Every now and then you see something on a design blog and you just can't figure out why everyone's so excited about it. Then you see it in person and you realize the aesthetic limitations of pixels and the Web. Sharon Spain's pillows are a case in point.

Spain's work has been blogged by Design Sponge (but of course) and Treehugger (the fabric mix includes hemp), and we have to say, we initially thought they looked a little bland. But when we met the SF-based textile designer at the SF Gift Show and saw her work up close, we changed our mind: in person, Spain's textiles have a luxuriousness that just doesn't translate online.

Spain hand silkscreens delicate, botanical silhouette prints onto neutral silk dupioni and hemp linen fabrics, and then creates women's accessories and pillow covers from them (the latter are sold with feather/down inserts).

Most of her designs are one- or two-color, and her palette is as delicate as the subject matter: sky, grey, mustard, chocolate, tangerine. Somehow the silkscreened patterns seem to glow. Her pillows glam up upholstered furniture with sophistication and subtlety.

Spain sells her work locally (we've seen them at Egg & The Urban Marcantile), on the web (2Modern), and through her own web store.