Today we leave our Australian shores and search faraway to find this week's Friday Followers.
Fellow screen-printers Janyce Boynton (left) & Christina Wentworth live in the beautiful state of Maine in the US and operate under the name of Madder Root. They create stylish eco-friendly home goods and accessories as you will discover. Read on:
1. Who is Madder Root and where does the name come from?
Madder Root is Janyce and Christina. It is also a type of natural dye and the name of Christina's dog.
2. What inspires you? Christina: I draw a lot of inspiration from my ever expanding collection of antique and ethnic textiles. I've collected pieces from my travels around the world and I love to stop in little shops and find new pieces. Janyce: The colors, textures, sights and sounds of the world around me. I walk a lot—and I love the immediacy of nature in the places I go. Maine has some pretty amazing places to explore with varying terrain. There is always something new to discover.
3. Where do you print and make your products?
Christina: Madder Root's home base is in my basement. We have large printing tables down there as well as storage for linen, inks, screens, and packaging. It's very cozy. Janyce: I work part-time from my house and part-time at Christina's. I've taken over the living room with my sewing supplies. We work from home to keep overhead costs low, but I'd love to see us in our own studio at some point. It would be nice to separate our work space from our living spaces.
4. Is Madder Root a full-time occupation for you?
Christina: No. I also work for the Art Department at the University of Maine. My job there is as a Print Technician. I'm lucky that between both of my jobs I get to work with a lot of different forms of printmaking which keeps me from burning out. It is fun to be able to translate an idea between screen printing, or lithography, or intaglio. Janyce: Yes. Full-time work with part-time pay. LOL! It's early days, yet, for Madder Root. I'd love to see the business grow to sustain both Christina and me. With the great response we've gotten so far from our wonderful customers, I can see it happening.
5. What do you like to do when you're not working on your business?
Christina: I'm currently renovating my house with salvage from a house from the 20's. I also love to garden, cook, and walk in the woods with my dog. Janyce: With a start-up business, it seems I'm either working on the business or thinking about new designs and products. It's an exciting time! I do enjoy baking, playing and singing music, hiking, volunteering for “Women, Work and Community” and being with family and friends.
6. Would you share something interesting about you that isn't common knowledge?
Christina: I met my fiancé while thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. Janyce: I saw a segment on “Craft in America” featured Jan Yager. She's a jeweler and visual artist working in Philedelphia, PA. She spoke of using objects in her pieces comprised of or inspired by objects found within a block of her studio. This concept resonated with me.
Since January 2010 I started taking a camera on my morning walks. There is so much to discover in old, familiar ground: the odd bits and pieces of people's lives and the changes that come about as the seasons pass. I've taken hundreds of pictures. Although I love the flowers and fence posts and other ordinary items I've photographed, one of my most favorite pictures is a chalk drawing that says, “Hi, my name is Ashley. I like to point out the obvious.” She went on to write “telephone pole” with an arrow pointing to the telephone pole, and “grass” with an arrow pointing to the grass, and the like. I love the irony of it and the impermanency of a stranger's chalk message now captured in a photograph.
Thank you ladies. You both have an interesting story to tell; I especially love that Christina's dog was named after a natural plant dye.
Please say hello to Janyce & Christina over at the Madder Root Blog and see more organic goodness at their Etsy Shop.
I'm going away for a much-needed little break today so will be back on Monday. Have a great weekend too!
Images are courtesy of Madder Root.
I scored big! My parents were our lunch guests recently when my mother presented me with her vintage Czech "Bohemia" blue jug set. 
Each piece is exquisitely hand-blown glass and hand-painted with 24 carat gold flowers. I had told my mother a little while ago that I really wanted this set to remember her by one day... so I was a little teary when she surprised me with it as a house-warming gift.
I'm not sure where this set originated from as I had bought it from a little 2nd-hand dealer in Mississauga, Canada a few years ago but was told at that time that it was Russian but who knows? I believe that it is also painted with gold.
