About Obsidian Fern

This started the way most things worth doing start — with paying attention.

I live in the foothills of Colorado, where the trail edge is worth a long look and the small things are always doing something interesting. Around here, it's perfectly acceptable to stop mid-conversation because someone spotted an unusual mushroom.

I've always been that person.

The one who stops to look at the beetle crossing the trail. Who notices the raven making an odd sound and wonders what he's doing. Who picks up the beautiful stone, watches the fox disappear into the grass, or crouches down to see what's growing beneath a fallen log. I've been an artist for much of my life, and eventually all of that looking began finding its way into the things I make.

Obsidian Fern grew from that habit of attention.

It's for people who recognize it in themselves, too — the ones who examine a mushroom growing from a fallen log, discover what a fiddlehead is and smile when they do, crouch beside a tidal pool long enough to see something move, keep a field journal or a list, or simply maintain a lifelong habit of looking closely at the living world.

I make apparel for thoughtful observers, printed in the United States on heavyweight Comfort Colors cotton and illustrated in the tradition of the field guide, the botanical plate, and the naturalist's notebook: careful, curious, and rooted in genuine observation.

I started Obsidian Fern with a simple belief:

Attention is a form of love.

Every design is a small argument for slowing down.

Welcome.