Life & Style | maker •
By Karen Greco
Sprouting Cheer
Mushrooms are having a moment. New York City recently hosted a Fungus Festival that drew over 1,000 enthusiasts. Research touting the benefits of psilocybin is now mainstream. Umami is all the rage in foodie circles. Closer to home, South Kingstown artist Emily Quillen launched Festive Fungi in time for the holiday season. Her red and white-freckled mushroom ornaments, created from upcycled Patrón corks, add extra
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magic to the tree. “I love making these happy little things,” she says. The RISD-trained graphic designer and painter worked in Boston as a book cover artist for Houghton Mifflin before transitioning into the paper industry, crafting greeting cards, wedding invitations, and other personalized paper goods. “I did a lot of trend work for the greeting card company,” she says. “I’d do
presentations on what was popular in the marketplace, identifying holiday and seasonal trends.” Woodland themes were consistently popular across multiple genres, from wedding to baby. During the pandemic, Quillen was hanging out on her couch, staring at a decorative bowl of corks on the coffee table. A dome-shaped tequila cork caught her eye, and she realized it made a great mushroom.
Photos by Stefy Hilmer Photography, courtesy of Festive Fungi
A graphic artist transforms cork stoppers into mushroom ornaments
