Our Method

We believe in creating beauty from the inside out. With this belief, anything we create stems from our fundamental values of social good and environmental consciousness. This pull to our values is just as strong as the need to design and create because story behind each product is just as important as the product itself. 

Our Design Process

All collections begin with the same essentials: Good music, a strong cup of coffee, and inspiration! Before our pencil hits paper, we bring forward colors and textures we feel connected to. Often abstract textures such as wooden beads, a favorite sweater, a copper patina. We start from a place of idealism, collecting and gathering from the world around us.

As we start to shape and formulate this into our color story and product line, we compare against the trends we see within the industry: Market Research. What colors are we, and our customers, feeling drawn to? What textures, fabrications, prints and patterns are most prevalent? Are we seeing a shift towards geometric or a shift toward floral? While we consider these aspects, the deciding factor truly comes from within. It is our own design eye that we use to translate so that the products become unique to the brand and one-of-a-kind. 

We swatch, pin, sketch, and note our ideas onto our story board. This is quite literally a foam core board, where we haphazardly pin all of our fabric swatches and inspiration tears in order to visualize what the line will look like. We add and take away elements, adjust and move them around until it feels just right. This way we can see the collection as a whole, are we leaning too dark? Are we leaning too light? We rely on this as both our jumping off point and the anchor we return to as we create the line.

Some creators design entirely on the computer, but we respond best to touch, feel, and the freedom to throw something across the room if we see fit. We hand sketch, notate and choose colors from one of our color standard sources. These sources, such as Pantone, make it simple to match colors across continents.

Next comes the flat sketching, dimensions and the technical work, often this is done on the computer. Measuring zipper lengths and hammering out every detail so we are able to translate our ideas into reality with our development partners. We choose where to make each piece based on the skillset of the artisans. 

Our Partners 

We searched high and low for partners across the globe that we believe in to create the products that we believe in. We are often asked how we found the individuals and companies we work with and it honestly comes down to intensive research and occasionally chance. Most importantly, we stood by our values as a brand and found partners who share the same. 

Our fabrics are handwoven by these talented artists on various types of traditional handlooms. Each textile is crafted with the quality that comes with handmade techniques and expertise. 

Photograph by Five P Venture

We stand whole heartedly for social good. Our partners in India prioritize safe and comfortable working conditions for all artisans, fair wages, and a studio that runs entirely on solar panels. They employ their artisans year-round, 75% of them female. They ensure transparency and ethical compliance in every step of the supply chain. 

Photograph by Five P Venture

Our partner in Morocco started her business after hearing tales of artisans being taken advantage of in disproportionate trades. They are on a mission to help women and men artisans flourish. They personally work with each and every maker, with the priority to develop relationships with each. They provide fair wages and the transparency to know exactly where and how each product is made. 

Photograph by Jennie Ketchem

With their help we have also been able to work with a collective of women in Salé, Morocco. An initiative created by young women to preserve the culture and tradition of rug weaving while providing security for them and their families through this income.

Photograph by Jennie Ketchem

Our partner in Turkey is a family-owned and operated business that repurposes vintage flat-woven Kilim rugs to give them a second life. We love working with them because we are able to save these uniquely handcrafted textiles from landfills.

We are proud to learn, grow, and design alongside partners who value people and the earth over profit.  

Our Outlook

We believe that filling one's home is the exploration of collecting that which expresses the life and values of the inhabitants within. We take care in our process because we know our customers care as much as we do. We believe in creating beauty from the inside out: from process to product. 

Each of our products comes with a story that is unique as the piece itself and we honor our customer's desire for transparency. Each Clutter product carries the tale of a designer's passion, of a vintage finds’ past life, of artistry passed through generations. We aim to use our creative voice to share collections that speak to your soul, that fill your home with beauty, and woven together, become a chapter in your story.