I fell in love with Laetitia Maklouf as soon as I met her. Maybe it was that British accent, I don’t know. She has this fire about her that makes you want to go plant something and then lick it. In Laetitia’s world, plants are sumptuous — the ultimate self-indulgence. As she told Vogue writer Charlotte Sinclair, “Gardening isn’t fusty — it’s very, very sexy.” And that was our goal with the branding of her new site.

When I was conceptualizing this design, Laetitia gave me the title of this really thick old book with all of these vintage textiles in it. I can’t remember what it was called now, but it’s out of print, and I was lucky enough to find it in my library. I spent hours going through each page, thinking about all of the stories that those textile designers must have had. I love old stuff.

Laetitia had picked out a few of the designs that really spoke to her, so I worked on creating images and textures out of them. Earlier versions of this design had a really cool barely-there background that I made out of some old ticking. It was so much fun working with it.

I don’t usually recommend going with a black background — it’s usually too harsh for readability. But with the content, we were able to choose a color palette that doesn’t hurt the eyes. Even though it “feels” dark and cozy and luscious, it’s still extremely read-able and inviting.

Now that we’ve launched, I’m so proud of how Laetitia has taken ownership of her website and really made it her own. She’s got so much dynamic content to dig through – and not just on the front page. Deeper in the site, you can find her videos, gardening recipes, real recipes, a lust list of her favorite plants, and other stuff that makes it a delightful resource every time you visit.

Laetitia’s own excitement and passion for the more illicit side of gardening (who knew there was such a thing?) makes me want to get in my own garden and make a more concerted effort. There is nothing more satisfying than biting into a tomato, hot from the sun, that you just picked from your own vine. Laetitia knows this and invites us to share in the garden love.

Visit LaetitiaMaklouf.com.