Geometry and Geography Unite To Celebrate California
Author:Sarah Virginia WhiteHopewell is a name possessing multiple meanings: For quilter Eliza Kenan, it’s the small town where she swam in the quarries every summer as a child; for painter Claire Oswalt, it’s the perfect mantra, stringing together two positive words; historically, it also describes the trading culture between Native American tribes along North American waterways. It’s a fitting choice, then, as the name of a textile company that combines the complementary talents of Kenan and Oswalt, who founded Hopewell Workshop out of their Los Angeles homes in 2012.
The longtime girlfriends bonded over “crafternoons” before forming a business plan, and the result is a collection of modern, color-blocked quilts showcasing Kenan’s angular patterns and Oswalt’s watercolor-painted fabrics. In this California piece, a mosaic of painted polka dots and geometric edges references the state’s varying environments (a bright red square represents energetic, industrial LA and a cool blue triangle stands in for Lake Tahoe). “You can drive five hours and be in a completely different world,” says Kenan. That diversity is at the heart of California culture as well as the duo’s brand. The signature blue-and-white binding that finishes this 40-by-50-inch quilt is a nod to yet another symbol of creative exchange—the design on international airmail envelopes.
This was originally published in California Home + Design’s Winter 2014 issue. Click here to subscribe.
