Meet Annabel Berthoff

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annabel Berthoff.

Hi Annabel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey with natural dyeing using plant material really began when I first moved out to Los Angeles for college. I was attending Otis College of Art and Design and had just moved from Toronto Canada. I found that the best way for me to understand and learn more about Los Angeles was through learning about and experimenting with the plant material, which was so vastly different from what I was used to in Toronto. This experimentation with natural dyeing led me to my senior project, where I made a large quilt mapping out the city of Los Angeles, using fabric that I dyed with plant material, that was gathered in the area it was representing on the quilt map. For example, I used Seaweed to represent the ocean, Bougainvillea to represent the neighbourhoods and Acorns to represent the Santa Monica Mountains, just to name a few.

I was so enamoured by the process of natural dyeing and inspired by the Los Angeles plant material, that I began my business Petal Press, as a way to share the beauty of natural dyeing with others. I currently create eco-printed silk scarves using native wildflowers, Lavender filled warmable silk eye pillows as well as naturally dyed linen napkin sets. These products are available through my website, I am also very grateful to have them carried at various shops around California.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel like the road of starting a business has been relatively smooth. I think the main thing was figuring out what I would want to create that would tell the story of the Los Angeles plant material and be something people would want to use in their daily life and then take the plunge into starting a business. I am continuing to evolve and grow my product line and I’m so grateful to my stockists and customers who have supported me to this point.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Through College, I got a job at General Store in Venice, a beautiful boutique that carries the work so many amazing local artists and brands. This was a great opportunity to learn more about how a small business operates and how local brands get their products represented in stores.

I am beyond grateful that General Store now carries my products both online and in-store at their Venice and San Fransisco locations! They have been such a supportive little family to me.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Of course! I’m so grateful to my design school college professors who didn’t just push the idea of getting a traditional design job after college but also encouraged us to take on more entrepreneurial ventures. I am also very grateful to be surrounded by friends who are starting/operating their own small businesses, and being able to share information and learn from each other is so valuable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://petalpress-shop.com
• Instagram: @a_berthoff @petalpress.la

Image Credits
Alyssa Quigley – shooting for General Store