We are proud to introduce our new Woodgrain Collection, completely designed and hand-printed by Senior stitcher Brieann Tracey! While discussing the collection and its eventual release, Brie spoke about a number of the factors and issues that she came across along journey from initial thoughts to executed design.....
"So the woodgrain collection was born about 6 months ago. I started the drawing, which was about 11 inches by about 3 for each panel, and there are two panels. I drew it so that the lines of the grain lined up with the end of the other panel, so that essentially you could take the two pieces lengthwise, and have one continuous wood panel. Then I blew it up in photoshop and had Awesome Dudes make my silk screen for me."
"At first, I experimented on printing whatever I had on hand: living room curtains, a Softpack i made for myself, my bathing suit, a big wall piece on canvas for the Fabric Horse shop, more canvas for a home made ottoman for the living room, tee shirts for an art show. I even "framed" a map i printed with the woodgrain and stuck little copper tacks in parts of it so it looked more like real wood."
"When I think about where it all came from, I think of the work that led up to it. For a few years I had been working on prints that were versions of animals or just nature in general: tiny paisley birds, big gold leafed paisley hammerhead sharks , octopi, etc. I am very interested in shapes that occur naturally, and I think that woodgrain is such a unique and beautiful pattern. It is never the same; it's very complex. It even ages and becomes more entangled in itself as time goes on."
"I thought that that wood grain pattern would look good on a lot things, everything I mentioned above and more. If i were versed on how to do upholstry, i would have a wood grain couch. In the meantime, i plan on doing another drawing of different grain and making some one of a kind hoodies."
"After making my Softpack with the woodgrain print, I thought that that would be a nice option for people to be able to order it from R.E.Load. I collaborated with a friend for his bag; he designed the flap and I printed the pockets and base for him (bag pictured here)
"Once we all decided the collection should happen for real, I just stuck with colors that were pretty natural. I love bags that are pretty much monochromatic and just have different shades of the same color, or at least are in the same family. I am more of a warm color person i think, and that is also what makes me choose the colors that I do. I also have a funny habit of trying to make or relate things to food. For example, an all brown and tan woodgrain bag might look like a peanut butter cup or some sort of chocolate cake to me, and that makes it more enjoyable for me to look at...which in turn makes it a more desirable bag to have...ha!"
The series is slated to have at least two color ways - you can check them out on our site as we speak - and we are going to spread them across the whole range of models. So don't worry if you don't see the specific model you're looking for right away. We should be rolling out the rest of the range by late August. Subsequent models will feature full printed flaps to go along with the printed pockets.
