If you've peeked at our latest collection of towels, you have probably realized they are different from anything we've ever released. Designed by textile designer and watercolor artist Heidi Lister Hevesy, each towel print begins its life as a painting created just for us. They are stunning in their depth and complexity, and they so fully reflect the spirit of bloom into a bud that we are communicating in our Spring/Summer collection.
Heidi has a long connection to yoga, and we want to tell a bit more of her story, as these towels are such a special offering, and learning more about how Heidi created them was really lovely.
Raised in a tiny rural village in England, Heidi's love for drawing has led her way since she was young. At the suggestion of a teacher who saw in her work an inclination towards pattern, Heidi studied textile design in college, after which she moved to New York to work in a textile design studio. It was in New York that Heidi found yoga and her other passion, rock climbing. She uses the strength and breathing techniques learned through yoga to push higher climbing grades.
All of these—art, yoga, and climbing—are still in full bloom in her life today. We know Heidi through our SVP of Product, Christian Regester, as they both worked for Patagonia once upon a time.
For Heidi, the crossover between yoga and rock climbing is seamless, and the two are complementary. Both ask for our full presence, but rock climbing brings with it adrenaline surges and a certain kind of stress.
Yoga invites us into a space of more stillness and ease, even within potentially rigorous movement. These are beautifully, harmoniously opposed, and Heidi says many of the climbers she knows are avid yoga practitioners. Both meet us where we are—neither is a competitive activity (at least not usually!!); both are places where we come to be more fully with ourselves. Her designs for this season are so full of vitality and mystery—it's not a surprise that she walks that terrain in both of those practices.
As she begins to create a piece, Heidi walks in nature for color inspiration—her love of the natural world made this collection a joyful endeavor. And then what we found so wonderful is that she just starts painting. She doesn't know what will happen, she says it's messy and there's paint everywhere, and she trusts that. Overthinking her work hasn't worked out so well in the past, so she takes the intuitive route. As in yoga, she allows one stroke to lead to the next without prescribing where it will end up.
We loved this embrace of intentional imperfection; her experience, which often transpires as an accident, can manifest into something beautiful. Working alongside Christian and our team here, she narrows down color and pattern choices, and a collection is born.
We feel extraordinarily lucky to be able to offer Heidi's artwork this season. How amazing is it that each of these yogitoes towels began its life as a one of a kind painting? Heidi created such beauty and detail in all of them—see which one (or ones!) speaks to you, and may her art help you go even deeper into the presence, joy, and bloom of your practice.
All photos shot by Michael Hevesy.
