When my daughter Marlowe was born, a dear friend sent her a silk baby blanket. This was a time when I felt most deprived of luxury and sleep. I had heard that sleeping on silk was an ancient beauty secret, so I would drape her blanket across my pillow at night (shameless, I know). I was so in love with the experience that I decided I had to create a line of silk pillowcases of exceptional quality, naturally- dyed, unique and beautiful. Six years later, Marlowe and I worked together to create the first Leizu pillowcase using flowers from our own garden. We sprinkled roses, crepe myrtle, coreopsis, marigolds and whatever else we could find with rich, bold color. If the gifted baby blanket was the conception, then that moment of creating something new with my daughter was the birth of Leizu. As an artist with a focus on collage, botanical prints on silk feel like an extension of my fine art. My team and I still dye everything in my kitchen and my daughter is growing up surrounded by silk, flowers and the business she helped inspire. Each of our one-of-a-kind pieces is dyed, cut and sewn by myself and other artisans in Virginia.