It’s officially fall, and here in Seattle that means the rain and clouds are back after a warm, dry summer. Here at Of The Earth, we’re experiencing the rainy day blues in a more positive way – inspiration!
“Into each life some rain must fall.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This collection of our lotka paper, handmade in Nepal, fits right in with the mood and weather we’re having. This is a lightweight paper with many decorative and artistic uses, including wrapping gifts.
Seattle Blues Lotka paper collection
Any discussion of color and mood would be incomplete without mentioning our Earth Silk Ribbon. These hand dyed, rich colors pull me right into a relaxed, rainy-day attitude.
Our seed paper cloud shapes are available in a variety of our seeded and petal papers, with or without printing. You can also create a custom design to be printed on them for your business or event.
In ancient Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of a rainbow. She makes a rainbow bridge to travel between the heavens and waters below to fetch drinks for the gods in Olympus. The freedom to travel between these worlds allows her to be the messenger, the communicator between mortals and immortals. Folks usually ‘wish upon a star,’ but next time I see a rainbow, I’ll give my hopes to Iris so she can carry them where they need to be heard.
Speaking of rainbows and communication, I think of Lori Graham as our very own ‘Iris in Residence.’ She’s our color impresario, the master dyer and co-owner of Of The Earth. She creates glorious rainbows of ribbons using sustainable practices. She obsesses about shades, and recently I took an opportunity to speak with her about color.
Q: Lori, besides the lovely ribbons of cotton and silk for Of The Earth, do you dye other materials?
Lori: Yes, I used to dye wool and cotton fabric using natural and chemical dyes.
Q: What were your favorite colors when you were younger?
Lori: When I was young, it was pink pink pink! Pink duvet, bedspread, pink lace – all pink – all the time. Then in my early twenties, lots of black. Now it’s orange.
Earth Silk Color 089Earth Silk Color 053Earth Silk ribbon adorns a bridesmaid dressEarth Silk Color 099Earth Silk Color 092
Q: When new Pantone colors are released, do you generally agree with their trend sense?
Lori: I am interested in their bridal color forecast. That’s what I pay attention to because that’s what my clients will ask for. But I’m not always jazzed about the Pantone forecast and dread the “muted” or ambiguous tones that I’ll need to develop. For example, ‘seafoam’ (324, 324-5, 534, or 515?) and ‘merlot’ (093, 030, 247-5, or 232-5?) Both can be imagined in so many different ways.
Q: What is the most difficult color to achieve?
Lori: Right now I would have to say it’s “warm black.”
Earth Silk Color 079Earth Silk Color 241
Black is a finicky mixture of colors and achieving the subtle differences in black shades is more of an art than a science. You’ve probably seen how when bleach splashes on black clothes, you get a lighter blotch, but it’s not grey or “pale black.” You may see a green, purple, orange, or blue blotch.
Lori continues: Regardless of ingredient inconsistencies, we are determined to create true colors for our clients. In the past, ‘warm black’ may have been a two step process. But more alterations and futzing is required when the original ingredients are different. So, we keep copious notes and are constantly working to ensure that our shades match our swatches. Our colors are definitely a secret recipe!
Q: Do you dream in color, and when you dress up to go out, what is your happiest celebration color?
Lori: Yes, I definitely dream in color and I feel best wearing the colors of a candle’s flame: red, bright orange, fiery yellow and teal blue of the hottest part.
At the end of winter, a petite curly haired woman came into our shop looking for special paper to print her friend’s painting onto. It was an image of Fairy Glen in Scotland. She planned to use the image in her wedding invitation.
Printed silk ribbon
While she found our lotka seeded cardstock to be perfect for her project, she was also enchanted by the idea of using our hand dyed ribbons for a #handfasting ceremony. I told her that we can even print her and her fiance’s names on the ribbon. I hope we see her in the shop again soon because that would be a fun project.
Hand dyed silk satin ribbon with holiday message
The green and gold ribbon image was posted in Pinterest by Studio Chavelli, one of our customers. It features hand-calligraphy for a bouquet. The pink and red images are printed here in our shop. So you can get a custom message printed in black or white.
You are welcome to come visit our shop in Seattle and find inspiration for your next celebration.
