Feather wallpaper
4 November 2021 in Note book, Sketch book, Products

Introducing the Feather Collection

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Dear Reader,

Have you seen our new Feather Collection, launched in September of 2021?

It’s not nearly complete yet (as I write I think I have at least 12 more designs in me). But, we decided to get started with the first 2. They’re called Becoming Wild and From Source to Sea. Each is available in multiple colorways.

I’m really excited about these designs, and about all that’s to come in the coming months, as we roll out the rest of the Collection. There will be many more original prints for wallpaper and fabric that relate to the theme of birds and feathers, in more and less obvious ways.

Here at the blog, I want to tell you more about it:

While this subject matter is by no means underrepresented in the history of art/design, it’s a departure for me. I had devoted myself to florals for years when, back in the summer of 2016, I made my first sketch of a peacock. From that point on, I had a bird brain: I just couldn’t get these mysterious creatures out of my head, or heart!

Perhaps the biggest change though, is the source of the imagery; The Feather Collection is - more so than ever - a product of my own imagination.

To access this dream space, I had to reinvent my entire process, returning to my roots as a formally trained artist and relying much more heavily on traditional (as opposed to digital) media. It took me some time to figure out how I could best translate what came to me in pieces - and over an extended period of time - into forms and colors, patterns, moods and - ultimately - products.

Graphite pencil, charcoal, marker, pastels, ink, watercolor and acrylic paint were some of the materials I used to create my initial concepts/sketches. It was very important to me that all the designs in this collection remain full of textures, areas of relief, brush strokes, expressive gestures, and more. These handmade details preserve a record of the process that went into their making.

My personal connection to the artwork in the Feather Collection is intense: it’s intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and therefore, of course, it makes sense that it’s also physical. Having worked at the computer for many years, I was missing the feeling of the pencil’s drag on paper, the sight of pigments breaking free in water. These physical events seemed like metaphors for the internal experience I was having, in art and life. At times, it was (very) difficult. In the end though, it has changed my way of living, working and being very much for the better.

I left pieces of myself on the page. Even more so than birds and their feathers, that’s what this series is all about for me: finally daring to let my true(er) self be seen.

And that’s exactly what I’ll be doing, as I continue to add to the Feather Collection, over the course of the coming year. Here at the blog and on our socials, I’ll be sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the work, including a look at early sketches, design development, poems and short pieces I’ve written along the way.

At this time I also want to thank the people who have supported the building of this little design brand over the years - and thereby, supported me - in the journey of making my dreams manifest: friends, family, the ECD Team of Corine, Kim, Teske, and (my husband and partner in all things) Robert; Also: our manufacturing partners, creative collaborators and you, our dear, dear customers!

Curious why birds and feathers came to be such captivating symbols for me over the past 6 years, and counting? I’ll explain that in the next post.

Do you have questions or suggestions? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch! We always love hearing from you!

Stay wonder-ful,