Home Sweet
Home Sweet is a small textile design company specializing in hand-printed, environmentally friendly fabrics and home goods. Home Sweet’s designs draw inspiration from different eras and interior styles, resulting in patterns for your home that are both vintage and modern, timeless and current, fresh and accessible.
Home Sweet is based in Greenwood, Delaware.
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Contact Jenny at jenny@homesweetbyhand.com
About Me
I’m Jennifer Nelson. I’m trained as a scientist, so I tend to analyze and tinker with things. Sometimes, I experiment with tangible things, like power tools, fabric and food. Sometimes, I experiment with color and pattern. I’ve been sewing for a dozen years or so, and have worked on a variety of projects, from slipcovers to my wedding dress.
I moved to Delaware from the DC Metro Area a number of years ago with my husband, Dan. We have since added our son, “Sluggo”, and dog, “Tiki” to the family, all three of which make frequent appearances on the blog. I couldn’t run Home Sweet without Dan, and I wouldn’t have started this venture if it hadn’t been for my son. So you could say that Home Sweet is very much a family venture!
Why Block Printing?
When my husband and I bought a Craftsman-style house five years ago, I focused much of my creative energy on turning the house into our home. My husband and I were already enthusiasts of things old or handmade, and we relied on those things in order to blend his traditional and my eclectic style.
We’ve done our best to fill our house with things that were functional, sustainable, affordable and beautiful. We’ve had the best luck meeting all four of these criteria when we buy (or are given!) old, imperfect things and fixed them up. Old things have character, are usually high-quality, and don’t make use of new resources to produce. In our projects, we retain the qualities that make the pieces remarkable- a beautiful wood grain or patina, a unique shape- and add something to make it contemporary, personal and practical.
I design my fabrics with this purpose in mind. Block printing is an old technique, but can be used to create modern fabrics. It’s a labor of love, because printing the fabrics by hand takes a lot of time, but I’m motivated by the finished products. They’re organic and beautiful, and the fact that I’ve invested myself in them gives them roots.