Pawpaw Party

L: Pawpaw, color Blue and Brown; Pawpaw, color Willow; Pawpaw, color Leaf Green; Pawpaw, color Slate; Pawpaw, color Clay. R, Clockwise: Pawpaw, Blue and Brown; Pawpaw, Willow; Pawpaw, Clay; Pawpaw, Slate

September is pawpaw season and as festivals across the land, from Arkansas to Ontario, celebrate this singular fruit, we’re marking the occasion with four new colorways of our Pawpaw wallpaper! The new hues include Blue and Brown, Clay, Slate and  Willow.

L: Yours truly with a Pawpaw pillow in color Leaf Green; R: Pawpaw, Leaf Green wallpaper and Pawpaw, Leaf Green fabric. Photos by Alexandra Rowley

One of Mazy Path’s earliest wallpapers, Pawpaw is close to my heart. The design features pawpaw fruits, yellow-billed cuckoos, zebra swallowtail butterflies, and sphinx moths, and has become a signature pattern for Mazy Path.

I became enamored of the pawpaw, a large native fruit that has traditionally grown in and around Appalachia, when I read Andrew Moore's book, Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit, and learned about the pawpaw's remarkable attributes: ivory pulp with flavors of vanilla and mango, inherent pest resistance, and cancer-fighting properties. I also learned that, thanks to a short harvesting season and shelf-life, the pawpaw has never been commercialized. So, while the pawpaw is deeply rooted in American ethnobotany and folklore, and festivals are held in its honor, it’s nowhere to be found in American supermarkets. Pawpaw's story is a case study in how our food system can be out of sync with our natural environment, and a call to action for buying and eating locally grown food.

An early Pawpaw pattern sketch. Photo by Alexandra Rowley.

I was so captivated by the story of the pawpaw, and its lessons about local food and conservation, that I barely finished reading the book before starting work on a pattern. Likewise, the Pawpaw pattern has captivated interior designers and homeowners. With its distinctive motifs and compelling story, Pawpaw has found homes in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the list goes on.

L to R: Pawpaw, Slate; Pawpaw, color Clay; Pawpaw, color Leaf Green; Pawpaw, Willow; Pawpaw, Blue and Brown  

And now new colorways- Blue and Brown, Clay, Slate and Willow- are available. No need to look, as the old folk song says, way down yonder in the pawpaw patch. Reach out to one of our showroom partners or to us directly to order your samples today!