Custom Creations — Zanny Johnson

I love making and am so captivated by the intersection of creativity and spirituality.

I love the process—raw materials, the stirring within, dreaming about the whole, jumping in, getting a little lost along the way, trusting—and ending with a beautiful something that wasn’t there before.

Creating something beautiful from almost nothing…just a few scraps and stitches, alchemy and (channeling my Grandma Ruby’s) ingenuity! Turns out almost everything I put my hand to is patchwork—patching together, overlapping seams, bits coming alongside one another.

This patching together—making something new from fragments of the old—reworking, reshaping, reimagining—adding new vision and breathing in new life—is my passion.

Quilts

Nothing brings me more joy than creating something from (almost) nothing, and patchwork—specifically quilts—is the warm, meaningful manifestation of something-from-nothingness. A few scraps, playing with placement, using materials that may be or have been clothing of a loved one…I LOVE to create quilts that honor someone. The quilts below were, from left to right, from beloved Grandma’s clothing who had passed away (perhaps my favorite kind of quilt—a memory quilt), the next two were graduation gifts for two nieces, and the next two are baby quilts, created for two new human beings.

Characteristic Collages

The first collage I ever made was for my mom's 70th birthday. My sister had just died and my brother had died four years before that, so I had a deep desire to create something so special and meaningful for my sweet momma who had suffered so much. I generated a list of 70 adjectives/character qualities/words to describe her, with a 1-inch x 1-inch mini vignette assigned to each word, then assembled them into one big collage…and characteristic collages were born.

If there is an important person in your life with a significant birthday or event coming up, I’d love to help you celebrate them by creating a custom characteristic collage.

Furniture and pillows

Breathing new life into old things through patchwork re-covering and bespoke pillows, adding character, joy, charm. If you have an old chair or bench you want recovered, or pillows made from a beloved’s clothing…reach out! I would love to make something for you.