Northshore Home

54 FALL 2017 surroundings, Venus couldn't have asked for a better re- gion than New England, with its varied architecture and beautiful plant life. "I'm fascinated by sense of place, exploring the topic and how we're drawn to certain places," Venus says. "New England is a special place." Today Venus works in a home studio overlooking the flower garden of the 1940s Cape-style home she shares with her husband, Jon Richardson, an architect at Dore & Whittier in Newburyport and Burlington, Vermont, and their sons, Walter, 15, and Sam, 12. Before settling in Wenham, Venus explored the world and its array of cultures and craftsmanship, driv- en by an interest in design. The first of her explorations was at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she got a degree in landscape architecture and did some paint- ing. Before going on to graduate school for architecture in Seattle, Venus spent time in California and lived in Mexico for six months, studying anthropology, crafts, and adobe construction. "I was exposed to this concept of living your life through craft; I was captivated," she says. The time she spent with one Mexican family who lived on Lake Patzcuaro—thought by native residents to be where the barrier between life and death is the thinnest—left a lasting imprint. Venus learned how to make adobe bricks alongside a local builder, using wet earth, dung, and straw. "Building with adobe is a very sculptural process of making a home," she says, "so dif- ferent than how we build here in New England." Venus moved to Oakland, California, and did odd jobs to support her first textile business, producing ba- tik items in a home studio, including canvas sling-back chairs on wood frames that were sold in shops in New York City and Berkeley, California. While she couldn't figure out how to make the business viable, she had the priceless experience of meeting fabric reps and other businesspeople while she learned business skills. After marrying, Venus worked in Boston as an ar- chitect (she is licensed in the state) and had her sons. In inspire nshoremag.com/nshorehome/ Left, Venus works out of the 1940s Cape-style home she shares with her husband, Jon Richardson. Above, Venus's designs pay homage to nature with roots in local craftsmanship. spring 2016, the fire for craftsmanship relit, and Venus began looking at textiles again and exploring patterns. "I'd come home from work and start creating patterns," she says. By August, she had developed a collection and launched Sweetgum Textiles. Last August, the business turned one year old and Sweetgum became her voca- tion and creative outlet. Sweetgum Textiles is also a place for Venus to express her dedication to environmental principles, workers' rights, and New England history. Her printing processes use natural fibers, including linen from Ireland and water-based ink. Printing and hand-screening are done in the region, and she works only with contractors and cut- and-sew factories that meet high standards of fair labor. She works frequently with Griswold Textile Co. in Westerly, Rhode Island, which Venus describes as one of the few remaining flat-screen hand-printing mills left in the country. A new collaborator, Brahms Mount weaving mill in Freeport, Maine, is producing Sweetgum-designed throws. Venus's website blog and a new venture, a publication called Place in the Making explore New England's cultural and botanical riches. For all our culture's talk of social media and immedi- ate gratification, Venus is seeing a trend toward a "mak- ers' movement," a resurgence of crafts that counters our industrialized lives. "I think it has a lot to do with new technology and our attachment to screens," she muses. "There's a desire to get back to the tactile quality of handcrafted items." sweetgumtextiles.com

• Cover