NellieRose in front of the “Happiness Machine”, a public artwork Nellie painted in 2017 thanks to a grant from New Historic Thomas, a non-profit organization in Thomas WV.Photo by Jessica Fike.

NellieRose in front of the “Happiness Machine”, a public artwork Nellie painted in 2017 thanks to a grant from New Historic Thomas, a non-profit organization in Thomas WV.

Photo by Jessica Fike.

Our brick & Mortar in Thomas, WV.

Our brick & Mortar in Thomas, WV.

Photo by Joel Wolpert.

Photo by Joel Wolpert.

Hello! I’m NellieRose— a textile artist and clothing maker.

I am perpetually fascinated by these bodies we are given—all so different with our own beautiful quirks and nuances. In my work, I aim to make clothing that embraces YOU. The trueheartedness of your playfulness, the confidence in your strangeness, the courage in your own tenacious self expression. I was raised in a culture of creative and sustainable living in the heart of the West Virginia mountains. My folks settled in that part of the country during the back to the land movement in the 70’s. There they designed, cut, dyed and sewed silk to make exquisite collections of clothing, while us kiddos, ironically, ran around naked. I feel fortunate to have been raised by two dedicated and hard-working textile artists who instilled this incessant need to make things with my hands along with a deep-seated love for wearable art and slow-fiber.

As a Fulbright Scholar in Japan at Osaka University of the Arts, I spent my time diving into contemporary and traditional techniques of hand-dyeing. In order to refine my technical skills and learn specialized techniques, I later apprenticed under Hiroko Harada, a master of all-natural indigo and shibori in Shinshiro, Japan. With a great deal of training to form my foundation, I now strive to work within these particular confines while trying to pull them apart to dig deeper into my personal artistic exploration. With a focus on shibori and hand-painting, the pieces in my collections are one-of- a-kind, handmade in small batches. At this point, I shy away from production and manufacturing because I find it inspiring to work intimately with each piece.

Currently I make my home and studio in Thomas, West Virginia, a tiny mountain town that I personally feel is magic-filled. There, I have a tiny brick & mortar shop/studio where I make and sell my work directly to folks. If you aren’t able to visit my little corner of the world, you can find my work in select shops, on the online shop and the occasional makers’ market (check out calendar for upcoming events).