Whitney Chin

Elemental Tinge

My goal is to research and design through colored textiles produced naturally. To rely on craft and skill rather than mass production and technology in my line of products. To create a branding strategy across various modes of design and document and communicate my creative process visually.


I am inspired by the natural side of life and creativity. It is the human element that makes a crafted object beautiful, the process the artist went through to complete it. I take inspiration from nature to produce objects meant as a mode to share the beauty I find there. For my senior thesis, I propose to experiment with my own process and product design and create a full branded identity for myself. The design would include logo, graphic standards, website, business cards and other promotions. I would also like to research possible vendors in my surrounding area that display work by local artists. I have always admired the passion behind the small businesses and artisans that work in and around the art colonies of Cape Ann, i think it is important to keep future generations interested in local art.

I have very much enjoyed working with fabrics in the past, experimenting with textile design, crochet and sewing skills. I have produced objects for the home such as throw rugs, throw pillows, t-shirts, crocheted floral vases and hanging planters. I would like to evolve my fabric dying techniques and explore working with plant material and other natural dyes. I would love to document the process, creating swatches and catalogs describing how the colors were created and what inspired them. That way, when a customer brings home a burnt orange throw pillow or sky blue crocheted rug, they know exactly where the pop of color came from and where to find it in nature. This will be a huge part of the brands promoting and each color series will have it's own line of products. The creative journey I undergo will give my products an edge, make them unique and, of course, turn the heads of any environmentally friendly home maker. I would be consistently working with organic cottons and natural fibers in all of my work.

In order to understand natural pigmentation i will research not only the history and background but cultures that still utilize this method. I have also been talking with and admiring other small artists that have achieved success in similar mediums. The custom order clothing company, Gaia Conceptions, was founded on a young artist like myself, drawing off nature to produce one of a kind, earth friendly fashions. They have since expanded and have a significant following. I'm also very fond of a young artist and herbalist working out of the Rockport area who is happy to share her techniques in plant rummaging and dyeing processes. I have spent the summer working with techniques and mediums that inspire this topic and am excited to take my brand to a more professional place.