Here are some links to details about #FairyGlen and #Handfastings. Handfasting Fairy Glen
my favorite ribbon color 076Ardis Burr surrounded by ribbons
Hello, my name is Ardis and I’m the newest staff member making fabulous things for you here at Of The Earth. A lifelong crafter, I consider this my “unicorn job:” being surrounded by rainbows of silk ribbons, luscious and soft handmade paper, and bright graphic printed papers from Asia. I began training here in October and am excited to see what this Spring’s “wedding season” will bring. Owners Kevin and Lori promise it will be a whirlwind ride – and we’re ready for it! I look forward to helping fiancés and their families find the perfect combination of sustainable and beautiful items to celebrate their special days.
The ribbon I’m holding is my current favorite, 076. It makes me think of city lights at night, a fast roadway, and dramas set in downtown Chicago.
It is long past time to be sharing these photos that have been inspirational to our brides.
We have had the great fortune of having our paper and ribbon goods featured on many talented designers, artists and photographers Instagram feeds. While we have our own feeds (ote_seattle, and of_the_earth) they really don’t hold a candle to the creative skills shown in the photos we have seen.
What we have planned here is to share with you the many photos with proper attribution.
If you do end up sharing these with your friends and family, please be sure to give the appropriate nod or mention of the original group of skilled individuals so their work is not in vain.
Lotka Seed Paper Invitation – Letter and Line Studio
Styling: @bixbayandpine Photo: @toniechristine Original post: @letterandlinestudio
Florals: Moelleux Events
Silk Ribbon: Of The Earth Florals: @moelleux_events Photographer: @alyssaryanphotography
Floral design by Smashing Petals Hand dyed silk ribbon by Of The Earth
With the new year comes one of our favorite events, The Seattle Wedding Show. The creative energy has been flowing in our studio and we have designed some beautiful new invitation suites and hand dyed silk ribbon colors for the upcoming wedding season. Stop by our booth to take a sneak peak or visit our updated website. Now mobile friendly!
http://www.custompaper.com
6 x 9 handmade seeded paper wrap with belly band and poppy5 x 7 recycled panel with handmade paper print5 x7 handmade seeded paper panel with queen anne’s lace2.5″ hand dyed, cream and gold, bias cut silk ribbon
Seattle Wedding Show
Washington State Convention & Trade Center
705 Pike Street, 4th Floor
Seattle, WA 98101 Of The Earth booth #1124
Saturday January 14th, 2017
10:00am to 5:30pm (ticket sales open at 9:30am)
Sunday January 15th, 2017
10:30am to 5:00pm (ticket sales open at 10:00am)
Tickets are $17.00 per person and can be purchased at the door.
Children twelve and under are admitted free.
Come to the show Saturday, get your hand stamped on the way out, and come back Sunday for FREE.
You should head on over to WeddingSparrow.com to have a look at the beautiful photos taken in Vantage, Washington. The setting was stunning and the details were amazing.
You will wish it was the setting for your event.
We were honored to be a small part of the day and are delighted with how it turned out.
Lots of talent and hard work went into making this happen.
So we were contacted by Allann and Sage from Belle Soul Weddings about our silk ribbon. After determining what they needed we sent what we thought would work best for their shoot. Please tune in here for the amazing results!
Today is the fourth and final day of the annual sewing and stitchery show at the Washington State Fair Grounds. We are wrapping up our first time exhibiting at this unique event. The last time I was at the fairgrounds was as a newlywed visiting the 1995 Puyallup Fair (since renamed the Washington State Fair). The scones, oh my the scones. These amazing treats have been a part of the Fair since 1910 and I was happy to enjoy a warm one yesterday. Twenty years ago Lori and I had just started our marriage and business. Today finds us with a maturing business (and marriage) and thousands of dollars in hand dyed silks at a sewing show. Next year we will be better prepared with small project kits for silk flower making and fabric embellishments.
Our silk customers have recommended this show for years and now we know why! With over 30,000 paid attendance we were happy to find the aisles full of crafty customers.
The Sewing and Stitchery Expo SewExpo is the largest consumer sewing show in America. There are more than 100 daily seminars, workshops and shows. There are over 400 booths packed with tools, supplies and fabrics.
I spoke to attendees from South Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, California and Texas. I saw a license plate in the parking lot from Tennessee!
You can buy a four day pass for $40 or visit one day for $12 to see a non-stop series of demos on the Free Stage and fashion models on the Expo Runway. The daily hands-on classes always draw a crowd as participants learn a new technique and leave with a finished project.
We hope that if you found us there this year you will be back for more silk ribbon next year and if you have not attended this event before you will come see what all the fuss is about.
