About

Idyllwilde is my design and workshop studio based in Florence, Alabama. I work with natural fiber textiles and plant-based dyes to make clothing, accessories, home provisions and art. 

Born in Los Angeles, California, my family moved to England when I was seven, and I spent a large part of my childhood at school in Malvern Wells, Worcestershire , where sewing, knitting, mending and darning were incorporated into daily life, as well as extensive playtime in the surrounding fields, woods, and hills. Summers were spent back in California, in the small mountain town Idyllwild. Here, professional artists and musicians gathered at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts to teach workshops, hone their skills, and mentor young artists.

After getting my degree in French Literature at UCLA, I worked in Los Angeles as an apparel designer for over a decade, and then returned to school to study Architecture, at Auburn University, Alabama. I worked as an architectural designer, and in community development, at the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, a research arm of the University of Mississippi, before moving to Florence, Alabama in 2013.

Named after that vibrant arts community in California, and informed by traditional English domestic arts, Idyllwilde is an expression of my respect for practical, durable design that is inspired by nature’s palette and forms.

Thank you for your interest and support,

Nadene Mairesse, Founder of Idyllwilde