Philomela is a California-based design studio specializing in original, hand-drawn, painted and printed, expertly formatted textiles for interiors. Their bold, intricate patterns balance delicacy with daring and bring a sense of celebration into every space. Philomela themes are layered in wallpapers and fabrics infuse interiors with a liveliness and sense of deep connection. Bonnie Saland is a practicing artist and psychoanalyst based in Pasadena and The Sea Ranch, California. A free spirited exercise in investigation surfaces in every pattern she engineers. The compass is of her own making and guides her favorably through the fluidity of production. She weathers the ebbs of change and rides the flow of creation-in her own words, "the Sea is my true north."
See their considerable catalog of over 200 unique patterns at Spruce.
Greek myth tells of Philomela, a beautiful and resourceful young woman robbed of her tongue. She communicates through a loom, weaving her tale as a summons to her sister-and savior. A number of variations on Philomela's plight exist, warping through the weft of time; referenced both directly and slyly in countless literary works. While the themes range widely, the message remains the same: give voice to those without. So we must ask, what fresh pathways shall we assemble to speak our truths?
Saland's work gives creative voice to her particular sense of the world, informed by an idiosyncratic juxtaposition of interests and explorations. Interior investigation, geographic curiosity and spiritual stirrings are central to both process and imagery. Layering, repetitive patterning, filing and the archiving of archeological impulses all contribute to a peeling back to know, recognize, and find meaning.
This sensibility finds expression in the Philomela collection. The designs shout and whisper, juxtaposing figural and abstract forms, patterns, dreams, and the archetypal images of the feminine-balancing on the wavering line between order and chaos that is art. Equally informed by exotic travel and introspection, embodied in each...is the gratification of the return home-the pleasure in clothing the body and feathering the nest with tales told in textile.
