Introducing The Stone Jug Fall Tea Towel

Autumn in the Hudson Valley is a heady display of leaf colors and early morning mist. It’s a magical show that nature puts on and easy to find inspiration at every turn. This time last year, my friend, Gail Bryson came for a visit and we took walks picking fall leaves together. Gail, who is also a designer and worked with me for the last 21 years on various DIANI projects (including our branding for my new homeware label, The Stone Jug), took the leaves back to her studio in London and turned them into a pattern that we printed onto linen tea towels. I’m excited to introduce my newest collaboration, and a glimpse into the process of creating The Stone Jug Fall Tea Towel...

Fall at our farmhouse brings an abundance of leaves in all shapes, sizes and colors. There is inspiration around every corner, so it's no surprise that a foraging walk around our property quickly turned into a creative project. Gail, Jeffrey and I collected a variety of leaves – from birch, maple and ginkgo, to oak and hornbeam. 

This country road is a short walk from our house, and this time of year is an absolutely beautiful spot for a fall stroll. The colors are vibrant and there are so many leaf species to identify. After gathering, Gail then dried out and pressed a selection into a magazine, and when she returned to her studio in London, she pressed them for another six months. 

When the leaves were dry and fully pressed, Gail spread them all out and scanned in her favorite ones – again selecting a good mix of shapes, sizes and species. She kept them life size and played around with composition within the print guidelines and size of the final tea towel. She wanted the leaves to look like they had fallen on the ground as they would in nature.

Gail converted the file for printing and selected the print color. We opted for cranberry red as it fits with fall season and lasts well into the Christmas holidays. It also looks beautiful on the natural linen we were printing on. 

Nature has always been a big inspiration for me, but even more so since seeing fall in Upstate New York. This versatile tea towel has become a staple in our kitchen and will continue to be as we head into the holiday season. A big thank you to my friend, Gail for partnering in this project and so many others. I can't wait to see what we come up with next.