DREAM WEAVER: LA’S ALL ROADS DESIGN

I have mixed feelings when it comes to social media, but when Instagram came around I became immediately hooked.  I originally became a fan because of the simplicity of sharing one image to tell a story.  As I have gotten more into the depths of Instagram, I now love it because of all of the discoveries I’ve made while adventuring through the feeds. Somehow by looking at someones’s day to day life and photos we are able to find our “Tribe” out there in the internet via Instagram. I find it truly amazing and I have completely been benefitting from it on all levels.  Not only have I found inspiring minds and artists, but I have connected others to them by simply tagging their name on a photo.  Easy as that.  No blog post needed, no phone call, no email, just a tag.  And the connection is made.

The funnest part about instagram is checking out people that your friends tag, this is where the tribe part comes in.  Talk about 7 degrees of separation, Kevin Bacon has got nothing on Instagram.  Whenever I find someone’s feed that I am inspired by, I soon find out that they are connected to people that I know.  Literally every time.  It’s fascinating and it’s changing people’s lives and people’s businesses.

This is how I cam upon @Janelle_Pietrzak and her amazing one of a kind weavings. I found her through my friend and textile goddess @jleighwms who met Janelle while she was working for Anthropologie in Philadelphia.  When I first saw Janelle’s instagram feed I literally lost my mind.  I have been so completely obsessed with textile weavings from the 1970′s for quite sometime and my love and connection with @alexandleeandgreg definitely sealed the deal in regard to my love of textile art. It took about two seconds of looking at her feed for me to tag Janelle and ask if I could meet her the next time I was back in Los Angeles.  I was officially obsessed with her weavings and I had to know more and see them in person.

Two All Roads weavings hanging in the studio

Their logo

Janelle and her partner in life and creativity, Robert Dougherty, met in Philly when Janelle apprenticed for him at his motorcycle shop.  Yea, Janelle is a bad ass…she rides bikes, she works on them, she builds stuff, she makes things and she taught herself how to weave.  Her love of textiles runs deep and prior to launching All Roads with Robert, she worked in fashion for 10 years sourcing textiles & fabrics, designing and developing product.  To no surprise, she spent a majority of her career at Anthropologie where she developed her knowledge of textile design.

Janelle and Robert in the studio

About a year ago, Janelle and Robert decided to make a bold move to Los Angeles to expand their horizons to form All Roads Design and landed their new business in a studio in Echo Park. Robert is a welder and a builder of everything(check out some of his work here) and has his welding studio connected to Janelle’s weaving studio.  The two collaborate on all of their designs and in fact, Robert is the catalyst for helping Janelle’s new weaving passion come to life when he built her first loom.

Janelle in her studio weaving on a loom built by Robert

All Roads for life

Weaving is something that Janelle taught herself after moving to California.  She was so inspired by the landscape and the colors of the desert, she used her knowledge of fabric construction and started to weave. Robert and Janelle collaborate on all of the designs, Robert always providing a perspective that helps Janelle finish each hanging to perfection.

Inspiration in the studio

Inspiration

Textures

Love this shot of the desert cacti

As Janelle is a member of my tribe, it is no surprise that she has a love for Joshua Tree and the landscape of the desert.  I can see it in all of her boards as well as in her weavings. If you follow her on instagram you will see more!

In the studio

Robert welds the arrows that the weavings hang from

Desert inspiration

Janelle likes to use rustic yarns for her work and sources fibers from vintage markets, etsy and pretty much anywhere she can find. She likes to experiment with unusual fibers such as denim, metallics and rope to create textures that are a bit more modern that the textile weavings of the past.  Her color palettes and her unique perspective of symmetry and fabrication make each weaving all their own.

Misc yarns

Dyeing experiments

Textile samples for inspiration

Soon after I discovered All Roads on Instagram, I saw that One Kings Lane curated a sale of artisanal weavings from All Roads and a few other artists including Nativeline and Heather Taylor.  The sale was a huge success for All Roads and has since brought her a whole new fan base.

All Roads is a perfect example of how powerful Instagram can be. Janelle started to create her weavings and Instagram was her outlet for showcasing their designs.  It only took a short time before she gained a large amount of followers and people found her and starting commissioning her for weavings.  This is the power of Instagram. Businesses are being started and connections are being made. I find it truly inspiring and I encourage every artist out there to utilize this powerful internet sensation to show your work and your aesthetic.

Philosophy and truth

All Roads is available for special projects and commissions as their work is one of a kind.  Currently you can find the weavings hanging in Topanga Canyon’s Heyoka Hideout and for sale on their Etsy site.  Follow Janelle on instagram and see all the magic!