Two decades ago, Laurie Jacobi was a young graphic designer who had grown weary of her career. So she left it behind and moved up north to a cabin in the woods. "Everybody thought I was crazy," she recalled.
She spent seven years there, bonding with nature, soaking up American Indian lore and culture and making jewelry out of "roadkill" (porcupine quills). Then Faribault Woolen Mills asked her to design some Indian-themed blankets, launching Jacobi on a new career as a textile designer. She creates woolen blankets (now produced by Pendleton), rugs and clothing that evoke pine needles, birch bark and ginkgo leaves, among other things. Her birch-bark blanket was featured this year in the New York Times, and her pieces are sold via her website (www.lauriejacobi.com), at trunk shows and at Nordic Home Interiors in Minneapolis.
We caught up with Jacobi in the Minneapolis home she shares with her husband, Realtor Cotty Lowry, and their 12-year-old son, Anders.
Q You call yourself a storyteller in wool -- why?
A All my designs are based on stories and legends, particularly about nature, from Native American to Scandinavian to Japanese.
Q What prompted your interest in Japan?
A I studied Japanese flower arranging in college. It had a huge impact on my life and my work. The instructor told us, "When you cut a flower to arrange it, you cut its life short. It's your job to make it as beautiful as you can." We need to do that with our lives, as well. It inspired me to follow my heart, my passion, to do what I love. And aesthetically, I appreciate Japanese design because of its simplicity. It's about trying to get at the essence of something, not just be decorative.
Q How did your time up north influence you as a designer?
