The evocative, dreamy designs of textile company Eskayel hold a strong sense of place. Flowing yet focused, each pattern begins with the artwork of founder Shanan Campanaro, who explains, “I always start with painting. I’ll paint from photographs that I find or something that I see and know I want to paint.” Never forcing inspiration, Shanan waits for the right feeling or moment to strike: “Whenever I create a new pattern, I want to channel a feeling. For instance, seeing a beautiful sunset, or being near the ocean…there’s a certain feeling. I have some prints that were inspired by cities I’ve been to, by my hometown and San Diego, and it’s all kind of nostalgic for me. So I guess I’m inspired by places, and what it feels like to be in those places.”
Much like the organic nature of her designs, Shanan started Eskayel rather naturally. She recounts, “I happened to make myself some wallpaper for my apartment just for fun, just playing around.
Then after a couple of years, I still really liked it, and got a lot of compliments on it. So I thought, I’ll try to make a wallpaper line.” And so, Eskayel was born. Shanan’s innate love of the earth inspires her fierce drive to leave the planet unharmed.
“I’ve always had a fascination with untouched places,” she explains. “I love nature reserves, and always travel to places that are really remote, where nature is protected and no one can mess with it.” From the beginning, Eskayel has been committed to sustainable practices: “We work with really small factories, we’re really close with them. We’ve been using the same sustainably sourced paper from the same paper mill for years. We only use natural fabrics like linen. We don’t use cotton, because it’s actually not that sustainable. We use digital printing so there’s no runoff. And we donate a portion of our proceeds to environmental non-profits.”
Gazing at the designs by Eskayel brings to mind rippling seas and celestial skies. From their nature-inspired aesthetic to their purpose-driven practices, Eskayel reminds us of our connection to the universe and how we can each do our part to protect our collective home. In Shanan’s words: “I figure if you focus on one thing, you can make a difference. So I chose one issue and I’ve stuck with it.”
