canned every year, and my brother and I were involved in all of it. My grandparents had a great influence on me and helped shaped my appreciation for simple pleasures.
As a young child, my mother also encouraged creativity. My brother and I were forever making little art projects and pretending to have our own little businesses. My mother sewed our clothes, and our grandmothers sewed and made quilts. They taught us embroidery and cross-stitch, basket making and baking. I loved making things and playing with fabric scraps from my mother’s sewing drawer.
I left Michigan after junior high and went to high school and college in Arizona. When I was in high school, I wanted to go to school for fashion design and took a fashion design and sewing class. I went on to receive more formal training in college where I studied and received a degree in Arts (Fibers) at Arizona State University. It was here where I learned screen-printing, surface design, weaving and other textile and fiber techniques but with a more fine art approach. The rest has been self-taught and learned along the way.
Arizona’s desert and its beauty, while so different from the Midwest, has helped shape my work and holds a very special place in my heart. I now live back in the Hudson Valley with my husband, my baby girl Vera and our dog Edith, where I would love to spend the rest of my life. There is so much beauty and creativity here, where I also enjoy baking, knitting and gardening. I am especially fortunate to have a lot of textile artist friends in the area.
In 2013, I launched my line of dolls and seasonal décor. During a road trip through the Midwest, I began thinking more about creating objects that were intended to last and become a part of someone’s history; a special heirloom object. While taking the back roads and stopping at flea markets and estate sales, I was paying special attention and noticing antique toys along the way; tattered and beautiful and obviously well loved with a layer of history on each one. Everything just kind of came full circle at that point and the brand was born.
The ability of cloth to collect and preserve emotion became the foundation for my work.
My passion for unearthing treasures is representative of my creative style, which is nostalgic and timeless, with a little magic. Usually, my inspiration comes from the materials themselves and the process of finding them. I love antique buttons and trims, as well as, beautiful Japanese kinds of cotton, antique handkerchiefs and natural fibers. I am inspired by a simpler time when there was an appreciation for timeless handcrafted quality pieces. I am also very inspired by tradition and people’s stories and the moments in time from my life and others. I am constantly inspired by the fiber arts world and age-old crafts that have endless possibilities.
For two years, I had my own studio in a building that houses a community of about sixty artists in Red Hook, Brooklyn. One day, however, a fellow maker suggested we switch spaces, and I move into his space in Beacon, New York. I didn’t have windows in my first space and he did, so I took him up on the offer. At the same time, two friends of mine were looking for a studio space and so I asked if they wanted to join me. It has worked out really well! When we are there together it’s fun, and we always share ideas. Even our aesthetics work well together; we each have our own areas that kind of seamlessly blend into one another. I like working alone, as well as, having company; the balance is great.
Lately, I am really excited about working on some new patterns I will soon be releasing. I published my first pattern in Making Magazine last year, and I had so much fun doing it that it is something I want to keep doing and perhaps work on a book of them.
Sometimes it’s intimidating to put work so dear and personal out into the world.
However, the community of makers I am surrounded by (both in person and on social media) is a great support system, and it turns out everyone pretty much feels exactly the same! Production has been my biggest challenge with my work from choosing from the many ideas I have to completing the time-consuming details each piece requires, though being able to share special moments with people—seeing their happiness and hearing how much they love something or what it means to them—that makes every ounce of hard work completely worth it.
I have regularly been drawn to textiles and fiber arts in particular; a love affair that has only continued to grow.
I live in Beacon, New York, which is located in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, 60 miles north of Manhattan. I grew up, however, in a small town in Michigan, living across the street from my paternal grandparents in the house my father grew up in, with my mother’s parents just a mile away. I spent a lot of my time with my grandparents, and they are very much a big part of who I am today. Handmade treats, fresh out of the oven, were regularly available. My grandparents had a garden filled with vegetables and raspberries that made their way into pies and jams. Peaches, pears and tomatoes were canned every year, and my brother and I were involved in all of it. My grandparents had a great influence on me and helped shaped my appreciation for simple pleasures.
As a young child, my mother also encouraged creativity. My brother and I were forever making little art projects and pretending to have our own little businesses. My mother sewed our clothes, and our grandmothers sewed and made quilts. They taught us embroidery and cross-stitch, basket making and baking. I loved making things and playing with fabric scraps from my mother’s sewing drawer.
I left Michigan after junior high and went to high school and college in Arizona. When I was in high school, I wanted to go to school for fashion design and took a fashion design and sewing class. I went on to receive more formal training in college where I studied and received a degree in Arts (Fibers) at Arizona State University. It was here where I learned screen-printing, surface design, weaving and other textile and fiber techniques but with a more fine art approach. The rest has been self-taught and learned along the way.
Arizona’s desert and its beauty, while so different from the Midwest, has helped shape my work and holds a very special place in my heart. I now live back in the Hudson Valley with my husband, my baby girl Vera and our dog Edith, where I would love to spend the rest of my life. There is so much beauty and creativity here, where I also enjoy baking, knitting and gardening. I am especially fortunate to have a lot of textile artist friends in the area.
In 2013, I launched my line of dolls and seasonal décor. During a road trip through the Midwest, I began thinking more about creating objects that were intended to last and become a part of someone’s history; a special heirloom object. While taking the back roads and stopping at flea markets and estate sales, I was paying special attention and noticing antique toys along the way; tattered and beautiful and obviously well loved with a layer of history on each one. Everything just kind of came full circle at that point and the brand was born.
The ability of cloth to collect and preserve emotion became the foundation for my work.
My passion for unearthing treasures is representative of my creative style, which is nostalgic and timeless, with a little magic. Usually, my inspiration comes from the materials themselves and the process of finding them. I love antique buttons and trims, as well as, beautiful Japanese kinds of cotton, antique handkerchiefs and natural fibers. I am inspired by a simpler time when there was an appreciation for timeless handcrafted quality pieces. I am also very inspired by tradition and people’s stories and the moments in time from my life and others. I am constantly inspired by the fiber arts world and age-old crafts that have endless possibilities.
For two years, I had my own studio in a building that houses a community of about sixty artists in Red Hook, Brooklyn. One day, however, a fellow maker suggested we switch spaces, and I move into his space in Beacon, New York. I didn’t have windows in my first space and he did, so I took him up on the offer. At the same time, two friends of mine were looking for a studio space and so I asked if they wanted to join me. It has worked out really well! When we are there together it’s fun, and we always share ideas. Even our aesthetics work well together; we each have our own areas that kind of seamlessly blend into one another. I like working alone, as well as, having company; the balance is great.
Lately, I am really excited about working on some new patterns I will soon be releasing. I published my first pattern in Making Magazine last year, and I had so much fun doing it that it is something I want to keep doing and perhaps work on a book of them.
Sometimes it’s intimidating to put work so dear and personal out into the world.
However, the community of makers I am surrounded by (both in person and on social media) is a great support system, and it turns out everyone pretty much feels exactly the same! Production has been my biggest challenge with my work from choosing from the many ideas I have to completing the time-consuming details each piece requires, though being able to share special moments with people—seeing their happiness and hearing how much they love something or what it means to them—that makes every ounce of hard work completely worth it.
