Rachel Elise Aughtry and Angelic Rutherford, artists
Rachel Elise Aughtry, of Rachel Elise Studio in Mars Hill, announces a line of collaborative work with Angelic Rutherford of Rutherford & Pug, also in Mars Hill. Rutherford & Pug opened this year and offers wares including textiles, art, home furnishings and curated vintage items.
“Angie and I became fast friends when her shop opened a few months ago,” says Aughtry. “We quickly bonded over our love of textiles. I’m always interested in working with new materials, and she was looking to turn some of her textiles into bags.”
Rachel Elise Aughtry and Angelic Rutherford, artists
Rutherford is a long-time collector and creator of textiles with a background in television set design. “When she couldn’t find the fabric she wanted, she would design it and have it produced,” says Aughtry. “Over the years, she has used her knowledge of textiles to create quite a library of signature prints. It has been an honor to give them new life as a line of bags. Her Turkish Rug prints, in particular, are perfect summer colors.” The bags are available at both shops and on Rachel Elise Studio’s website.
Rutherford is equally excited about the creative partnership. “It’s always such a joy to collaborate with Rachel,” she says. “She’s wildly talented, and we instantly bonded over our shared obsession with textiles—safe to say we speak the same fabric-loving language.”
For Aughtry, collaboration serves as a means of broadening perspectives as well as exercising creativity. “It’s always exciting to work with new materials and develop deep relationships with other artists,” she says. “Every artist has their own business model and points of distribution, so it’s fun to figure out the logistics with a peer in the same field. Plus, it’s a great way for both artists to expand their audience to new places.”
Rachel Elise Studio is located at 10 North Main Street, and Rutherford & Pug can be found at 180 Carl Eller Road, both in Mars Hill. Learn more at RachelElise.com and Instagram @rutherfordandpug. See Feature Artist story for more about Rachel Elise Aughtry’s work.
