About
Our Brand
Palmar goods is a handmade, earth-conscious accessories line based in Santa Barbara, California. Each piece is designed and individually dyed in our sunny backyard studio, using non-toxic vegetable dyes on 100% cotton canvas, and finished in downtown LA with vegetable tanned leather. Every item in the collection is both a highly functional, essential accessory, and a completely unique, one-of-a-kind work of art.
Our Story
Palmar Goods was founded in 2018 by celebrity stylist Shelby Scudder. After the birth of her son, Reggie, Shelby put her career on pause, but was eager to begin a new creative endeavor that combined her love of color and style with her awareness of the impact the fashion industry can have on the planet. While Reggie napped, Shelby deeply researched and eagerly experimented with the world of vegetable dying. Her exploration of natural color evolved from upcycled tees, to linen pillow cases, and eventually landed on cotton canvas. From there, she developed our signature tote, with the intention of making each Palmar Goods product as functional as it is beautiful and unique.
Our Process
Using only natural materials and earth-kind processes, each bag is mindfully made, from start to finish.
We start with 100% cotton canvas, which undergoes a scouring (cleaning) and mordanting (allowing the fabric to absorb dye) process that takes nearly two days. Once prepped, the canvas for each piece is hand-dyed, one at a time, using techniques ranging from traditional American tie-dye and Japanese Shibori to dip and bundle dying. Plant extracts, onion skins, whole flowers, lemons, avocado pits picked up from our local coffee shop — these are just some of the sources for our vegetable dyes, which are created using rain and seawater whenever possible.
We have amazing partners who help us finish the job. From Alex in downtown LA who hand-sews each bag, to Catherine in Minneapolis who letter-presses our tags on recycled cotton paper, to tattoo artist Laura in Brooklyn who illustrated our logo, we collaborate with artists and small businesses whenever possible. And even when we work with the big guys, we try to keep it sustainable- our products are shipped in US-made, sustainable, 100% recycled cardboard boxes, and we offer UPS’s carbon neutral shipping option at checkout.
Our Name
Just like our process and products, our name is a happy union of the intuitive and the technical. A whimsically concocted- and very California- combination of ‘palm’ (as in the tree!) and ‘mar’ (as in the sea!), ‘palmar,' by definition, also nods to the handmade nature of our products. "Of or relating to the palm of the hand," acknowledges their creation, while the ancient Roman 'palma,' meaning an outstretched palm, suggests an offering, indicating how we think of each product we present to you.