Atelier: Symphony of Yarn
for Merida Studio | 2025 | Publication Design, Copyediting, Photography, Project Management
Creating an artist book that documented the Atelier Period while positioning Merida Studio’s textiles as collectible design.
Atelier: Symphony of Yarn is a monograph documenting Sylvie Johnson’s Atelier Period at Merida Studio—a body of work that marked both the culmination of an artist’s exploration and a pivotal evolution in the studio’s identity. Designed as an artist book rather than a catalog, the publication situates the textiles within art history, material culture, and architectural space, helping reposition the work as collectible design while offering a lasting record of the collaboration.
Using restraint, historical design references, and minimal language to let material, image, and structure carry meaning.
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Problem
Merida Studio needed a way to clearly communicate the artistic seriousness of its first artist-in-residence series while closing a chapter on the Atelier Period with intention. Existing photography, marketing materials, and product-oriented language weren’t sufficient to contextualize the work as art — particularly for collectors, gallerists, and designers accustomed to artist books as signals of legitimacy. The challenge was to create a publication that honored the depth of the work without over-explaining it, while also reflecting the studio’s parallel evolution toward an art-forward identity.
The book was developed alongside the final year of the Atelier Period, meaning content, photography, and structure were all in motion simultaneously. The original written content was poetic and fragmentary rather than finalized, requiring careful editorial translation. The audience skewed middle-aged, necessitating readability without sacrificing visual restraint. Production introduced additional constraints, including international printing logistics, language barriers, and long lead times — all while maintaining a high standard appropriate for collectible design.
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Solution
The strategy was to let restraint do the talking. Drawing from 20th-century graphic design traditions—Bauhaus, Swiss modernism, and early art publications — I built a grid-based, minimal system that foregrounded imagery and material presence over explanation. Copy was kept sparse and poetic, supported by clear structure rather than dense interpretation. Existing brand typography was retained to reinforce continuity between the artist’s evolution and the studio’s rebrand, while layouts borrowed architectural logic to echo the spatial conversations embedded in the work. The result was a book that behaves like an exhibition: paced, intentional, and confident enough to leave space for interpretation.
This project was deeply collaborative. I worked closely with the artist to curate the works, shape the narrative arc of the book, and translate her handwritten notes and poetic drafts into polished copy that preserved her voice. In parallel, I partnered with the studio’s owner and director to ensure the publication aligned with Merida Studio’s broader repositioning. Weekly reviews, iterative layout studies, and ongoing dialogue allowed the book to evolve organically — responding to the work as it was being completed rather than forcing it into a detached, predetermined mold.
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Results
The finished book became both a capstone and a signal. It helped audiences — designers, collectors, and gallerists — understand Sylvie Johnson’s Atelier Period works as collectible design, while reinforcing Merida Studio’s commitment to artist-led textile practice. Used alongside the Atelier Period retrospective, the book served as both documentation and advocacy, extending the life of the series beyond the exhibition. Ongoing book purchases now function as a qualitative measure of how well the studio’s art-first positioning is resonating, while also placing Merida Studio into personal libraries where word-of-mouth and long-term credibility are built.
Atelier: Symphony of Yarn solidified the Atelier Period as a serious body of work, supporting Merida Studio’s transition into the collectible design and art space.