Hand Made Life

Hi, I'm Joy Light, I design and hand painted silk fashion and home accessories in Ashland, Oregon. Painting silk has always been my passion, it began as a hobby and has grown into a full time enterprise over the years since the children have grown. I consider myself a designer and my favorite thing is to create unique wardrobe items for special people to wear for special occasions!

When I first moved to Oregon in October of 1989, I enjoyed experimenting with painting silk outdoors. Since I didn't have a studio - my creativity was limited to "weather permitting" with my frames balanced on saw horses. In my next home, I had a small room that was dedicated to my "hobby".

Now, in my current home, I have a proper studio on the north side of the house, with excellent natural light from windows on three walls. Plus there is enough room for a sewing station and two rolling work tables, which allows me to easily move them out of the way to make room for photo shoots.

I'm so grateful to have a generously sized studio space to make use of! And when the weather permits, I still enjoy painting en plein air.

Please watch this video and join me for a virtual studio tour and silk painting demonstration!

I'm very particular about the quality of my materials. I use DuPont Silk Dyes, a wonderful French brand with a brilliant array of colors. Additionally, I favor Chinese silks over Indian and Vietnamese varieties, because of their superior quality and consistency.

I love making accessories because scarves and shawls are easy to wear and allow for endless versatility for your wardrobe. A person anywhere in the world can take a bit of fabric and add it to their outfit to create a beautiful put-together style. Adding a hand painted silk scarf or shawl to your look effortlessly creates an instant wardrobe upgrade.

It makes me feel so much better when I toss a scarf or a shawl around my neck with my jeans when dashing to pick up the kids or running errands. It always makes feel better about myself and the compliments are always welcome!

Your elegant style is easily elevated with the addition of Joy Hand Painted Silks. I'm wearing a fabulous vintage Bill Blass silk chiffon cocktail dress with hand painted silk ruana.

A custom made hand painted silk shawl, wrap or garment is elegant, practical and enviable on a summer evening and for any and all special occasions. 

There is nothing softer than a silk scarf next to your skin. You know - you just can't have too many scarves!