WESTERN SENSIBILITY WAS FOUNDED TO OPERATE AT THE CROSS SECTION OF ART AND technology.
Passionate about taking the textile, wallcovering, and surface printing processes from analog to digital, Kathryn Sanders and Leana Becker have a new vision for sustainably designing, printing, and manufacturing surfaces for residential, hospitality, and commercial spaces.
Born out of a desire to innovate and experiment, Kathryn and Leana saw the opportunity to unlock the creative potential for interior spaces by working with artists, designers, and architects to illustrate new ways for print, pattern, color, and texture to thrive. After years of experience working in textile development, interior design, and digital printing, it became incredibly clear that creatives craved a collaborative studio that supports their vision and helps guide process, design, feel, and function.
Utilizing their backgrounds — Kathryn’s in textile and substrate development and Leana’s in luxury interior design — the duo meticulously engineered the Western Sensibility textile and wallcovering collections to ensure print clarity, longevity, and unparalleled hand-feel with state-of-the-art, life-friendly technology. With a richer base palette, they challenged the way traditional patterns were conceived — pushing the limits on the size of repeats, layering various textures, and exploring an almost infinite array of colors.
Kathryn and Leana built Western Sensibility to champion digital printing technology, which can help the textile and wallcovering industries decrease their carbon footprint while also increasing its creative capacity. Western Sensibility is a new kind of printing studio that blends design, sustainability, and digital printing technology.
Meet OUR leadership Team
KATHRYN SANDERS
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Kathryn Sanders is a third-generation textile printer and applied anthropologist who has extensive experience in the textile industry. She’s marketed, developed, and printed textiles for the interior design, fashion, entertainment, and advertising industries. She studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, earned a BA in Anthropology from the University of Montana, and was mentored by Carol Yeager and Steven Moreno of MY Prints Inc.
Kathryn is devoted to growing the digital textile printing community and has spoken at the AATCC x PRINTING United Digital Textile Printing Conference. She has contributed to PRINTING United Journal, Digital Output, and wrote the columns, The Filament, for Big Picture magazine and The Toolkit for Aspire Design & Home.
Leana becker
Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Leana Becker has a storied history as both an interior and textile designer with a rich array of experience in hospitality, residential, and commercial design. Having worked for Mark Cunningham, Commune Design, and, most notably, as Kelly Wearstler’s Director of Interior Design, Leana has honed her imaginative approach to design through a commitment to ingenuity and innovation.
By combining diverse cultural and artistic influences with a passion for digital printing, Leana pushes boundaries by shifting the design community’s perception of what printed surfaces can be and putting creative back into the hands of artists. Leana wrote The Toolkit for Aspire Design & Home and teaches interior and surface design at the LTU.
CONOR BALLANTYNE
Founder & Chief Operations Officer
Conor Ballantyne is an accomplished visual storyteller, editor, and graphics producer with wide-ranging experience working on high-profile projects for Fortune 500 companies. His background in visual communication fuels his forward-thinking approach to producing and merchandising functional art.
Conor works closely with our collaborators to translate their original artwork to textiles. With a passion for delivering an artist’s vision, he helps move art and designs from ideation to execution. Conor has a decade of experience working in live television production, primarily for the NFL Network and earned a BA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Montana.
CHELSEA VON HASSELN
Director of Surface Design
Chelsea von Hasseln is a seasoned surface pattern designer specializing in original print development, repeats and colorways for clients in a range of markets ranging from fashion to home decor, quilting fabric and paper products.
For the past eleven years Chelsea has been the community manager for Pattern Observer and the Textile Design Lab, teaching surface pattern design techniques to thousands of students from around the world.
Chelsea studied at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles, and prior to that earned a BFA in Dance at the University of Montana. She is passionate about the arts in all forms and loves working with artists from other disciplines to help realize their vision as textiles. Chelsea believes that beautiful artwork deserves a beautiful repeat, and puts careful thought and attention into the composition and flow of every pattern she touches.
RIO CHANTEL
Director of Visual Storytelling
Rio is a photographer, multimedia artist, storyteller, and brand strategist who found her home below the mountains and beside a river. Her work is inspired by real moments between people as they interact with their environment both tangible and imagined. Her immersive storytelling approach yields honest and ephemeral content that leaves the viewer wishing to be a part of your world.
Rio’s keen eye and strategic approach pushes Western Sensibility to create the heirlooms your future grandkids will fight over. Her honest and direct approach challenges industry norms bringing us fresh perspectives on timeless concepts. She has a BS in Public Relations and Creative Writing from the University of Idaho. Her work has been featured in Food & Wine, Luxe Interior + Design, PUNCH, Aspire Design and Home, and Montana Woman Magazine.