Good Quilt & Blue Skies Workroom

"Traditional craft and modern aesthetic. My job is not done until people know quilts are art."

Designers and collaborators Gretchen Carder and Rolando Gumler are liberal with their use of color, pattern, and texture in their quilts. Grounded in design principles, their work brings visual interest and warmth to your home. In their latest series, the custom-designed, screen-printed fabric becomes the hero of the piece, but the quilting texture gives the work a softness that you want to touch.

Each piece of fabric is carefully selected to be used at a large scale. Patterns are screen printed by Alyssa Salomon of Blue Skies Workroom using water-based, eco-friendly inks. Carder assembles the quilt layers using modern quilting machines, but the technique is rooted in a 400-year-old American tradition. The quilts are constructed using 100% cotton or linen fabric, cotton thread, and cotton batting.

Carder studied design at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked as a graphic designer in her early career. In 2020, she decided that a change was necessary and moved from creating work in a digital space to bringing her designs to life in the physical world. Gumler studied Graphic Communication at VCU and has extensive experience in product design for residential and commercial products.