Recap: 10/4/16
Hosted by LWD member Susanna Hohmann at Terrazign
Invited Guest:
Dee Clements – Artist / Designer / Weaver / Business Owner of Chicago-based company Studio Herron
http://www.sightunseen.com/2015/08/dee-clements-of-chicagos-herron-studio/
Recently named one of Metropolis Magazine’s New Talent 2016:
Dee shared how she cultivates a strong design and art practice while collaborating with large companies like CB2, Land of Nod, and Room and Board and how her background in painting and sculpture eventually led her to weaving and textiles.
She discussed her attention to color palette and how her relationship to composition employs a design philosophy that she calls the 90% / 10% ratio.
Dee came to Portland via Joshua Tree where she led a recent symposium at Andrea Zittel’s art and design compound A-Z West. The goal of the symposium was to draw inspiration and skills between different textile artists and also discuss new ways to bring a new skill set to the local community.
The A-Z West weaving studio also serves as an annual residency for Dee to test out new ideas and concepts.
http://practicestudies.com/blog/2016/10/12/a-z-west
Dee starts ideas and designs by sketching in a grided sketch book. Often she finds herself revisiting old sketch books as well and bringing unrealized ideas from the past to the table.
Dee discussed the three facets of her business: Licensing design work for national companies like CB2, high-end custom work and developing her own design line within her personal ethos.
Studio Herron’s textile line is deeply rooted in the idea of material transparency and traceability. Dee has created a textile collection that embodies a local living economy; where fiber farmers, weaver, dyer, stitcher all work together around a project or product that sustains community and builds heritage around heirloom quality small manufacturing.
Studio Herron’s textile line also works closely with Chicago based The Weaving Mill
Studio Herron has created many custom commissions, most notably for Freehand Hotel in Chicago.
Studio Herron has licensed many designs. Most recently with CB2 and The Land of Nod. This process has opened her mind to what it is like to work overseas with weaving cooperatives in India where she traveled to meet the people that work to bring the rugs into production.
Artists that inspire Dee’s work:
Richard Diebenkorn – American painter
Eileen Gray – Irish furniture designer and architect in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s
Agnes Martin – Painter
Jason Collingwood – Weaver
**all images by Studio Herron and by Marta Sasinowska
League Of Women Designers 