About
About Old River Design Co.
Old River Design Co. is a modern handmade home goods brand, started by Katie Furukawa in 2021. Her family name, Furukawa, translates to "old river" in Japanese. Coming from a family with a traditional background in agriculture and quilting, this name fits her perfectly. She strives to maintain a connection to her multi-cultural heritage and while leaving room to let it grow in a modern context.
Old River Design Co. is all about bringing a touch of the handmade into your life. We are inspired by traditional Japanese crafts like sashiko and furoshiki, as well as traditional American crafts like quilting. Then, we put a modern spin on it. The result are beautiful items that will fit seamlessly into your home. Many of the textiles that we use are vintage fabrics that have been curated from private collections; thus, many of our items are only available in limited quantities.
Items are designed and made Katie's studio in San Francisco, CA. Whenever possible, we source recyclable and reusable packaging for our shipping and products.
Keep up with what's going on at Old River Design Co. at @oldriverdesignco on Instagram.
About the artist
Katie (she/her) has been practicing design and crafts since college, where she majored in Architecture at UC Berkeley. It was there that she learned to think like a designer and obsess over details. After college, she started a career in retail merchandising and operations at a design-focused brand.
While her day job allowed her to learn everything about customer service and training others, Katie spent her time outside of work learning how to make different crafts. She fell in love with paper cutting and embossing, and then - at the urging of one of her oldest friends - she bought a sewing machine in 2015 and began her quilting journey. Katie grew up watching her mother sew quilts and learning how to quilt as an adult has deepened her relationship with her mother.
Not long after she began quilting, Katie also began volunteering at the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival's Arts & Crafts fair. Building friendships with this community of independent artists was a slow-burning catalyst in inspiring her to think about working for herself. Later, a Christmas gift of a Cricut machine fell into her lap and she was hooked on how much more consistently she could produce paper and vinyl designs.
After over a decade in the retail management business, Katie realized that it was time to take what she has learned and collaborate with her partner, Adrian, to start her own business. She now runs Old River Design Co., participates in her local Modern Quilt Guild, and tends to her garden.