Boulder, Colo.-based Edie Ure is a fashion and interior designer and sustainable fashion educator with a strong background in surface design and natural dyeing. Her wallpaper line features inspiring designs made from sustainably foraged flowers and other natural materials.
How did you get your start? I studied fashion at Central Saint Martins in London and worked part time for a Japanese designer, Kojhi Tatsuno, who gave me an opportunity to create textiles for his collection in Paris. I have been designing prints and dyeing textiles for different designers ever since. When I moved to New York City, I designed prints for Calvin Klein Home Collection and worked in-house for Ralph Lauren Home, creating mood boards and sourcing vintage.
Wildflower No. 6 is created from pressed dried weeds and flowers, gathered from the Foothills of the American West.
When I moved to Colorado, I started gardening. Growing flowers and vegetables gave me a deeper respect for nature and our environment. I began exploring the world of natural dyeing and the colors that can be coaxed out of bark, weed, flowers, and organic food waste. Natural dyeing gave me a window through which I could understand nature more thoroughly.
Abiquiu is painted with earth pigments gathered from riverbeds and rocks in New Mexico and Colorado. It’s a love letter to all the red earth trails we have climbed.
What does your creative process look like? I am a bit all over the place, which is how I approach many things. One week I may be teaching workshops, and another dyeing yarn or fabric or making pillows for my collection of naturally dyed silk velvets. When I have the time, I’ll sit down and start pulling together some ideas for patterns using the bits and bobs I have collected or images I have taken.
My goal is to design for a serene natural environment. I feel there is a longing for that despite our urbanized lifestyles.
Where do you find inspiration? I tend to get creative blasts when I’m out gardening or on long walks with my dogs in the mountains. I take pictures as I go, often of rocks, moss, flowers, trees, and people. And when I get home, my pockets are always full of seed heads, soot, or clay that I use for drawing. I also often find myself with delicate flowers to dry for use later.
The new Wild Plum.
My goal is to make my textile and wallpaper designs using only the things in the ecosystem around me.
Though Colorado is a very different environment from the one I grew up in, I have become attuned to its beauty, including the subtle palate of grasses, trees and wildflowers.
Best piece of advice you've received in your career?“ What you do makes a difference, it is up to you to decide what difference it will make.” – Jane Goodhall
And this quote from Luis Barragán also rings true for me: “I think the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery and mystery.”
Professional accomplishment you are most proud of? It makes me proud when I see my designs pop up in people’s lives and somehow make their lives brighter. I have a friend who is a chef, and whenever I see videos of her cooking in front of my wallpaper it gives me a thrill.
Most rewarding aspect of your work? I really love teaching. It is so rewarding to see people catch a creative spark and create work they’re proud of.
Who are some of your design inspirations? Mother Nature in all her wild forms, along with Andy Goldsworthy and Japanese and Korean folk art, textile design, and architecture.
Favorite podcast? “The Great Women Artists”
Childhood dream job? Photojournalist
Drink of choice? Earl Grey tea with a splash of milk
Ikat by Edie Are
Wild Plum by Edie Ure