Ferret & Fern

Nature inspired illustrations and handmade accessories

At Ferret & Fern you’ll find design and illustration inspired by the colors, textures and characters Emma sees in nature.

In keeping with her love of nature, she aims to source her materials as responsibly as possible. She uses second hand fabric sourced from clothing, fabric and remnants found at thrift stores and recycling centers. When larger quantities and consistent fabrics are required, she buys ethically sourced silk and cotton, buying organic when possible.

Emma

Hello! I’m Emma, co-founder of She Creates Union, owner of @ferretandfern and recent arrival in sunny Texas (from the U.K.)!

I love the color and pattern found in nature, and have long been inspired by old scientific and biological drawings as well as folk art from around the world. Ferret & Fern is my latest creative adventure where I combine my passions as an amateur gardener and seamstress with my work as a designer and illustrator.

I’d like to say my work starts with a drawing, but often my design process is more loose. It may start messing around with scraps of lino, or playing with ink and dye colour combinations, or even just daydreaming in a coffee shop. How ever I start the design process, the various mediums I work with are often creatively linked.

Whether I’m creating a fully worked pastel and pencil illustration or hand dyed and printed scarves, I aim to use local, sustainable processes. Where possible I use fabric found in thrift stores and second hand shops. When larger quantities of fabric are required, I’ll source 100% organic silks and cottons.

Chalk pastel demo

Emma has created a short series of demos to show her process when sketching with chalk pastels. Each video shows one of the stages in building the image layer by layer, slowly adding detail and depth.

Watch demo

Shibori dye with turmeric tutorial

Learn how to dye using the shibori resist technique. This simple tutorial takes you through the step by step process using tools and materials found at home.

Watch tutorial

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