I am so excited to let you know that I’m heading back to Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program May 10 – 12, 2024, to teach a block printing class. I hope you’ll join me! In this class, I’ll be teaching students how to carve and print with blocks and will also dive into […]
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Up now through February 4, 2024, at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City, is A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes. This exhibit is an absolute must-see for any lover of weaving, textiles, or just good design. Dorothy Liebes was a prolific and influential designer whose work was revolutionary in […]
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This fall, our team is busy with a lot of events happening. We always add everything to the Design Pool events page, but since so much is happening this fall, I wanted to make sure you don’t miss anything. First up, the Printing United Expo. Kristen is heading to Atlanta for the three-day Printing United […]
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Despite having lived in New England for most of my adult life, it took listening to a podcast from an English journalist to learn about a unique group of designers living on the North Shore of Massachusetts. If you’re a textile maker, enthusiast, or someone who loves a well-researched story, you may already be familiar […]
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You really never know when inspiration is going to strike. For Kristen, reading a book about codes launched an entire series of work, both in her professional life and personal life. She designed the award-winning Cryptology Collection, creating patterns with coded messages. She also began working with codes in her needle punch artwork, especially during […]
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Now on view in Stamford Art Association, the 42nd Faber Birrin National Color Show. Kristen has one piece on view in this exhibit, Color Study in Gray. The Stamford Art Association has been presenting this exhibit every year since 1980. On their website, they describe the inspiration for the show. “The exhibit honors Faber Birren, […]
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You’re invited! Join me in May 2023 at Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program to learn the art of needle punch. I first learned needle punch on a trip to Scotland. Ever since, I continue to create unique pieces, many of which have been exhibited in galleries around the United States. This year, I […]
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Design Pool’s Kristen Dettoni and Kristin Crane are excited to be a part of Common Thread: A Fiber Arts Show. Presented by Geneva Center for the Arts, this exhibit highlights the work of eight east coast artists working in fiber. The gallery describes the show as an exhibition focused “on diverse fiber-based work, inspired by […]
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We are excited to inform you about three exhibits this fall featuring the original art by Design Pool’s founder, Kristen Dettoni, and Director of Marketing Kristin Crane. If you are local to Rhode Island or Geneva, Illinois, we hope you’ll stop in to view one of these shows or attend an opening. Text Pawtucket Arts […]
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The Handweavers Guild of America is hosting Convergence, its International Fiber Arts Conference, in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 15 – 21, 2022. Convergence 2022 is an event hosted every other year full of workshops, lectures, tours, exhibits, competitions, and more. It is also a place for the fiber arts community to come together. Attendees build community while […]
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In the spring of 2022, I joined a group of thirteen women on a Local Flora Field Guides trip to Holland. The trip was led by Kimberly Becker, Lauren Pignatello, and Susan Becker with the goal of experiencing the country while learning about the local flora and creating field guides. Each of the three hosts […]
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This spring, I had the opportunity to participate as an artist in residence at Snow Farm, The New England Craft Program in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, for two weeks. It was the first time since graduate school that I had an extended period devoted solely to being creative. There were no limitations or requirements. I spent two […]
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As winter loosens its grip on New England, our team was feeling the need for an inspiration day. Our small team works remotely, separated by about 90 miles. Technology makes it easy, but it’s nice to have real-life face time every couple of months. I had just spent two weeks on Kauai and was feeling […]
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For a lot of creative people, traveling can be a huge source of inspiration. Different scenes, smells, and sounds all heighten your senses and seem to open the door to new ideas. Once home, how can we take that inspiration and use it in our work? I recently got back from two weeks on Kauai, […]
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On a recent visit to North Carolina, I visited the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh to see their exhibit Alphonse Mucha: Art Nouveau Visionary. This exhibit is on display through January 23, 2022. When I lived in North Carolina in the 1990s, this museum was one of my favorite spots to visit for […]
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Textile lovers in the northeast should absolutely add a visit to the Montclair Museum of Art to their holiday break to-do list. Their featured exhibit, Color Riot! How Color Changed Navajo Textiles closes on January 2, 2022. This exhibit, which originally opened at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, is a breathtaking collection of Navajo (Diné) […]
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I recently attended a reunion for graduates of Cranbrook Academy of Arts who studied under Gerhardt Knodel in the fiber program. I graduated in the class of 1993 and attended the reunion with one of my classmates and good friend, Paula Stebbins Becker. Paula and I decided to use the reunion as an excuse to […]
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You’re invited to join Design Pool at Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath, Maine for Eight, an art exhibit featuring eight fiber artists from across the country. In this exhibition, each artist has created eight pieces of art, each measuring 8×8. Design Pool’s Kristen Dettoni and Kristin Crane are both participating. Kristen Dettoni is showing […]
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Don’t miss your chance to see (or buy) pieces of art created by Design Pool team members at the Sprinkler Factory. “In Tandem: An exhibition of Counterparts” is currently on display at the Sprinkler Factory in Worcester, Massachusetts, until July 10. The exhibition features the work of 110 regional artists. According to the curators, each […]
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Is there anything more frustrating than a creative block? At best they make you feel like you’ve wasted valuable time. At worst they can make you question all your life choices. When you make a living off your creativity, feeling blocked can be more than a nuisance. It can cause a lot of anxiety. Yet, […]
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“I have to find a light somewhere,” thought Luise Stromberg as spring turned to summer in 2020. Like most of us, Luise was spending most of her time home and was searching for a creative spark to get her through the dark time we were all experiencing. So, she turned to a passion of hers, […]
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Anni Albers is best known for her time in the weaving workshop at the Bauhaus in Germany and later as a teacher at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. But that is only half of her story. In 1950, she and her husband Josef moved to Connecticut when Josef accepted a job at Yale University. […]
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Our latest trend letter is all about natural materials. Wicker, rattan and cane are catching our eye on modern pieces, geometric lighting and even with loud pops of color. Natural materials are inspiring products even in the automotive industry. But, natural materials are also extending into textiles and not just in fiber form. Natural dyes […]
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Artists and designers from across disciplines often have something in common, a daily creative practice. It makes sense. Art takes work, practice, and most of all, time. Whether you make art for your job, your hobby, or your side hustle, the need to create is competing for your time with everything else in your life. […]
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If you’re not careful, work-from-home life can easily turn into work-all-the-time life. Spending more time at home, have you found yourself working more? At Design Pool, we’re definitely guilty of it. That’s why we’ve been so inspired lately by friends giving themselves the time for creativity. We’re particularly loving those with a daily creative practice. […]
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2019 has been an exciting year for anyone who appreciates the women of the Bauhaus. Around the world, museums have been installing exhibits that celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany in 1919. From a vast retrospective of Anni Albers at the Tate Modern in London to The Bauhaus and Harvard, a […]
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Georgia O’Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1917 and said later, “From then on, I was always trying to get back there.” New Mexico can have that effect on people. The big sky, the clear air, the piñon trees dotting the landscape, it’s no wonder so many artists flock to New Mexico. And then keep […]
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