DragonflightDreams

Hi, and welcome! My name is Amanda, the creative force behind Dragonflight Dreams. As anyone who knows me can attest, I have a bit of a thing for dragons (<---- understatement) and a thing for the idea of flying and a habit of dreaming big. 'Dragonflight Dreams' is a marriage of all three.

I'm a freelance graphic designer by day, and a dabbler in various arts the rest of the time. My degree was a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, which included many classical studio art classes. I got to try my hand at drawing, painting, darkroom photography, sculpture and more. It gave me an ongoing love for creating with my hands. While I love my job as a graphic designer, it is very computer-and-mouse oriented these days, and I missed an outlet for hands-on creativity.

Screen printing intrigued me because it was new (to me), and something I could DIY and be self-taught at. The fact that it lends itself easily to both experimentation and repetition meant I was instantly hooked, and decided to venture an Etsy shop. And so Dragonflight Dreams was born in 2011. :)

My two main sources of inspiration are stories (fantasy/mythology) and nature. I pull all of my ideas for designs from one or the other. Then it's a matter of taking that motif and putting my own spin on it. My look is very bold and stylized, different from a lot of the screen printed goods out there.

I come up with each and every design, sketching and editing before settling on a final version. I then make each screen myself, whether by hand-painting, photo emulsion, or stenciling. I'm also the sole arbitrator of which ink colors go on which shirts or papers, and I do all of the actual screen printing myself. Each piece is hand-pulled. It’s a one-woman shop from start to finish, so everything you see was made by me personally!

Dragonflight Dreams' made-to-order shirts are printed on Bella brand tri-blend stock. They are super soft, flattering, and hold up well in the laundry. For art prints, paper stock is mainly handmade Nepalese lokta paper, which is eco-friendly, Fair Trade, and acid free. There are a few Thai mulberry, banana, and mango leaf papers in the mix as well, some with floral/natural inclusions. All of the papers have a great texture and earthy feel.

Dragonflight Dreams has participated in a couple of small pop-up shops, and was a vendor at the 2014 Austin Craft Riot Summer Show, the Round Rock Holiday Bazaar 2014, and the EtsyATX Holiday Show 2014.