When I first started screen printing towels, I thought it would be simple, just ink, fabric, and a screen. I didn’t realize how much life could be found in those small, slow moments. What began as a creative experiment has become one of the most grounding, soul-stirring parts of my life, a rhythm that connects me back to the earth, to stillness, and to beauty made by hand.
Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.
1. No two prints will ever be the same.
I used to think imperfection was a mistake. Now I know it’s the heart of the art. Each towel carries a fingerprint of the process: a slightly lighter edge, a brush of texture, a tiny quirk that makes it one of a kind.
2. Ink has a mind of its own.
Some days it glides perfectly across the screen; other days it surprises me. Screen printing taught me to loosen my grip, to allow the process to unfold instead of trying to control it.
3. Drying time can’t be rushed.
No fan, heat gun, or shortcut replaces patience. Waiting for each piece to set reminds me that good things take time and that art, like life, asks for a slower pace.
4. The right color takes hours to find.
I’ve mixed and remixed countless shades of earthy browns, soft greens, and deep crowswing blacks. When I finally land on the tone that feels alive, it’s like striking gold.
5. My studio would become my sanctuary.
It’s messy, quiet, and full of little reminders of the process, stray bits of fabric, test prints, dried leaves from a walk that sparked an idea. It’s where I go to remember who I am as a maker.
6. There’s beauty in repetition.
Pulling ink across the screen again and again might sound tedious, but it’s surprisingly meditative. The rhythm of press and lift becomes its own kind of calm.
7. Inspiration doesn’t always come from big moments.
Some of my favorite designs came from small, fleeting things, a flower in the sun, the pattern of feathers, a wildflower pressed between book pages.
8. Handmade isn’t the fast way- it’s the meaningful way.
Screen printing each towel by hand takes more time than most people realize, but that’s what makes it special. It’s not about perfection it’s about connection.
9. People can feel the difference.
When someone tells me they hung one of my towels in their kitchen, or gave one as a gift, it still stops me in my tracks. I never expected something I made with my hands to become part of other people’s homes and stories.
10. I fell in love with the process more than the product.
The quiet of printing, the scent of the ink, the satisfaction of a fresh stack of finished pieces, it’s all become part of my heartbeat. The towels are simply the end result of a much deeper practice of creating beauty slowly.
Screen printing taught me far more than I expected about patience, imperfection, and finding meaning in small things. Every design carries a little of that story: the rhythm of slow work, the quiet of my studio, and the feeling of the wild places that inspired it.
If you ever hang one in your kitchen, I hope it reminds you that beauty doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be real.
Shop my latest hand-printed designs here.
With love from the studio,
Whitney