These pillows begin with vintage and antique textiles chosen for their texture, wear, and history, then are reworked by hand in the studio into one of one pieces. Each fabric brings something of its own, whether that’s a repair, a faded area, a woven pattern, or the kind of surface character that only comes with age and use. The work is in knowing what to preserve, what to reinforce, and how to give the material a new life while keeping its presence intact.
Scripted is made from beautifully faded antique Japanese tsutsugaki fabric from the early 1900s. What gives this piece its character is the Japanese script across the surface.
Garden Groove came together from antique Japanese katazome fabric with an indigo-dyed floral pattern. I added a single hand-sewn patch and backed it with canvas for reinforcement.
Checkered Past is a pillow I made from antique Japanese katazome fabric with an indigo-dyed checkerboard pattern. I wanted to let that pattern hold the focus here.
Into the Blue came together in my Brooklyn studio from antique Japanese cotton fabrics dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s, including katazome resist-dyed indigo and bengala iron oxide-dyed cloth.
Second Shift began with a pair of vintage French workwear pants in heavy cotton, and what attracted me was the original darns and repairs in a mixture of blues. I left the earlier repairs visible and added a some of my own where the cloth needed reinforcement. All of the stitches you see on the outside were sewn either by the original repairer or by me.
