SUPERPOSITION STUDIO - Trailblazing Women Printmakers

A visual history of the Folly Cove Designers (1941-1969)—one of America’s longest-running block printing collectives.

The Folly Cove Designers (officially 1941-1969) was a grassroots collective of predominantly women block printers founded by Caldecott Award-winner and beloved children’s book author/illustrator Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios (of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel fame).

This trailblazing Gloucester, MA–based group produced more than three hundred distinct designs, which they block printed on fabric. The designs conveyed personal and regional narratives through the use of shared design principles and the compelling language of pattern. The group was propelled to international fame through commercial contracts with major retailers (F. Schumacher, Lord & Taylor, etc.), articles in leading periodicals such as Life, and participation in seminal fine craft exhibitions. Their work continues to inspire contemporary printmakers around the globe, particularly women printmakers.