dermond peterson
i've long been a fan of the design studio of dermond peterson and, after doing a little research this morning, found that they haven't gotten the online coverage they deserve for such beautiful work. founded in 2001 by sisters, sandra dermond and susan peterson, dermond peterson design produces gorgeous linens that bring such a freshness to the market that they're almost impossible to over praise. their commitment to beautiful linens, colors and patterns, coupled with their dedication to quality, is really spectacular (especially in an industry where people can skimp on the quality sometimes). i'm the proud owner of a dermond peterson artichoke tea towel, but when i discovered their table runner line this week i knew i had another purchase on the way.
the wonderful thing about the dermond peterson collection is its unique block-cut print patterns that combine an almost child-like playfulness with a sophisticated color palette and pattern selection. every item is block-printed by hand in their studios in milwaukee, wisconsin on top-quality linen and cotton fabric using environmentally sensitive, water-based inks . you can even wash them (in the washer, not by hand) and not have to worry about fading, color-bleeding or damage to the linens. i've used mine as my kitchen towel for a while now and can't get enough of the beautiful patterns and bold colors they use. my favorites are the sardine, gingkos (that runner is to die for), mussels and artichoke styles, but you can't go wrong with a single design. you can browse their entire collection right here and find a retailer near you right here. i use todd and holland to buy my dermond peterson goods (prices are quite reasonable, about $15 for a hand towel). enjoy and here's to another great business creating beautiful things by hand!
[don't forget there's project runway dirt being dished below!]
Labels: textiles
posted by design*sponge @ 27.7.06
13 Comments:
I adore textiles too.
Judith
These are really beautiful and very different from what I've seen for some time. I find you kind of gravitate to them :)
I love this. Different but still modern- a nice find, D*S.
Rob
these are lovely! simple & beautiful..
great colors! love the artichoke!
Once again you've found the most amazing table linens! I agree with poppy - the artichoke print is sooooo great! what a gorgeous tabletop that would make :)
Am I the only person to notice they copied both Twenty2 and Lotta Jansdotter?
jamie
wanna offer up some proof?
thanks, otherwise we'll just let your accusation stand unsubstantiated and ignore it. it really bugs me when people feel like it's cool to just say "oh so and so just copied someone else..." without any clear proof.
d*s
Hi Grace,
First I'm not trying to be "cool" by appreciating good design and thinking people should respect other people's hard work and original designs.
Their Ginko print looks like a replica of Twenty2's ginko print from their original collection. The onion slice print looks amazing similar to Lotta Jansdotter's design. That's all I'm saying.
And I don't think you should be so quick to judge when someone is just trying to leave a comment. I just wanted to see what people thought - not trying to step on any sensitive design toes.
Thanks,
Jaime
jaime
to make an accusation that someone copied from someone is serious and deserves to be backed up by facts. to question someone's work is not a light "stepping on someone's design toes" thing. it's a serious thing to say and i take it that way. if you put your life's work into something and someone felt free to dismiss it with a casual "this is copied from so and so" without clear facts than i think it's a statement that person needs to defend. i'm not even friends with dermond peterson but i would be bothered if someone thought it was ok to do that so casually.
this website has allowed me to me so, so many small designers who work hard to do work that is original and little things like people accusing them of copying can really effect their business. i'm not saying your comment will necessary do anything to them. but there have been cases of copying accusations left by readers of this site effecting a company in the print press. so i take copying comments seriously.
to address your design critiques- the ginko pattern has actually been used dozens of times over in design pre-twenty2, so that's why i felt it was an inaccurate comparison. if you'd like examples please feel free to email me and we can continue this discussion. i'm happy to back up my side of the story, too.
i hope you understand why i take this so seriously. when people hear that someone thinks a company copied something they often don't look for evidence, but instead decide to stop supporting that company or just write them off as copiers. i try my best to make sure that people provide evidence for their claims so that people don't blindly believe everything that's printed. it might be silly to do that in the first place but it's happened many times over on this blog and been printed in the print press that people think a certain company is copying when in fact there's little evidence to support that.
i'm not trying to attack you, but the point of this site is to support artists as much as possible and i feel like accusations of copying should be taken very, very seriously.
d*s
As an independent designer I applaud Ms. Sponge's desire to protect any designer from false accusations. I can personally attest to having been called a "copier" and then having that brought up in interviews with magazines and other blogs. Even though no one thought the comparison between my work and the other party's work were applicable it still managed to follow me wherever I went for a while. You have no idea how much it hurts to be called a "copycat" especially my someone who thinks it's ok to do that casually. This business eats people up on a daily basis and we need all the support we can get. If someone copies by all means point it out with detailed explanation, but don't just go willy nilly calling people copiers because someone's work vaguely resembles another artist's work. Sometimes similar motifs appear in everyone's work during a trend and that doesn't make us all copiers. Take the bird trend, does that make everyone who used birds a copier?
Sincerely,
A concerned artist
Hi Grace,
I guess we can just leave it at you have your opinion and I have mine. I am a supporter of independent designers, and have in fact contacted some when I felt their designs were being used without permission.
In those cases, their prints were being used by large, mainstream clothing stores. I do not feel bad bringing this up to the designers or on this blog. I expect as a customer and as a designer that people will be honest and present original designs.
Maybe I used the wrong word when I said copied - I'll leave it at unoriginal.
And as far as the previous comment of using similar motifs - their is a difference between using a bird or a fish and replicating a pattern in shape and size. We are all influenced by the work of others and the world around us - whether it be from 18th century patterns or the shape of a ginko leaf. I believe the challenge is presenting that ginko leaf, or bird, in a new way.
Thanks,
Jaime
As one would expect, being the designer of the all of the things we produce at Dermond Peterson, was a bit non-plussed to see Jaime's flippant assertion that I have stolen from the work of other designers. It is not pleasant to have my work and my ethics portrayed in such a manner.
I can assure Jaime that my work as a whole in no way resembles either of the companies and/or designers he cited. The gingko design has been a part of our portfolio for over 4 years and probably predates the design he claims I copied. Also, aside from using the actual gingko leaves, rather than a stylized version, they are quite different. As to the onion slice (which is even older) perhaps it would be more apparent how different it is from anything in Lotta Jansdotter's repertoire if you saw it within the context of its companion vegetable slices.
Both of the designers to whom you compared my work produce strong, delightful work but if you looked more carefully, Jaime, I am sure you would see that our ways of thinking about gingkos and concentric circles are very different.
Thanks to anonymous and Grace for pointing out that the gingko leaf motif has an ancient and venerable lineage. As for the onion slice... well, all upstart motifs have to begin somewhere.
Best,
Susan
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