Made in Vermont: Beenanza

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Bethany Andrews-Nichols is no stranger to color.

“I am a designer first, an artist and a block-printer,” she says with a smile. Her artistic eye came long before she started her South End Burlington business back in 2018. Beenanza began as a design service company, but it was a trip to India that caused her business to really take shape.

“I started doing pattern work on the side, not intending that that would ever be my business, but only because I loved it,” she explains. “And then I found that the more I did what I love to do, the more people came to me.”

People do come to her for pattern work and just to poke around, especially during open-studio events, like Art Hop. Welcoming guests into her stunning studio, she recalls being asked by a customer last year how she block-printed the flowers on her walls.

“She said, ‘Can I buy that thing?’ And I was like, ‘I just cut them custom when I do a wall,’” she explains. “And then Saturday morning I woke up and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I should.”

That’s when her latest product, Coverall, came together. Launched just last week, Coverall makes block-printing patterns anywhere easy.

“When someone buys a kit, they have access to the possibilities that I’ve come up with, but also, they can create their own possibilities,” she says.

Stocked with blocks, two inks, rollers, brushes and lots of instructions, Coverall kits can be used in basically any circumstance. All you need to supply is the creativity. They’re perfect for decorating walls, decor, making art or adding a little extra flare to your clothes.

Of course, as pretty as it is, Coverall isn’t Beenanza’s only claim to fame. Murals by Andrews-Nichols can be found scattered around Vermont. She works with other local businesses, too... most recently with Queen City Footwear on new sneakers, and Cabot on a line of merchandise. Though, no matter what pattern, shape or product, Beenanza designs are all about making everyday life a little brighter.

“In all of the business work that I’ve done, in the last five years, I feel like I’ve distilled Beenanza down to the word, ‘joy,’” says Andrews-Nichols.

That joy is printed in Vermont.

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