July 22, 2014
Magic Carpet Yoga Mats
Today we’re featuring Magic Carpet Yoga Mats! We saw these beautifully printed yoga mats first hand in San Francisco, and can’t wait for all our LA shoppers out there to see them at our Summer Market this weekend at Grand Park.
Sophie Leininger is the founder of Magic Carpet Yoga Mats (MCYM) and is a Northern California-based artist. Her long-time fascination with traditional textile and rug design has never found an appropriate outlet for study, which is why she started MCYM.
Magic Carpet Yoga Mats embrace traditional design with the hand painted attention of a trained artist. Sophie’s mat designs are heavily influenced by traditional persian rugs as well as Southwestern weaving techniques. Each design is hand painted by Sophie, then digitally scanned and printed onto the yoga mat, providing a unique and artistic alternative to a common mat.
Sophie desired to take the metaphorical and physical definition of the “rug,” being a boundary for a specific practice or activity, and reflect it in her yoga mats. Sophie believes that performing yoga postures on a beautiful mat enhances the yoga experience by connecting the pleasures of the heart to the movement of the body. We also love that the designs on Sophie’s yoga mats are made to make positioning your body all the easier and more fluid.
Not only are Sophie’s designs stunning in their floral details and diamond flourishes, but they are also always non-toxic, phthalate-free, and sustainably printed in California, USA. 
Sophie’s natural eye for pattern and color is outstanding. Her patterns are nods to culturally traditional rug designs, yet the hand painted aesthetic with Sophie’s color combinations breathes a fresher, California vibe in each mat.