Illuminated Tapestries are here! Deluxe edition indie publisher Beehive Books has been plugging away throughout the pandemic years. When last we checked in on them they were putting out awesome comics projects like Ronald Wimberly’s LAAB, a Harrison Cady collection, and much much more. In the last few years they’ve been producing gorgeous deluxe editions of SF/fantasy classic books illustrated by comics greats, the Illuminated Editions line. The minute you set eyes on one of these volumes, you need to own one. But even if you have one in your collection, you have probably thought one thing:
“Why isn’t this beautiful book available in blanket form?”
And Beehive has you covered. Literally.
“Books are for nerds,” says Josh O’Neill, Beehive publishers. “We’re about blankets now.”
PR tells it all:
Beehive is launching ILLUMINATED TAPESTRIES: a line of stunning woven blankets with an all-star lineup of graphic artists and illustrators. Lisa Hanawalt is the designer of the Bojack Horseman universe and characters. Jim Woodring is the creator of FRANK, one of the most celebrated comic series of all time. Yuko Shimizu’s artwork has been featured on nearly every platform you can think of, from Pepsi cans to Penguin book covers. But none of them have created blankets before.
“This is an opportunity for celebrated artists to explore a totally different medium,” says O’Neill, “and a chance for us to try something new. We’re obsessed with production and design and the materiality of our books… it’s thrilling to get a chance to bring that expertise and fixation into textiles, which like books are useful things, meant to be touched and manipulated.”
The inaugural line of the Illuminated Tapestry series features three blankets, with more to come in the series. Each is limited to an edition of five hundred pieces, never to be re-released. They are made entirely of organic cotton, domestically sourced, and woven on looms in South Carolina.
Beehive’s own publishing practice, which often features unusual formats, large sizes, and handmade production touches, has been plagued by recent global supply chain issues caused by COVID, climate.
“It’s exciting to be able to work domestically, with a family business, to produce such beautiful crafts. Our work with our wonderful partners overseas continues, but everything has become harder in recent years. We always try to look at challenges as opportunities for invention. We’re happy to be able to do this project domestically,, using organic, abundant domestically sourced materials. These blankets make a perfect companion to our books, and come from the same place of love for art and craft.”
“This is only the beginning,” O’Neill adds. We have works by some true legends of graphic art waiting in the wings. It’s going to be a long, cozy winter.”
The ILLUMINATED TAPESTRIES campaign will continue to run on Kickstarter until November 17th.
