Introducing: Eso Studio
HEY GUYS, and welcome to Eso Studio’s very first blog post. I’m Hannah, 1/3 of Eso Studio. I like my dogs (a border collie and a rotti/boxer mix), ice cream for dinner (mint chip) and feeding my - self torturous (I’m a scaredy cat) - true crime addiction.
Am I doing this right?
Eso Studio is design trio - Ann, Jamie, and Me (Hannah). Originally brought together through our work in the textile design industry, we united with a shared desire to combine our appreciation of natural & handmade processes with interior design.
During a particularly draining day at our textile design job in 2016, Jamie and I (at this point just desk neighbors becoming budding friends) were feeling a little uninspired and burnt out. So we dreamed up a cure to our creative roadblock in the form of studio nights hosted in my tiny three season porch (the pride and joy of my crappy early-twenties rental house).
After a few weeks of this we were reenergized. Inspired. Getting our groove back. Yes, some nights all we did was gossip and dream. All work and no play….you know.
But week after week, making mess after mess, we showed up and created.
Being the savvy business women we are, we wanted to try to make a little profit off our work. The concept for our small side-gig evolved as we allowed our curiosities and interests to drive the work we made.
We learned about natural dyeing from a Pinterest post, and realized we could repurpose food waste (avocado stones, onion skins, coffee, etc.) from my family’s restaurant for dye material. And thus, Eso Studio proper was born.
In the first years of our business, we sold natural dyed scarves and home decor at craft markets around our home state of Michigan. Being textbook introverts, this is something that challenged Jamie and I step outside our studio and engage with our customers. We got so much great feedback and creative momentum from these markets.
Jamie (left) and I (right) at the Holiday Made Market in 2018
In 2018 Jamie moved to Indiana for a new job. We tried not to let the distance distract us. We navigated the long-distance difficulties and found a balance. We continued to sell our naturally silk scarves and home goods on Etsy and would meet half-way in Battle Creek, MI for donuts whenever we could.
In 2020 we reconnected with a good friend/coworker, Ann, who we knew from our time working at Scott Group Studio in Grand Rapids. She had just left her 12 year stint at SG and was looking for something new. She joined our team and was the driving force for progressing Eso Studio beyond our naturally-dyed goods. We always knew the patterns created from natural dyeing held so much more design potential.
COMBINING OUR YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN SURFACE AND TEXTILE DESIGN, WE BEGAN TO THINK BIG.
LIKE AN ENTIRE WALL BIG.
And thus, our shift into wallpaper began. We learned how to digitally capture the patterns from our naturally-dyed textiles to create repeatable digital designs. We connected with a wonderful wallpaper artist and printer in Grand Rapids (Mary-Cathryn of Copper Corners). Built our website (got some grey hairs in the process. Freaking squarespace, am I right?!) and launched our first wallpaper collection in the fall of 2020, mid pandemic.
We are still learning the ins and outs of small business ownership - being our own social media managers, marketing team, customer service, the list goes on and on. And, now, blogger! But I could not be more thrilled to be following our hearts on this creative path. I can honestly say I have the best coworkers.
