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: Shibori + Copper
Shibori dying, cotton textiles, homewares product line
Fair trade house and homewares product line for the Association for Craft Producers featuring Shibori dying techniques, copper lantern design, and holiday promotional designs.
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 these commercial copper, shibori, and holiday card lines that blend traditional craft with modern design and technology to suit market trends.
product development
shobori dying
textile design
card design
pattern design
copper tealight design
print design
exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum
part of the ACCelerate Festival
Client
Association for Craft Producers
Orthographically designed and meticulously hand-hammered, these copper tea lights elegantly merge functionality with cultural inspiration, drawing their distinct forms from the iconic Nepali "momo" dumpling and the serene beauty of the region’s lotus flowers. The sculptural quality of each tea light emphasizes organic contours and rhythmic symmetry, thoughtfully echoing the delicate folds and textures intrinsic to their culinary and botanical inspirations. The warm, hand-finished copper patina is a nod to their their artisanal charm and authenticity, as well as the timeless craftsmanship of ACP.
Each piece serves as both a functional object and a striking decorative accent, harmoniously connecting modern aesthetics with traditional motifs.
Shibori is an intricate Japanese resist-dyeing technique that involves folding, twisting, binding, stitching, or compressing fabric to create distinctive patterns. Unlike typical printing or digital design processes, Shibori's charm lies in its inherent unpredictability———each piece is uniquely marked by the interplay between precise technique and organic variation. This handcrafted quality inherently safeguards against plagiarism by larger competitors, as each textile bears a signature of individuality, making duplication through mechanized or mass production exceedingly difficult.
For ACP, traditional Nepali woodblocks were used within the Shibori process to achieve striking, geometrically intricate patterns unique to the fair trade organization. The woodblocks serve not only as resist agents that strategically limit dye penetration but also as precise molds that shape the fabric into consistent folds, resulting in repeated yet individually varied motifs. The sophisticated grayscale palette and the nuanced gradients exemplify the aesthetic depth of traditional Shibori———celebrating its artisanal authenticity and demonstrating precisely why such craftsmanship effectively resists imitation.
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.
Traditional Nepali block printing technique exemplifies an elegant interplay between heritage and craftsmanship, characterized by the meticulous carving of intricate motifs onto wooden blocks. Ink is applied to these relief surfaces and then carefully pressed onto handmade paper, transferring the design through deliberate yet gentle pressure. The handcrafted nature of these wooden blocks results in subtle variations and unique textures, making each print distinctive, authentic, and infused with artisanal charm.
Here, traditional Nepali woodblock printing is thoughtfully adapted to create a vibrant, cohesive collection of fair trade Valentine’s holiday cards. The classic red-and-white palette accentuates the charming simplicity of the block-printed hearts and polka-dot motifs. Abstraction is generated through repetition in order to create new, imaginative takes on Valentine’s Day. Each card showcases both precision and the delightful imperfections inherent in handmade processes, emphasizing artisanal authenticity. This thoughtfully curated set beautifully merges cultural tradition with contemporary festive aesthetics, promoting sustainability and ethical practice through its fair trade ethos.
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.