It seems like forever ago that I started drawing and painting a flower a day for a year. My own 365-day challenge! I began this project as a way to count down turning 50 and leave my corporate job to pursue my passion of becoming a full-time artist! 2 very big things in my life. So I set aside 30 minutes-1 hour every morning before my family would rise and created these little paintings.
I had NO idea what this practice would ultimately turn into. It started as a few black and white sketches, but I soon found that I loved adding color, and I did so with watercolor paints. What I also found out was that I craved this quiet time to be still, to look at my subject and recreate it. It became my art meditation, and that filled my soul.
Soon these little 6” square paintings were adding up as the months went by, and mentally I was counting down the days until Day 365. Big things were happening! I took that leap of faith, left the career, and embraced my 50s like I was on top of the world. It felt SO good, and scary, and amazing, and stressful, and exhilarating all at the same time.
So I had this pile of art, neatly put away in an open box. Some I gifted, some I sold, but most sit in this box still in my studio. However, these flower paintings turned into something I would never expect.
One day a couple of years after my self-made challenge was over, I was in a gift shop and saw these adorable flour sack towels with flower art on it, and boom! the lightbulb went off. Hey, didn’t I have 365 painted flowers? I know a lot about product/apparel design from my first job (t-shirt designer). I started researching manufacturers, and how-to make digital art. I received my first flour sack towel (which btw was not very good, but I learned my mistakes and made more samples), got feedback from my customers, and hence, my flower/flour sack tea towel lineup came to life.
Here are some of my designs over the past few years.
I can’t remember how many different designs I’ve created, but one thing is for certain I have not changed the quality of the towel. That is a gem, and my customers love them. There are SO many things to do with these towels. Read my blog post on 10 amazing things to do with your flour sack towel. They were a hit product for me right from the get-go. I think it’s because flour sack towels are so versatile, they make great gifts, and are affordable. And, they have beautiful art of them as well to spruce up any kitchen.
Over the past year, through creating courses and recently getting back into selling my products at a few art festivals, I knew I needed some time to revamp my designs. I felt they were getting stale, and I wanted something different. I also noticed that other flour sack towels out there seemed to have a bigger design placement. That’s what I wanted too! With technology always improving, creating digital art products has never been better.
The designs are now 14x16" instead of 10x11" - woohoo!
I took the best-selling towels, and redesigned them into more of a collage as a bigger image! I couldn’t be happier. I love them all so much, and I think you will too!
And, drumroll....after years of requests, I finally designed a holiday kitchen flour sack towel for this season too! Limited edition (my hope is to create one each year…fingers crossed!) I am so happy with how it turned out, and already (in August), they are selling really well. Yay! Thank you for all the encouragement and suggestions for these latest flour sack towel designs!
So my 365 flower-a-day challenge keeps on living well beyond my expectations - you just never know what a little project can turn into! So keep dreaming, keep creating and keep on making!
Sending love + light,
Andrea
PS. Have you been looking for certain flowers or themes I don’t carry? Please let me know - my customer feedback is always the most valuable, and I really appreciate it! It could just make it onto the next tea towel design! Add in the comments below!