Liz Hobby Silks, a family business, is dedicated to making exquisite scarves. We sell from our website and also wholesale to better boutiques and specialty stores. Artist and Architect Liz Hobby has 30 years of working in art, design and textiles, in Scotland, Europe and the USA. She is currently designing and creating from her home located close to the heart of the old mill town of Ellicott City, Maryland.


�I started this company as an expression of my creative drive so that my love of color and pattern could be made into objects that would bring pleasure to the wearer. It is very satisfying to see other people wearing, with obvious enjoyment, something that

you have made. My goal is to bring lovely, original silk scarves to women of all ages, with styling that makes them a true fashion accessory. Because they are worn close to the face � a focal body area - scarves have tremendous power to create an impression. Worn with any outfit, these beautiful scarves add a touch of style, sophistication and exotic flair.

I was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, and educated at Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally intending to be a painter, I switched from studio art to architecture, graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture, with Honors. Shortly after graduating, I went to Europe, living and working in Germany for 3 years, and traveling through central Europe. During this time, my husband, who was American, and I ran an English teaching business, which enabled us to travel to different villages in Southern Germany and brought us into contact with a wide variety of interesting people, and familiarized me with the folk art and architecture of that region. In 1975, we came to the U.S.A., and I worked in both architecture and home decorating textiles.

My first experience with pattern was when my father, who was in the linoleum business, asked me to design repeat patterns for floor tiles. Later, I would come to love the symmetry that is found in nature and this forms the basis of many of my patterns. Other influences are the colors of natural landscapes, fragments of architecture as found in museum collections, and historic fabrics.

The design process is quite intensive, starting off with a theme and proceeding through several drawings until the final painting is made which is sent off to the manufacturer. The printing process used is traditional screen printing where each color is printed using a separate screen, with the dye being squeezed through the mesh. Our silk scarves are produced in small quantities, so they are truly a �limited edition�.

Color is the starting point of my designs, and pattern is secondary. While the serene waters and deep blues and greens of the Scottish Western Isles are ever present in my mind, like most Northern people, I have a deep need for intense color and the rich, saturated colors of the East and North Africa greatly influence my work.