If you've been reading the Ponderosa Creative blog for awhile (or even back when it was thewildsweetpea); you know how passionate I am about lifting up other female entrepreneurs, especially those in the fiber + textile arts industry. Here's the first installment in a series-- small scale creatives spotlight!
Recently, I found Emily Prescott on the explore tab on the good 'ol gram. I saw a picture of her moon phases wall hanging and fell in love... because, obviously, I'm obsessed with the moon. Emily continues to impress me with her attention to detail and the passion we share about reducing textile waste.
I'll let Emily tell you all about The Linen Closet:
Hi there! My name is Emily Prescott and I make quilts and other textile goods out of my home studio in Brooklyn. I also have a new business, The Linen Closet Textile Co., that you can shop later this month (ah!).
As an online shop, I’ll be selling made-to-order quilts and will also have a marketplace of smaller goods that are ready to ship at purchase. Whether it’s a great big blanket or a throw pillow, I’ll be trying to make products that are simple, useful, and the sorts of things that earn their spots in your linen closet (when not being used, of course). I’ve been doing commissions for a while, but this is my first tango with an online store.
Starting a business has pushed me as an artist and sharpened my design perspective in unexpected ways.
Here’s a little about that:
I’m a writer by design, instead of a designer by trade, having studied English and literature in college. Even after getting all tangled up in the weird and wonderful world of quilts, my instincts lean sharply toward narrative and language. Stories are central to the art you’ll find in my shop. Traditional quilts are laced with iconography from their makers’ lives and I’m keen to work that folklore into my own practice.
I guess that’s just to say that I’m all for telling simple stories through simple goods. I like working with grayscale neutrals, brown, indigo, cream, and a saturated color wheel to give pieces a classic feel. It’s also really important to me that my work is versatile and enduring in multiple ways.
A motto I came up with for myself is this: make pieces that last a lifetime at least. The price of bringing more fabric into the world is a big one, so I plan on repurposing my quilt scraps into smaller, practical goods: bags, coasters, pillows, and a few types of sustainable products. “Slow fashion” gets a lot of buzz in online crafting circles, but home goods create a ton of textile waste too.
If you’re interested in following along, or getting your hands on a handmade quilt, you can head over to @thelinencloset.textile.co on Instagram.
My store launches this Friday, July 19th! Woo! I also have a blog, The Field Journal, where I write about crafts, business, and all sorts of good stuff. You can find it here
Thanks for reading! I hope to see you around ☺
If you'd like to chat about submitting a blurb about your business for this blog series, please send me an email at hello@thewildsweetpea.com