When I think of where VesperTwine began, I think of a quick sketch and a desire to try something new. I’m the type of person who likes to dive into the deep end of a hobby or skill and figure it out the hard way. Learning the ins and outs of linoleum and block-printing was no different. Even today, I’m still learning and discovering new tools to make my job and passion easier.

My first design, Mushroom, turns five this year. I can hardly believe I’ve spent half a decade printing and making t-shirts, art prints, and stickers with this design. Originally an idea—an excuse—to try something new, the Mushroom design has become so much more in the history of VesperTwine and in my life. But that isn’t really where VesperTwine began.

Before I made the Mushroom design—and cut my fingers carving the lino blocks and pressed the ink into a t-shirt on my living room floor using only my knees and knuckles—I sold stickers. Then, VesperTwine was called “My Cozy Canvas,” an Etsy exclusive store where I sold stickers made at home on a Cricut. I was happy that people loved my art and were willing to take a chance on me.

I didn’t make much, and it wasn’t a living, but every order made me excited. I waited for the ping of a notification and stalked how many times people had liked my listings. And when I went to make the stickers they ordered, I spent hours working through the kinks that came with learning new tools. It was easier in the beginning, but as the months rolled by and the stickers continued peeling, the color fading, and I had resorted to cutting each sticker by hand, I found myself driven to try something new.

Thus: the Mushroom shirt. I had never expected to become a full-time printmaker. It’s not what I was studying at university (closer to the exact opposite, actually), and it was originally meant only to be something new to try. Similar to knitting, sculpting, and oil painting. Not a business, just a pastime. A hobby. But I posted it online and was blown away by the positive feedback. People loved it. They wanted to see more of it. It was the first time my art had truly made an impact online and had the potential to change my life.

Having this be the thing I became known for felt good. It felt right. I liked working with my hands. The feeling of cutting the linoleum away to bring the design to life. The satisfying reveal of rolling the ink over the block. Carefully pressing my fingers, hands, and knees over every inch of the block to make sure it transferred perfectly onto the shirt.

It wasn’t long before I made another design titled Potion Bottles, now retired. And I kept making designs, thinking of plans, researching linoleum and block-printing, and dreaming of all the new things I could do with this ancient art form. Of all the ways I could learn to adapt to it. To twist my art to fit within the confines of the physical medium, and all the ways it would widen my abilities.

Before any of that, I knew I needed to give my art a proper home to live in. At this time, I was still making and releasing my art under My Cozy Canvas. A cute name, sure, but not very reflective of the art I was putting out into the world. Of me. I spent weeks deliberating over names. For a while, I looked at every word differently, considering. Listening. I didn’t want to miss it when something finally spoke to me.

The replacement for My Cozy Canvas was born on a phone call. My partner and I were brainstorming together when we found the word “vespertine.” At the time, I wrapped my orders with a roll of twine. So, I added a letter and capitalized two and fell wholly in love with a word my partner and I had completely made up. VesperTwine. It fit perfectly. I hadn’t missed it.

When I think of where VesperTwine began, I think of the Mushroom t-shirt. The sketch it was born from, and the hours I spent carving the blocks. Really, though, VesperTwine began with me screaming at a Cricut machine and refreshing my Etsy page waiting for an order. The shirt, the block-printing, and VesperTwine, came later.