Film portraits of Liz Mortensen the founder of Laila Textiles in her Chicago, IL studio 🌼 shot by @leahwendzinski
Laila Textiles was founded in the Spring of 2018 by artist Liz Mortensen. Laila began as a creative project for Liz to explore the movement of slow fashion through natural dyes. Liz considers herself a life-long learner & forever on the journey of learning more about natural dyes and the world around her.
Over the years our Brand Laila has grown to much more than a creative project. Laila is now the go-to brand for a unique sustainably made apparel, accessories & home goods all centered around natural processes. When we aren’t hand dyeing goods in our Chicago studio, we are designing prints and patterns from our original photography, cyanotypes & natural dyes.
In the Summer of 2021 we started teaching natural dye classes in our tiny Chicago front yard. Soon after Laila Textiles quickly evolved to be not only an accessories brand but also a natural dye education company.
The Laila Textiles Studio was born the following summer of 2022 when we moved into our first creative studio. Today, we host monthly creative workshops that introduce people to the world of natural dye and various art mediums.
A Haiku for Spring
“Winter fights to stay.
Sweet Spring always wins her way.
Flowers bloomed today!” - Patricia Cisco
We had a wonderful time collaborating on this shoot! Claire is now available for editorial & branding photos for small businesses like ours ❤️ I am really looking forward to sharing more photos from this shoot.
You can shop our naturally dyed 100% silk slips in sizes XXS - 4X today, available on our website.
Photos @claireplump
Model @asia.babbington
Styling @lailatextiles :)
I’m really at a lost for words, the ways my community here in chicago came out this weekend will be something I never forget. Full @renegadecraft recap coming soon- safe to say I made WELL OVER my goal for the weekend 🥲💗 #renegadecraft #craftfair #chicagocraftfair
LETS CHAT ABOUT PREPARING FOR CRAFT FAIRS 🛍️ anyone else rely solely on frozen Trader Joe’s meals the week before a craft fair? Haha that’s me this week!
Got more questions about craft fairs? I wanna hear them ❤️
#smallbusinessowners #renegadecraftfair #craftfair
@orchard.nyc x @lailatextiles COLLAGE ORCHARD BABY TEE WORKSHOP 💜 Join us Friday evening May 15th from 6-9pm @lailatextilesstudio to learn how to sublimate your own tee! We will have so many cool flower & orchid graphics for you to choose from.
Tickets available at LAILATEXTILES.COM 🌼
Our naturally dyed napkin set workshop hosted at @petalsandjackets was really beautiful. 🌷 Workshops are such a fun place to meet people and it always warms my heart to see all the new connections & friends that come from creating together!
Am I afraid of success? My most popular product was one that I NEVER thought would account for a huge portion of my income and I’m now having to make some hard decisions. Do I outsource and make the products better (& more $$ expensive for my customers) OR do I keep my best selling products the same even though it’s becoming impossible to keep up with the demand? 🥲
#smallbusinessowners #lailatextiles #chicagosmallbusiness
