October 13, 2005

Leafy Keen

Inleaf Designs

The apple may not fall far from the tree. But what about the leaf?

Different story entirely. Tossed by the winds of chance, wrangled by the rakes of fate, the delicate foliage of autumn cannot know its destiny.

With any luck, however, it will get immortalized on a pillow, tablecloth, or stationery by Inleaf Designs. The company adorns linens and other products with the imprints of real leaves, and the effect is both textural and graphic, organic and modern.

Each of the leaf shapes — geranium, running cedar, Japanese maple, fern, fig, viburnum — leaves a detailed botanical equivalent of a fingerprint on crisp, earth-tone cotton and recycled card stock, paying tribute to nature’s endurance and ephemerality all at once.

Try squeezing that kind of significance from a piece of fruit.

Available online at inleafdesign.com.