When Mariana Barran Goodall was growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, a pitcher of hibiscus tea in her family’s fridge signaled expected guests. So it made sense to dub her Houston venture Hibiscus Linens—she designs many of her textiles, including fine hand towels and cocktail napkins, for entertaining. Goodall has sewn since her elementary school’s mandatory second-grade embroidery class. But it wasn’t until the awed reaction to her hand-crocheted blanket at a baby shower that she finally decided to make the hobby a full-time business. Needlecraft, she says, is “my way to show love.” Goodall’s textiles are receiving heaps of affection right back. Interior designers swoon over the intricate needlework and delicate designs—spanning cheery florals to elegant French monograms—that she embellishes on preshrunk 100 percent linen and cotton. “All my pieces take many hours of stitching,” she says. “So I want them to last—to be heirlooms handed down.”
>Artisan textiles, $68-$360 from hibiscuslinens.com
MORE MADE IN THE SOUTH:
> Crafts winner: Hibiscus Linens
> Crafts runner-up: McKenzie Knife Company
> Crafts runner-up: Deanocraft Custom Banjos
> Crafts runner-up: Bluegrass Bookbinding
