Celebrating Independent Makers
Kate Miller, founder of Elworthy Studio
Textile designer Kate Miller is creating wallpaper to heal your soul.
The Elworthy Studio founder recently launched her new collection, Altered States, influenced by her work in multicultural shamanism and her personal healing journey.
“If you asked me a few years ago, ‘do you think you'll be studying multicultural shamanism?’ — which would be a very specific and random question— I would have never thought that I would be on this path. At the same time, it feels like a natural extension of my love for this planet and the beauty and lessons it provides.”
Kate founded Elworthy Studio after working in visual merchandising for Bloomingdales in New York and a startup retailer in Shanghai. Encouraged by her entrepreneurial spirit and endorsed by her biggest supporter, Kate left the comforts of corporate and moved to California to pursue an MFA in textile design. One year into the program, she had an idea to design sustainable wallpaper, so she visited the SF Design Center for research.
“I spent half of the day in the Design Center, quickly feeling disheartened and questioned everything. There was every color, print, and pattern you could imagine. At the moment, it felt crazy to think I could introduce something new to the market.”
But she stayed at the Design Center until employees escorted her at closing. She realized even though the market seemed saturated, nothing captured her voice or aesthetic. She forged ahead and googled possible production partners, reached out to local designers for guidance, leased a studio in San Francisco, and named the company Elworthy, after her great-grandmother.
Elworthy Studio is rooted in eco-conscious principles. Kate considers Gaia her muse and she is deeply committed to environmental justice. Her reverence for indigenous culture led her to study at the shamanic practitioner training program where she continues her healing journey.
“We are trying to heal our energy bodies, or chakra system to use a more familiar term, release trauma, false stories, and unhelpful patterns stored in our energy centers so that we can become a clear channel to connect with Spirit or whatever way you define the divine, to heal others, or the planet, or whatever you desire to heal. There are many modalities for energy healing and shamanic journeying is one of the core practices I’ve learned.”
In early 2020 as Covid locked down the world, Kate saw an opportunity to bridge her spiritually with her design work. Held by a community of women in her small seaside town, Kate spent the last few years studying and practicing shamanic journeying.
The experience starts by setting an intention or inquiry: pain in your body, an obstacle in your life, anything you want to clarify or honor. Then, lying down and listening to a drum track, the steady beat guides you into a trance state as your brainwaves shift from a mental, task-orientated space to a dreamlike pattern.
“I started seeing color and pattern in my journeys. It felt like these were seeds for new designs and an entirely new design process. I started setting intentions to create new designs. As the world spiraled during Covid, I refined that intention to create designs to heal and support people. The Altered States collection is a result of that intention.”
The collection is the outcome of Kate’s sacred journeys through her own mind. When the transmission is complete, she travels north to San Francisco to collect natural pigment from Case for Making, a beloved watercolor & paper goods shop in the Sunset District.
“For this collection, I used color in a much more intentional way. I wanted depth and soft fluidity so watercolor was a natural choice.”
She weaves these carefully chosen colors into the designs she encountered on her journey. She sends her imagery to production partners to digitize them into repeating patterns. After a few rounds of feedback, the artwork is complete and samples are distributed to showrooms and clients. The entire process is environmentally mindful.
“I don’t have inventory. Clients tell me how many yards they need and we print that exact quantity.”
Initially, Kate felt wary about sharing her spiritual process with the industry, but the opportunity to heal clients was too great not to share it.
“I was worried it would be seen as too weird or fill-in-the-blank whatever adjective, but I realized that there was so much potential in the work to change people's lives and support them in their healing journey. I had to continue on the path and launch the collection. When I think about my clients, (she works with commercial and private individuals who can afford to hire interior designers) when those influential people are healed, it trickles in all directions and I believe that can impact the world in a big way.”
