Meet This Artist: The Meticulous, Plant-Loving Jody Cedzidlo

Artist Jody Cedzidlo is the founder of Flytrap, a line of hand-printed botanically-themed dresses, scarves, tees, and accessories that she operates from her backyard studio in Pittsboro. Like many passions, this one started with a seed of an idea. It grew from late nights printing on a kitchen table to a full-service, family-run design and apparel company that sells to customers nationwide.

“After I studied Printmaking at UNC, I worked for several different screen printing shops in both North Carolina and Florida, and in 2008, I started a line of screen printed clothing featuring my own designs. I went full time with Flytrap in 2009.  We rented a commercial space and bought professional equipment in 2011, only to realize what I really wanted was to work at home among my own garden beds and close to my own kitchen.”  The following year, she and her husband Eric bought their current house and set up a backyard screen printing workshop and basement darkroom. Flytrap has blossomed ever since.

From the Artist

Describe your artistic past and present in three sentences:  I grew up making colored pencil drawings of my mom’s house plants and imaginary jungle scenes, and this all culminated in a high school project illustrating medicinal plants. Then when I studied Studio Art at UNC, I took a little time off plants to focus on color theory and the autobiographical sort of work you might expect from a 20-something figuring out her identity.  I’m currently back on plants, though — my true loves, all along.

What are you currently working on?  This year, we are going to release a line of incredibly soft, luxurious infinity scarves in an organic cotton/bamboo blend.  I am working on four new designs for those, and I want each one to be multi-color and incredibly eye-catching.  You’ll only see a small portion of the design at any one time due to the scrunchy nature of an infinity scarf, so they’ll have to pack a lot of punch!

Anything else you want folks to know about you and your work? The screen printing process is as much science as it is art and really appeals to the meticulous, nerdy side of me.  That old cliche about the messy, free-spirited artist kind of misses the mark sometimes.

Your childhood in a nutshell: I was constantly in the woods!  I knew all the plants that grew around my house and where I could find each of them.  My favorite game was playing “peasants,” meaning I would don a bohemian-type layered skirt and collect pretend foodstuffs for winter.  My treehouse had shelves lined with glass jars full of acorns, moss, sweetgum, whatever I could find. I dyed my Barbie’s clothing in pokeberry juice and collected wild strawberries from the vacant lot across the street.

I am inspired by: gardens, patterns, color theory

When I see someone wearing my clothing: I get butterflies in my stomach.

5 words that describe me:  practical, genuine, meticulous, sensitive, passionate

Now ask your husband to describe you in 5 words: active, meticulous, curious, humorous, sensitive

I’m most proud of:  the life my husband and I have built together in complete self-employment. (Eric teaches guitar lessons full-time while I screen print.)

When I’m not in my studio I like to:  cook, garden, hike, knit, and put together jigsaw puzzles.

Some jobs I’ve had:  dishwasher in a seafood restaurant, vitamin salesperson, barista, muralist, gas station attendant, making snow cones at a putt putt course

When I was little I wanted to be:  “a secretary” (I didn’t know the word “entrepreneur” at the time.)

Most people don’t know: I attended the NC School of Science and Mathematics and loved math before I ever loved art.

My perfect day: big brunch with lots of coffee, a super long hike in the Pacific Northwest, then sitting in a sauna at a fancy hotel spa to soothe my tired muscles, then shameless room service dinner and a movie in bed

Five things you’ll find in my purse: I actually make it a habit to convince my husband to carry my license and some lip balm so I can leave the house empty-handed, free as you please.

My favorite restaurants in Chatham County & what I eat there: I love the falafel in pita at Angelina’s Kitchen – I get mine with tzatziki, tabouli, cucumbers, and olives.  And I’m not going to lie –  the egg and cheese biscuit from Al’s Diner is a pretty common occurrence in our household too.

Chatham County artists who inspire me:  Debbie Roos!  Not just her amazing photography, but the garden design that makes the photography possible in the first place.  Her love for gardens and plants is palpable and contagious.

Where you can buy my Flytrap goods locally:  Liquidambar in Pittsboro and Vespertine in Carrboro

Links

• Website:  http://www.flytrapclothing.com
• Etsy Shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/flytrap
• Instagram:  http://instagram.com/flytrapstudios
• Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/flytrapstudios/
• Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/flytrapstudios