Block & Brayer

Hello! I am sorry I have been slacking but between the shop and the new website it has been very busy!

My friend, Allison Harper, from LuLu Interiors came in today and showed me some new fabrics that she is carrying.  Her friend from Athens is making them.  I was so impressed I decided I had to blog about them. 
Check out her post from Lulu interiors Blog.  If you are interested please contact Allison Harper.

Block and Brayer

 I am very excited to introduce my friend's new fabric line:

BLOCK and BRAYER by Hollis McFadden

A little bit about Hollis:
"Hollis McFadden designs and block prints one of a kind textiles for Block and Brayer. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas and is now settled in Athens, Georgia with her husband, Andrew, and their dogs, Scout, Mack, and Tuxley.
From a young age, Hollis was encouraged to explore her creative nature, making art a cornerstone in her life. Hollis studied drawing and painting at the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. While abroad in Italy, she took her first printmaking class. Right away, her heart was captured by the process.
Each pattern is designed, carved, and printed by Hollis in her studio. In a time when most textiles are machine made, Hollis loves that block printing is a hands-on process, putting thought and care into everything that she makes. Her understanding of color and design allows Hollis to create textiles with rich hues and fresh motifs. The end result is a family of textiles where each piece is a unique, hand-made, labor of love."

 
A little bit about this wonderful fabric:
"Our goal is to create textiles for the home that are beautiful, durable, and responsible. Each of Block and Brayer’s designs is hand block printed on hemp linen with environmentally friendly ink.
We encourage our textiles to be used. Our textiles are machine washable!
Hemp linen is one of the oldest, strongest, and greenest fabrics. Though extremely durable, it still has a soft hand. When treated properly, hemp linen will last a lifetime.
The printing ink that Block and Brayer uses is non-toxic and easy on the environment. The colors will stay rich and vibrant even after multiple washes."
I love that they are machine washable!

So, HOW... 
...does she create these beautiful fabrics?
 
"Block and Brayer’s fabric is designed, carved, and hand block printed by Hollis McFadden in her Athens, Georgia studio.
Block printing is one of the oldest forms of textile design. At Block and Brayer, we love creating modern designs with such an old technique.
It all starts with a drawing. Block and Brayer’s designs are inspired from trees, old books, bugs, household objects; pretty much anything that has unique beauty. A printing block is carved using the drawing. The block gets inked with a rubber brayer and pressed on the fabric using a roller. This process is repeated until the fabric has transformed from a blank canvas to a beautiful design.
It is slow process, but the end result is something that cannot be imitated by any other printing method. You can always see the artist’s touch. Each piece is truly unique."
 


 This one is my favorite, it was a wedding gift from Hollis and Andrew.  This pattern was made with a dye removal technique where Hollis free-handed her design on a taupe colored linen, removing the fabric's dye to create the pattern.  It works perfectly to spruce up the orange love seat in one of our family room sitting areas!

Click here to visit the Block and Brayer website.  View different patterns and see the large selection of colors.  The fabric can either be purchased by the yard or as ready-made pillows.  Contact Hollis at info@blockandbrayer.com for more information.



Let me know what yall think!
Nancy