Utah Ecosystem Napkins

Celebrate Utah's natural beauty with this set of four hand-dyed cotton napkins. Each napkin is screenprinted with native Utah plants—from delicate wildflowers and resilient cacti to alpine and desert species. Crafted from 100% cotton, these napkins bring the state's diverse ecosystems to your table. Perfect for everyday use or as a thoughtful gift for nature lovers.

DETAILS
These napkins are hand-dyed with fiber reactive dye and screenprinted in Salt Lake City with a design that features plants and pollinators from different ecosystems throughout Utah. The first is alpine; think columbine and bluebells in Albion basin or the Uintas. Next is foothills; above the avenues with penstemon and asters. Then we have high plateu/semi-desert; like much of the basin and range region, with yucca and datura. And lastly, we have desert; with cholla and claret cup cactus.

- Set of 4 screenprinted, hand-dyed napkins, 100% cotton.
- Each set of napkins includes four different designs featuring various wildflowers that can be found throughout the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains.
- The assorted color option includes a red, moss green, sage green and yellow, each with a different design. The solid set also has a different design on each napkin, but all four are the same color.

PROCESS
Screenprinting: After drawing my design by hand, the image is scanned into a computer and a film positive is printed. The film is used to expose a screen that has been coated with light-sensitive photo emulsion. Once the screen has been exposed to a bright light with the film vacuum-suctioned to it, it is developed with a pressure washer. The areas where the film was black get washed out, and the rest hardens. These areas that washed out are now open mesh that ink can pass through. A squeegee is used to push ink through the screen onto the paper. Each image is printed by hand, so slight variations may occur.

Procion dyeing, also called Fiber Reactive dye: I get my dye from Dharma Trading co. and do the dyeing in my washing machine at home. The process involves dissolving the powdered dye in enough water to cover all of the fabric I'm dyeing, then adding salt and soda ash to ensure the dye will be permanent. The vat needs a lot of stirring and agitation while the bandanas are soaking. The whole process takes about 3-4 hours and produces deep rich colors that will not fade even after repeated washings.


ABOUT THE ARTIST
I studied printmaking in college and worked at a fine-art screenprinting studio in Brooklyn, New York for three years before taking time off to focus on my own work and travel. I currently live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where I work as a gardener and love hiking, biking, camping and skiing in the mountains.

All of my work is based on original drawings, mostly inspired by the natural world and printed by hand.

Vendor 

Anna Bugbee Studio