A Conversation with Western Home Journal Editor-in-Chief, Laurenz Busch.
In Conversation spotlights the people shaping how the Mountain West lives, builds, and designs. Through candid conversations with creatives, craftspeople, and business owners, Western Home Journal explores how thoughtful design takes shape in real homes and real communities—providing insight into process, perspective, and the personal stories behind the work.
Born and raised in Idaho, Jill Johnson now lives near Sun Valley with her husband—an actual potato farmer—bringing a grounded, rural sensibility to work that feels anything but traditional. She is the founder of J Coterie Design, a studio redefining what contemporary quilting can be.
She didn’t plan on becoming a quilt artist. Rather, she began quilting at 50, turning what started as a class taken on a whim into a second act defined by reinvention. Today, she challenges expectations of the medium by chasing the modern, textural, and distinctly un-grandmotherly (even though she proudly is one).
In her studio, quilting has become much more than craft. It’s her way of refining her design voice, exploring materials, and channeling creative energy into pieces that blur the line between art and utility. The name J Coterie reflects that intention. A “coterie” is an intimate circle of shared taste and vision—something Jill strives to cultivate with every client and collaboration.
You stumbled upon quilting by accident, but you speak about it with so much energy it feels almost inevitable.
Jill Johnson: It really was an accident. I signed up for a class with a friend so I could spend time with her, and I completely fell in love with it. It started as a hobby and quickly turned into designing my own patterns and creating original work. So now, I’m an artist making home goods—quilts, pillows, headboards, and other pieces that incorporate that quilted element.
What drew you creatively? What does quilting provide you?
JJ: It’s therapeutic. There is just something incredibly satisfying about cutting apart fabric and sewing it back together into something entirely new. I’m really drawn to clean lines and modern forms, so I don’t use a lot of prints. My aesthetic leans rather stark—black and white, leather accents, natural tones. I love the way texture and structure interact, and how a quilt can be something you cuddle with on a couch or something you hang on the wall as art.
Is everything handmade?
JJ: Yes. Well, I use machines, of course.
I’d still call that handmade.
JJ: Exactly. Every piece is made by me. I’m a one-woman studio. I design my own patterns from start to finish. Occasionally I’ll use an existing pattern, but most of what I create is original.
So, your customers aren’t just getting a quilt, but a Jill Johnson quilt. Handmade—using machines—and often one-of-a-kind.
JJ: That’s right.
Wonderful. Who tends to commission your work?
JJ: Typically, it’s clients who are refining a space and want something that feels deeply personal. Because everything is made from scratch, there’s a significant amount of design and craftsmanship behind each piece. Many commissions become focal points within a room. That could be a quilt layered at the end of a bed, a collection of pillows, or a custom headboard. I also collaborate closely with interior designers to ensure that my work integrates seamlessly into the broader vision for the home.
“I LOVE CREATING SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL OUT OF RAW MATERIALS EVERY DAY. IT NEVER STOPS FEELING EXHILARATING.”
Headboards?
JJ: Yes. I make quilted headboards, sometimes using vintage army blankets. I quilt them, stretch them over the boards like upholstery, and trim them with leather. They can hang from iron posts, and they carry that rugged mountain sensibility, but in a tailored way.
Your work really lives between functional object and art.
JJ: Some quilts are meant to be used daily as something you throw over the end of a bed or wrap around your shoulders. Others are framed and displayed. That’s the beauty of quilting. It can live in both worlds.
You genuinely love this, don’t you?
JJ: I do. I love creating something beautiful and useful out of raw materials every day. It never stops feeling exhilarating.
I can tell. So, I have one last, perhaps most important, question for you. How can customers get one of your quilts, and how collaborative is the process?
JJ: Everything is custom, so I start with a consultation—often over Zoom—and use what’s on my website as a starting point. From there, we design something completely unique. Whether it’s a homeowner or an interior designer, if there’s a larger vision for a home, I want my work to be part of it.
whj IN CONVERSATION
