ABOUT

Writer, graphic designer, and self-taught artist and illustrator Lori Nawyn helps others discover their own inherent strengths and abilities. She has written two inspirational books for girls and women, and three cookbooks. She illustrated two mainstream children’s books, What Are You Thinking? and Love, Hugs, and Hope: When Scary Things Happen. The latter book, created to help survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, continues to be used in classrooms and clinical settings across the country. Nawyn has illustrated inspirational and educational children's’ works for public and private entities. 

Clients include The Christensen Academy of Music and Dance Foundation. For the Academy, she designed life-sized characters from The Nutcracker Ballet by Willam Christensen, the father of the American Nutcracker. Over her career, she has developed print and video art curriculum for students in Africa and Fiji. She also founded Hearts and Hands Dolls, a non-profit organization that manufactures soft sculpt dolls for terminally ill children and elderly shut-ins.   Nawyn is a prolific artist whose work encompasses whimsical and inspirational themes. Her grandmothers are her heroes. Whether her great-grandmother’s treadle sewing machine, or her Grandma Esther’s home-grown vegetables, brood of chickens, or tales of bears, their influence often shows up in her work. Nawyn is married to a firefighter and enjoys seeking adventures in the outdoors, including hiking, fly fishing, and urban mushing with her dogs. She makes her home in the foothills of  Utah’s Rocky Mountains where she owns and operates a country store and grows lavender.

And a little more...

With watercolors and acrylics, Lori Nawyn works to capture both the humorous and the inspirational moments of each day. Growing up in rural Idaho on her grandparents farm, Lori began sketching and writing about the world around her in an effort to capture its magic and beauty. 

When she grew up, Lori paired her childhood pursuits with her desire to help others find hope and joy to create Huckleberry Moose--a fabric and stationery brand that celebrates the simple joys of life and living. She enjoys creating whimsical characters to help spread smiles and happiness, art that depicts outdoor experiences and rural lifestyles, and memorable regional and recreational themed art.

A nationally licensed artist since 2019, Lori's sketches of horses, bears, and other creatures are among the inspirations for her characters that have been featured on numerous products ranging from fabrics, cross stitch kits, and hand and machine embroidery patterns, to puzzles, stationery, and home decor. Whether a small drawing of her great-grandmother's vintage sewing machine, a painting of a Siberian Husky, a digital rendition of her grandfather's snow machine innovations, or her interpretation of her own adventures hiking and living in nature, each piece of Lori's art has it's own story.

Now, living in the foothills of northern Utah, Lori endeavors to create work that will uplift and inspire. It is her passion to help others strengthen their relationships with those they love and care about. 

FAQ

What made you decide to start creating your own applique, embroidery, and quilt patterns?

When I saw all the beautiful things people were making with the fabric I designed for national manufacturers, I decided I want to learn traditional hand arts for myself. Now, I love teaching those skills to my students and seeing them blossom and grow in their own creative endeavors.