Meet Dayna Hartford, Artist & Designer

You Are Here! opens this fall at the 4th Floor Gallery in Rockland, Massachusetts. For this unique show, Kristen collaborated with Massachusetts-based artist and designer Dayna Hartford. Together, they have been working hard to create a show that explores New England through the lens of pattern. Ahead of the opening reception on September 7, we sat down with Dayna to learn more about her process and her business.

Get to know Dayna Hartford.

Can you briefly introduce yourself?

My name is Dayna Hartford. I grew up on Cape Cod and now reside in Rockland, Massachusetts, with my husband and two kids. I come from a creative family from both sides of my family. Growing up on the Cape, the ocean really sparked my creativity and still does 🙂

When did you launch Dayna’s Textiles, and what inspired you to start a home decor company?

I launched Dayna’s Textiles during the 2020 pandemic. I have my BFA in Textile Design and have been drawing patterns since I was a girl. A high school art teacher inspired me to look into textile design, and I fell in love with it. By my sophomore year in high school, I knew I wanted to go to college for textiles. I ended up going to UMass Dartmouth and received my BFA in Textile/Fiber Arts.

Since high school, I have had this dream to have my own line and brand and print my products. In 2020, I was furloughed from my job for 14 months, and my son was two years old at the time, so it was the perfect time to go after this dream. I started by painting a toile style of Falmouth, Cape Cod, and then decided to tackle each Cape Cod town. 

What types of products do you sell?

I sell wallpaper, window decals, ceramic tiles, pillows, tea towels, mugs, and blankets. 

You name many of your patterns for specific places. Can you describe your design process for us?

I started with the Cape towns that I know and grew up around and chose iconic landmarks for the towns. For the towns I was unfamiliar with, I asked people who lived there for suggestions of what makes their town unique. Then, I reference photos I have taken or someone else has kindly taken.

Next, I paint with watercolors using a lot of dry brush techniques to get textures of the buildings and landscapes. Once I am done with the watercolor painting, I scan it on the computer and work in Photoshop to create single motifs for each scene. Finally, I put it into repeat. I love putting the toile styles in either a horizontal half-drop or a vertical half-drop. 

Most of your prints are in a toile style. What inspires you about toile textiles and this style? 

I love the toile style because it allows you to tell a story of a particular place. It brings happiness and joy to people reflecting back on the town. 

You recently launched Printivize with your husband. Tell us a little bit about that company.

My husband, Chris, and I started Printivize after realizing there was a demand for onsite printing for the tradeshow industry in Boston. At the time, I was working for a tradeshow company that needed printing on the weekends and nights. I reached out to my dad, who owns a sign company, to help complete a weekend job. Seeing the need for weekend printing opened up an opportunity for Chris and I to start Printivize. We learned that we could print Dayna’s Textiles patterns on wallcovering materials which we had been outsourcing to another company.

Today, in addition to Dayna’s Textiles products, Printivize prints all kinds of signage, trade show signage and booths, and home decor products. This year we started licensing Design Pool patterns to sell on wallpaper, window decals and more. 

What makes Printivize different from other print service providers?

We offer quick turnarounds during times when most print shops are not printing, such as weekends and after 5:00 pm. We take pride in our work and make sure customers get human interaction with their orders.

In addition, we also offer design services and pride ourselves on using USA-made products. Currently, we are building a website so people can order online and we can ship anywhere in the USA.

Everything on our website is custom made which makes us unique. For example, even the wallpaper can be made to the exact size you need on your walls. At this time, we represent three artists in our home decor shop, which we are so proud of.

How do you see Dayna’s Textiles fitting in with this new venture? 

Dayna’s Textiles is part of Printivize’s home decor section. The toile style has been Dayna’s Textiles’ signature style and we will continue to add more USA toile patterns. With all my patterns. I pride myself on my patterns being hand painted or hand drawn before bringing them into repeat. It’s important to me to keep the authentic hand drawn style. 

What are you planning for the You Are Here! show with Kristen?

I am excited to be showing New England patterns in watercolor and pen and ink styles, highlighting the different landscapes and iconic places of New England. I have even painted a historic pattern telling the story of how I came to America from the Pilgrims. New England is a very special place for my family, with a lot of our family history. I have had a lot of fun designing for this show, from the Gingerbread Houses on Martha’s Vineyard to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 

Fun fact about yourself? 

I am a mom of two kids, aged six and two. They are the best! I love seeing their creativity come out. Whenever I am painting, they are usually beside me doing it too 🙂 I am so blessed to have a beautiful family with my husband. When we are not busy, we love to bike, hike and enjoy nature. 

Thanks so much to Dayna Hartford for taking the time to talk to us. Join Kristen and Dayna at the opening for You Are Here! or one of the bookmaking and wine events they’re hosting in conjunction with the show.