Meet our team of collaborators

Jennifer Daley, Principal / Textile Developer

Jennifer has unwaveringly pursued her vision of holistic, environmentally conscious design and fabrics for everyday living by submerging herself in the world of custom textile production and permaculture techniques. Enlisting a wide variety of specialists to enable this project’s success, she launched the endeavor, Jennifer Daley Fine Textiles. And now she is bringing to market the fruition of more than a decade of work in the development of a line of products that challenge the notions of contemporary textiles while paying homage to the quality of artisanal craftsmanship.

All this within the confines of The Daley Textile House and Gardens, a wide ranging experiment in sustainable, connective agriculture where the designs and the fabrics and the land come together in a cycle of growth and renewal.

Andreas Daley, Head of Operations

Andreas Daley’s experiences and strengths lie in his mastery of the planning processes for complex, long-term projects, and management of the release of new products to market. For ten years in the thick of a successful start-up and a further twenty years for a major Silicon Valley tech powerhouse, Andreas has achieved a proven track record of impressive results. As the co-principal of Daley Textile House and Gardens, he brings the perfect degree of down-to-earth managerial expertise to the ongoing development and manufacturing of our regenerative textile line and oversight of the development of the permaculture gardens and testing facilities.

Rabbit Goody, Master Weaver

Rabbit Goody is acknowledged as one of the preeminent experts in the field of traditional American weaving alive today. Self taught as  a teenager, she developed her craft through college and soon was producing hand woven luxury goods for high end New work clothiers. Understanding the inherent limitations of hand waving, she moved to acquire American-made industrial textile machinery: old  shuttle looms and commercial looms from defunct 19th century mills throughout New England. After working for many years at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, NY as the head of Domestic Arts and as Assistant Curator for Textiles, she has run her own unique mill for three decades, relying upon her intimate and comprehensive knowledge of historical weaving to recreate Jacquards and other textiles that have not been seen for hundreds of years for a variety of specialized uses.

Colleen Quen, Couturier

Colleen Quen is the inimitable, innovative California couturier who has brought San Francisco into the international fashion spotlight through her futuristic and nature inspired designs. From the start of her earliest collections, Colleen created a strong visual language of beauty and art, defining her own interpretation of fashion. Recognizing the vitality of attaining the highest form of mastery in her craft, she studied at Simmone Sethna School of French Couture, adding to her repertoire of refined fashion discipline.

Colleen employs an artistic practice of defining open space within physical form, layering the movement of fabric and texture. Through her vivid ideas and graceful sensibility, Colleen  articulates a strong compositional sensation in her work, pushing the qualities of fabric beyond its physical form and taking the audience through an exploration of their imaginations.

Following her path as a designer, and cultivating an impressive career, Colleen decided to open her own couture design company in 2000. Her bold and exquisite designs propelled her into an international arena, establishing her mark in a linage of American fashion.

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Mary Hogue, Seamstress

Mary Hogue studied fashion design at Indiana University, moving to San  Francisco in 2012. She spent several years working among the vast textile and notions stock at the legendary Britex Fabrics. Mary is currently the owner and chief designer at Mission Praxis, a community space, art studio, and storefront in the vibrant  San Francisco Mission District. She creates custom designs for Burning Man and wearable tech garments with integrated robotics. At Jennifer Daley Fine Textiles, Mary realizes the exacting designs of Colleen Quen and the innovative vision of Jennifer Daley in her role as the studio’s primary seamstress.

Natalya Robinson, Seamstress

Natalya is owner and principal designer of Tashka Designs, a custom fashion and knitwear design company in San Francisco. A talented textile artist, she has spent many years exploring form and utility by immersing herself in the process of draping and deconstructing using post-consumer discards. As a professional dancer, comfort was non-negotiable. She related clothes to movement, aiming to liberate the expression of the body that is always sensing, calibrating for balance and connection.

Natalya was awarded a Presidential Scholarship at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, where she earned her BFA in Textile and Knitwear Design and Construction. Her undergraduate senior collection was selected to present with the Graduate Collections at New York Fashion Week 2016.

Her sculptural approach, custom sewing techniques, and expert pattern making skills are key elements in prototyping modern garments in our Textile Lab.

Jennifer McNerney, Chief Problem Solver

Jennifer received a B.F.A. degree in textile design from the Alberta College of Art, Canada, and an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and began her career working in education programs for museums and non-profits. She worked as the Educational Program Coordinator for The Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. She also worked at the California College of Art coordinating exhibitions and public programs for the Oliver Art Center. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from her 30+ years of work in art, textiles, and most recently through her work in the trade show and event industry. She has a great talent for planning, problem solving, and aligning projects, priorities and people.

Robert Daulton, Thought Partner

Robert Daulton has degrees from San Jose State and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has taken him through a wide range of projects, from designing and sculpting for Walt Disney World, to poster and illustration design, marketing for Fortune 500 companies, designing municipal water systems, and city planning. He views problems and projects from a unique creative perspective which leaves an indelible mark upon the productions at Jennifer Daley Fine Textiles.

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Lydia Neilsen, Habitat Designer

Lydia Neilsen is a gardener, educator, soil builder, and earth lover. She grew up near Cleveland, Ohio and in 1995 earned a BA in Studio Art and Biology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and a Diploma in Permaculture Education through the Permaculture Institute of North America (PINA).  In 1996 she moved to Santa Cruz where she earned a certificate in Natural Science Illustration from UCSC. From 1998 to 2008 she was the co-designer and manager of the Westside Permaculture House in Santa Cruz, a demonstration garden for the use of home-scale permaculture design. From 2008 – 2015 she was the Garden Teacher and Garden Manager of the one-acre permaculture and biodynamic garden and small orchard at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School, where she brought permaculture to the children, the campus, and the community. Lydia has also worked extensively in invasive species management and native habitat restoration.

Ryan Quinn, Ecological Designer & Habitat Gardener

Ryan has earned multiple certifications in Permaculture Design/Ecological Design and Teaching Permaculture. He first studied Permaculture Design in 2015 with Penny Livingston & Lydia Neilsen at the Regenerative Design Institute in Marin County. He continued his learning by volunteering as a teachers aid at the Regenerative Design Institute from 2015-2020. Upon completing his certification, Ryan also immediately began working for a Bay Area based Ecological Landscaping company to deepen his learning and skills. Today, Ryan works as an independent Ecological Designer and Habitat Gardener in the Bay Area and Nevada County, bringing his passion for ecological literacy, nature connection, native plants, mycology, wild foods and habitat enhancement & restoration to his work. In his spare time, Ryan can be found far off trail observing and studying native plants, in his kitchen preparing & experimenting with native food plants and fermentation, resetting his nervous system and cuddling his cat.

Ways to get in touch

 

  • Call us directly at 510-995-8443.
  • Make an appointment to visit us at our retail / showroom / work studio
    on the ground floor at 1113 Lincoln Avenue, Alameda, California.
  • Book a stay at The Daley Textile House here