Merchant Spotlight • Woodsia
One of the great joys of running a community-centered business is getting to know and work with the myriad creative makers and crafters who reside in our region and make up our merchant base. This quarterly post spotlights some of these talented folks and their inspiring, nourishing, creative endeavors.
One of our newest merchant partners is Woodsia, owned and operated by Kristin Twigg, a designer and screen-printer based on Lopez Island. Kristin’s designs are inspired by native plants of the San Juan Islands and surrounding Pacific Northwest wilderness. In her greenhouse studio, she prints her designs on linen kitchen towels and napkins as well as fabric she sews into bags, pouches, pillows and scarves with the help of her daughter and mother.
A greenhouse studio
Kristin is self-taught in screen printing
Freshly printed dishtowels hang to dry
How long have you been in business and how did you learn your craft?
I have been in business for 11 years. I was an art major in school but focused on painting. Growing up, arts and crafts were everywhere in our house. We screen-printed our holiday cards and I always loved the productive assembly line process. My mother taught me to sew early on. If I found something I liked in a store her answer was inevitably, ‘we can make that!’ I taught myself how to screen-print fabric properly after my second child was born and I realized painting botanicals and portraits wasn’t going to work for me as a career and a mom. I checked out books from the library and watched you tube videos, but mostly I just learned by trial and error. It’s a pretty simple process.
Nature Inspired
Kristin draws inspiration for her designs from the natural plant life surrounding her island studio and home in the Pacific Northwest.
She uses only natural fabrics - linen and organic cotton - for her dishtowels and napkins and prints with non-toxic, water-based inks.
What is the guiding principle/mission of your business?
In my designs I aim to be true to the shapes of nature around me, while keeping my designs relatively simple so the essential details of the plants can be appreciated. I look outside for my color and design choices. I am constantly working to restrain the impulse to make things more complicated than they need to be.
Share your favorite or best-selling product in your shop. Why is it a favorite?
Swirly Kelp linen dishtowel is a customer favorite.
My new Swirly Kelp kitchen towel is my favorite product. I made it on the 10th anniversary of my business to celebrate 10 years and my very first design - another kelp design, which had been my top selling design every single year until the swirly kelp came into being and stole the title!
(We fell in love with this design, too, and offer it in both our Salish Coast Select curated gift box and our Build-a-Box store.)
In what ways, big or small, do you apply sustainability in your business practices?
Sustainability is very important to me. I only print on natural fabrics - usually linen, sometimes organic cotton, and my inks are non-toxic water based inks. I look for Oeko-Tex or GOTS certification when buying fabrics. When I mess up a print I always find some part of it that is still usable so that I can cut it up and sew it into a smaller item. I save the fabric waste for stuffing or other projects.
What is your favorite place to spend time in the region? Why is it special to you?
Kristin’s Lopez Island artist’s oasis
I rarely leave my little island paradise. My family loves to sail the waters around Lopez, visit the beautiful beaches, and spend time outside on our farm.
Where can customers find you, and what are some ways they can show their support?
You can find me every weekend from mid-May through mid-September at the Lopez Island Farmers Market. I also sell and ship my goods from my website woodsia.com. My towels can be found on Lopez Island at Chimera Gallery, Blossom Grocery and Barn Owl Bakery, on Shaw Island at the General Store, on Orcas Island at Crow Valley Gallery, and in Friday Harbor at Salty at Heart. I sell and ship my goods from my website, as well.
Thank you for your support!
Gratitude to Woodsia and Kristin for her contributions to our business and our greater community and for her stewardship of the planet we all share.