She’s a real whirlwind of creativity, incorporating aspects of her Old World upbringing to design products for modern women's lives and homes.
Bella, her latest fabric collection for Windham Fabrics of Jersey City, N.J., features a color spectrum of gray, white and orange, plus imagery that evokes her Scandinavian heritage.
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| Large Tree in Poppy |
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| Ball and Leaves in Poppy |
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| Wide Stripes in Gray |
“I named this collection Bella because, to me, the word
expresses excitement and delight for pretty things and events in my life,” she
says.
Bolts of her new Bella fabrics – called “Ball & Leaves,”
“Wide Stripe” and “Large Tree Poppy” – recently arrived at Owl & Drum’s
midtown Tulsa store.
“I really liked the colors she uses,” said Bianca Howell,
the co-owner of Owl & Drum.
“I’ve always been a fan of Lotta Jansdotter. I have some of
her books and she inspires me to want to create. I think our customers will
like her fabrics as much as I do.”
Based in her Brooklyn, N.Y., studio/shop, she makes “things
of simple beauty that bring relief to the urban landscape (and her) designs are
like little plants working their way through cracks in the sidewalk,” according
to her website, www.jansdotter.com.
Jansdotter says her work is about her life, and life is her
inspiration, such as “exploring the beauty of everyday things – drinking coffee
from a pretty cup, writing notes on a hand-printed card, dressing your child in
the clothes you made.”
She was born in 1971 on Åland, a small group of islands in
the archipelago between Sweden and Finland in northern Europe.
And Jansdotter says her creative aesthetic is “deeply rooted” in the Scandinavian landscape
and the Swedish heritage of being
pragmatic and self-sufficient: if she can’t find what she wants, she makes it;
if she doesn’t know how, she learns it.
“I surround myself with colors and patterns at home and at
work,”she says. “My every-day items feel more creative and meaningful by using
fabrics, a few swift stitches and some dabs of glue.”
And Jansdotter took the basic craft skills she learned as a
child, such as potato printmaking and sewing, and developed them into modern,
sophisticated tools.
In addition to cool-looking fabrics, she designs and makes
stationary labels, stickers, notes and to-do’s, and a printing studio kit. She
also makes three types of candles (called Strim, Kvitt and Konralj) in
conjunction with Crash Candles of Chicago.
“Lotta’s designs may be steeped in artisan traditions and a
do-it-yourself spirit, but the homespun aspect ends there,” according to her
website.
“Her look is sleek and urban, and her products are created
for a busy city life. Her awareness, substance and instinctual sense of style
are perfectly suited for contemporary lifestyles. As is her generosity and sharing of knowledge.
“She plants
seeds and let others reap the benefits – because you always reap what you sew!”
Jansdotter has also created four books – Handmade Living,
Lotta Prints, Simple Sewing, and Simple Sewing For Baby – published by
Chronicle Books.
A ledger on her website features lots of free, fun crafting ideas for
around the home, for entertaining guests and for weekend breaks, such as a quick-sew picnic roll
that serves as a placemat and carry-all for utensils. She also hosts a few
workshops at her Brooklyn
studio/shop each year, plus online workshops.
For more details about Lotta and her products, visit www.jansdotter.com.
For more details about her newest fabric line, visit www.windhamfabrics.com
For more details about Owl & Drum – which stocks about
200 different bolts of fabric, unique handmade gifts, craft books and
equipment/supplies – visit www.owlanddrum.com,
call Bianca at 918-742-1404 or stop by our store at 2810 E. 15th St.
in midtown Tulsa, OK.
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