Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1276109
E rin Flett, like many artists, feels driven to create. But unlike many artists, the graphic designer also has a concrete vision of where creativity can take her. Erin Flett Textiles & Home has grown from an after-hours sideline in the basement to a national brand that sells to more than 200 wholesalers. Customers range from local boutiques to large retailers like L.L.Bean and Plow & Hearth, as well trade customers, like hotels and interior designers. Flett's firm manufactures bags, pillows, wallpaper and other textiles using her hand-printed designs. A recent customer is the new 300-room Catalina Island Resort hotel in California, which is using her accent pillows. "One pillow on every bed," she says. "It's the last detail for them, but the first detail people see when they walk into the room." It's gratifying, Flett says, that her products can pull a room together and be a necessary finishing touch. "at's what brings me joy." She was a busy freelance graphic designer in 2007, with two small chil- dren, when she felt the need to "put patterns on fabric." Her husband, a carpenter, built equipment for her in the basement. While she started small, selling bags and other textiles on the maker website Etsy, "I knew I wanted to do wholesale." M A N U FAC T U R I N G , D E S I G N Erin Flett Owner Erin Flett Textiles & Home Erin Flett Textiles & Home 2 Main St., Gorham Founded: 2009 Description: Flett's line of hand- printed textiles includes pillows, bags, glassware, wall art, limited edition paper products, rugs and wallpaper. Sold both wholesale and retail, her accounts include retailers, including a partnership with L.L. Bean, interior designers, architects, and the hospitality industry. Her vision is to create highly designed and crafted home goods that are mindfully made. Employees: 18 Contact: 207-839-2814 / www.erinflett.com P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Erin Flett was a successful freelance graphic designer, but felt the need to create her own products. Now she has more than 200 wholesale customers across the country. B y m a u R e e n m i l l i k e n V O L . X X V I N O. X I X A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 2 0 22 Driven to Design