Designer Spotlight: Jenny Lee-Katz

As idealistic as I was when I started Green Your Decor, I always had a nagging question in the back of my head. Would I eventually run out of products and designers to write about? Would the trend toward greener living eventually fade into the past? Would everyone just go back to doing things the “conventional” way, chemicals and all?

It is product designers like Jenny Lee-Katz who give me renewed hope that the future — for me and everyone else — is indeed a greener one.

According to her site, Katz always had a love for textiles and design, but was appalled at the amount of waste created by the manufacturing process. She soon discovered that instead of the traditional dyeing process, textiles could printed digitally with eco-friendly pigment dyes that are printed directly onto the surface of the fabric, leaving almost no waste.

Jenny has taken care to make sure that every conceivable aspect of her products are eco-friendly and easy on the Earth. And on top of the great respect I have for this attitude toward the environment, her textiles are absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous. Her collection includes beautiful printed fabrics made of hemp, organic cotton and linen, and a variety of housewares utilizing these fabrics, including throw pillows and eco-friendly floor cloths, a great alternative to an area rug. Also in the works is a line of kid-friendly prints and matching products, along with a collection of beautifully designed handbags.

Is there anything Jenny Lee-Katz can’t do? That remains to be seen, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on her site.

Why It’s Green:

• Textiles printed with pigment inks on organic cotton canvas, hemp and linen
• Non-slip rug pads are plant-based
• Floor cloths finished with an ultra-low VOC, soy-based protective coating
• Bags finished with a water-based sealant

Pricing

• Fabrics: $90/yard
• Floor Cloths: $170-470
  
• Pillows/Pillow Covers: $126-160