About Me
Welcome!
I'm Doreen and I am the founder of Doreen J. Designs. My atelier is my home studio and surroundings in the beautiful Hudson Valley, NY. I love, and I'm inspired everyday by where I live. I'm a seeker and eternal learner with a beginner's mindset.
I love working with my hands (you can tell). I love dirt. I love the process of making and growing things. I am inspired by nature, by objects and people that have a story. I'm in love with honeybees and gardening, animals and fiber, farming and local food.
I'm obsessed with and bake sourdough bread, I have two starters that I maintain - Jane and John. I recently acquired a manual grain mill to mill my own flours. Being self-sufficient is empowering. I should have been born in another century.
I love to travel and experience other cultures. I’m a curious, global citizen with a locavore mindset, supporting local business where ever I go. It has been a great gift to have work that takes me around the world. For almost 20 years I split my time between NYC where I lived and worked, and the Hudson Valley where I lived and played. I made the move upstate 8 years ago and combined all the things. I love coming home, though my travels are on pause for the moment, as are we all.
Clogs (I have a problem) are my favorite shoes. I'm crazy about smocks and wrap dresses that have a little swing. Linen makes me swoon.
I'm also obsessed with yarn and fiber. I knit, spin, weave, felt and make quilts. Can one have too much yarn or fabric on hand? No. I've been experimenting with natural plant dying of fabric and fiber, and have been planting a dye garden over the last few years. After many years I'm back on my loom weaving when I can find the time, and I also practice the art of hand-spinning raw fiber into yarn - so zen. I've been stitching too, as in embroidery, and learning the Japanese art of Sashiko.
I love handmade paper, Persian and Moroccan carpets, the more loved the better. Rugs are art for the floor, and each unique design and color reveals the cultural, and sometimes personal story of the person who wove it. This is magic to me.
I garden organically and with the landscape, and love having my hands in the earth. It is about living in harmony with the land. I've a certificate in Permaculture Design, build raised bed gardens, edible and ornamental, food and flower. I love landscaping, hauling rocks and building stone walls. Plants are magic healers. Soil is my canvas. I've learned to make baskets this year and I'm excited to say I have found another obsession. I've started cultivating willow to feed this obsession. Stay tuned.
I love the surprise of an unexpected lining, the quality and care of a hand-finished garment, the irregular chunk of a handspun, hand-knit pair of mittens. Details and special touches mean a lot. I briefly worked in the commercial fashion industry in the 90's and while I loved many aspects of it, I also realized first hand the true cost of trendy clothing/accessories - for people and the planet. It's horrifying. I try to buy and use local, sustainably made and vintage materials whenever possible. I also buy/sell vintage items.
Professionally, I work in Learning & Development and curate learning experiences. I also produce events and unique gatherings for any occasion. I co-create with my clients to ensure a memorable experience, from business retreats and leadership trainings to weddings and celebrations. My professional background is in Event Planning and Production, Marketing, Communications, PR and Program Management, both live and virtual. I also do windows - the retail, styling, visual-merchandising kind.
We've been creating a wee homestead on our property. We planted fruit trees this year, expanded our food and pollinator gardens, and dream of a small pond. I am a treatment-free beekeeper, more like a beetender, of Warre hives. Honeybees are absolutely amazing creatures, and remind me to slow down, be deliberate in my actions, stay present, breathe. Chickens will arrive in the Spring for eggs and entertainment. I love animals, and I'm a magnet for senior dogs (all dogs really.) They tend to find me for adoption and golden year pampering. Along with my little dog Lucy Bean, cat Greta and husband Sal (family Chef) we are respectfully living on, lovingly tending and nurturing Native American Lenape land in our Catskill Mountain region.
I practice the banjo but not nearly enough. I love folk music and jazz, in particular 1920s, 1930s a la Django Reinhardt, and 40's of course for swing dancing. I love to sing but rarely do in public. Reading, yoga, meditation, stacking firewood, building stone walls and walking in the woods with my dog are rituals I try to practice as much as possible, to help keep me balanced and grounded.
I am passionate about social justice, humbly and actively working to combat systemic racism, learning and listening along the way. Because a wise friend once told me, "hope is not a strategy" - I believe it is with attention, education, empathy, listening, using our voices and our votes will we begin to move humanity towards equality and justice for ALL. I remain stubbornly hopeful. Sharing this list of resources I found for awareness.
Please get in touch with me if you've questions, or are interested in creating something unique for yourself, your business, your home, garden or gathering.
Thanks for visiting!
Doreen Johnson
Kerhonkson, NY
"Make stuff. Stay home. Draw. Dress locally. Hand wash. Learn to darn." - Sarah Swett, Fiber Artist
