Associate Professor
University of Notre Dame
Designer, artist, and scholar working at the intersection of visual communication design, critical fabulation, and media aesthetics.
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Association for Craft Producers: Nepali Nautical Line
Cotton textiles and homewares product line
Fair trade house and homewares product line for the Association for Craft Producers featuring the repeating motif of reimagined local Nepali nepallo boats.
Concept
Working for the fair trade organization Association for Craft Producers on-site in Kathmandu, Nepal, this line was developed to sell products for the not-for-profit company. While providing design, marketing, creative strategy, and technical services to low-income Nepali craft producers, I also created this commercial linen line that blends traditional craft with modern design and technology to suit market trends.
product development
wood block
screen printing
pattern design
sewing
embroidery
exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum
part of the ACCelerate Festival
Client
Association for Craft Producers
From the backs of 19th century French sailors to Ralph Lauren runways, "nautical" never goes out of style. Inspired by the lake town of Pokhara: a Nepali city, overlooked by the Himalayas, that serves as a base for hikers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit and Mt. Everest; this line draws inspiration from the boats docked in Phewa Lake.
As Nepal is a land-locked country, the iconic Pokhara boats are an opportunity to develop a national nautical motif that sources the tradition, history, and aesthetics of one of the most well-known bodies of water in Nepal.
For this line, I created multiple woodblocks for versatile printing, a weave pattern consisting of traditional and contemporary colors, ceramic bowls and dishes, and homeware goods. The line was expanded from textiles into home, kitchen, and garden.
The Association for Craft Producers is a Fair Trade Organization in Nepal that supports low-income artisans with design, marketing, and technical services. Designs blend traditional craft with modern aesthetics to offer a flexible program for creative collaboration.
Part of the Association for Craft Producers’ mission is to provide various benefits and programs for the welfare of their workers, in addition to conservation of the environment.
Learn more about the Association for Craft Producers here.