Artist Profile: Sweet Pea Cole

here's always time for laughter—at least in Sweet Pea Cole's area of The Workhouse. That's where you'll find her collaborating with fellow artists on new designs, screen printing her most recent inspiration or chatting with locals and tourists about the delights of Bend.

Cole, a graphic designer and screen printer, moved into the The Workhouse (a collaborative artist space in the Old Ironworks District on Scott Street, next to Sparrow Bakery) in March of 2016, seeing her work grow as a result of sharing the space with so many other artists.

"This place gives me the energy to get past the little details of the process that have to happen first before you can get to the actual thing," she says. These days, Cole says she enjoys those little behind-the-scene parts, which have allowed her designs to develop and grow into a larger line of pieces—including unique Bend-based designs.

Incorporating her love of Bend into her work is nothing new for her, but it has flourished this summer with an array of new designs on t-shirts, notecards, badges and pouches. "My intention of these designs is to give tourists something handmade, unique, thoughtful and special to remember their trip by," Cole says.

Find Cole's work in The Bend Store downtown or at Wren and Wild. But to understand the joy Cole feels in sharing her work with the community, stop by during a special eclipse celebration at The Workhouse on Saturday, Aug., 19. You'll find Cole there, laughing and sharing inspiration with anyone passing through.

Eclipse Weekend at The Old Iron Works

Sat., Aug. 19, all day

The Workhouse

50 Scott Street, Bend

theworkhousebend.com