Plate 01, Cornflower, on the studio table.
Each of Lauren Buchanan’s textiles begin as watercolour paintings, inspired by nature, family and form. Transformed into cloth, they become part of your baby’s journey, from swaddle to story, from moment to memory.
Lauren trained as a painter before she had children, and the first swaddle was made for her own daughter: a cornflower she had painted for a friend’s wedding, printed onto a metre of muslin because nothing in the shops felt like it belonged in their house. Friends asked for one. Then their friends did.
The studio is still small. Patterns are painted at the kitchen table on the edge of the Port Hills in Christchurch, scanned once, and printed in small runs. Each colourway is named for the plant that started it, and carries a short note on where that plant turns up in art, the way a plate in an old botanical catalogue would.
Everything is 100% cotton muslin, the crinkled double-gauze kind that gets softer every time it is washed. It is made to be used hard: wrapped, spilled on, dragged to the park, and eventually handed down.
A study on paper
Fig, Cornflower and Snowberry each began as a series of watercolour studies. One is chosen and repeated by hand until the spacing feels right.
Onto double-gauze muslin
The painting is printed with water-based inks onto pre-shrunk cotton muslin, so the brush edges and washes come through.
Hemmed and labelled
Swaddles are hemmed to 120 by 120 centimetres. Playmats are quilted from four layers with a light cotton wadding. Each carries the woven blue label.
Caring for muslin
Wash before first use, at up to 40°C with like colours. Air dry; a tumble dryer on low is fine in a hurry. The crinkle is part of the cloth, so there is no need to iron. Muslin softens with every wash and is at its best after the tenth.
Shipping & returns
Tracked NZ post, 2 to 5 working days. Free over $120. Or collect from the studio in Christchurch. Unwashed pieces can be returned within 30 days for a refund or exchange. Email hello@laurenbuchanan.co.nz and we will sort it out.
Stockists
The full catalogue is here, and a small selection is carried by a handful of independent shops in Christchurch and Wellington. Ask at your local, or write to us and we will point you to the nearest.
