about

Jen Swearington grew up in Indiana and lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband Paul and their two dogs and two cats.

Jen earned a BFA from Pratt Institute in 1997 and an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2000, followed by a year-long residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Since then, she has worked steadily to develop her innovative techniques and distinct illustrative style which have set her at the forefront of the fiber arts field. Her fine art work has been featured in three Quilt National exhibitions (including winning the Award of Excellence in 2009), 500 Quilts, Fiberarts Design Book 7, Surface Design Journal, and graced the cover of Fiberarts magazine. Recently her work is taking a turn away from stitching and toward intricate papercutting.

Though she never studied fashion design, Jen started making clothes and founded Jennythreads, her line of ready-to-wear apparel and accessories in 2003. In 2010, she moved her studio from her home basement to Jet Set Studio, a light-filled condo on happening Haywood Road in West Asheville. Well-equipped with several sewing machines to handle all stages of garment construction and finishing, Jen works with efficiency and attention to detail. Also in the studio are a 12-foot long padded table for printing and cutting, a dyelab for coloring all the silk from white, and a lovely storefront to visit and shop when you're in the neighborhood. Many weekends, Jen closes up shop, packs up all the inventory into her hail-dented blue Pontiac, and hits the road. She exhibits her work at fine art fairs around the country. Her traveling display always includes a fitting area, whether it's indoor or out. Jen also ships Jennythreads out to be sold in galleries and boutiques nationwide; the line has been featured in the New York Times online, Belle Armoire, Niche, on HGTV, and won many awards.

Most recently, is the author and illustrator of "Printing on Fabric: Techniques with Screens, Stencils, Inks, and Dyes," which was just published earlier this year. Jen

read Jen Swearington's curriculum vitae