Not Your Grandmother's Macrame

Out of nowhere I suddenly became obsessed with tufty things, weaving, macrame and any sort of odd textural wall hanging. I think it started with Moroccan wedding blankets. A friend asked me to bring one back from Morocco and I didn't care much for them a year ago but they really grew on me with their mixture of metallics, soft cotton and fringe. When I got back I noticed Etsy was featuring quite a few different wall hangings in their promo emails and then bam! suddenly they are appearing all over the net and I want one, bad!  I've featured a few examples above of some of my favourites, I think the weirder and bigger the better. I also love when other elements from nature are incorporated, pieces of driftwood or metal. I'm imagining one above my bed that takes up half the wall with lot's of long cream threads with bits of metallic woven in and bits of driftwood. I am even considering making one myself. I found this tutorial if you want to try your own hand at it:

If you'd like to find the source of any of these images I made this Pinterest board where you can find all of these images and more that link back to their original sources. What do you think about this trend? 

The Geometori Pouch

I just love neon, especially when it is mixed with more conventional colours like indigo. I was playing around with a few of the new Geometori pouch's in the shop and some new necklaces I bought. I think these combinations are so fun. The top bag is made from an old Japanese obi. Not sure on the exact period but I'm estimating that it might be 1940-1960 based on the floral/geometric motif. The second pouch is made from a gorgeous remnant of Hmong fabric. The Hmong are a tribe that live in the mountains of Thailand predominately. They have an AMAZING aesthetic. The base is indigo dyed with gorgeous neon embroidery.  Both pouch's are available in the shop here and here.

Style: Kantha

I recently bought a beautiful Kantha quilt for my bedroom and I have become kind of obsessed with them. They are made in India and Bangladesh from the remnants of sari silks. The pieces are patched together with the 'Kantha' stitch which results in beautiful textural and intricate lines. They're also very lightweight and reversible. The one I bought is predominantly olive green with these little tiny hand stitched patches where holes might have been in the sari. This is what I love about the Kantha - there is almost inherent a story in the material, the patches from wear and use, the care in the stitch, the culture, tradition and communities they came from. 

I bought mine on Ebay from a company called Federal Exports. They have an Etsy shop as well and I recommend checking them both out as each quilt is totally one of a kind. I love mine because it was made in Rajasthan, a place I spent quite a bit of time in when I was traveling through India. Here are a few more cool places to check them out:

Fossik

Federal Exports

Connected Goods

Rajasthan Royals

Maiwa

Fabric Shopping

                           

When I was in New York I did a little fabric shopping and besides scouring flea markets and vintage shops, I spent some time in Manhattan's garment district. I had considered doing a bit of a guide to fabric shopping post but to be perfectly honest, I kind of lost patience and ended up only visiting about 5 shops. If you do go, I recommend googling and scouting out a few shops in advance. This is important for a few reasons, first, many of the shops are not at street level, they are located on the upper floors of non descript office towers. Second, there is SO MUCH and you will get tired and impatient, like me. Most of the shops are located around 39th and 40th and 8th and 9th - all pretty close to Penn Station. If you know what you are looking for, make a little list and go to it. Personally I know I can get most of what I need in Toronto as far as hardware, leathers etc go so I was on the hunt for a few really interesting prints. Everyone always goes to Mood and I'll concur, it is pretty good - though not my favourite. If you go to Mood though you will probably not be disappointed.  Aside from that I recommend M&J Trimmings for a mind boggling selection of trims, embellishments etc. Also, I personally love feathers so Eskay Novelty for nothing but. I also like this website as a good starting point before you embark on your journey. Good luck! 

Moroc Dreams

 

It's a rainy dreary morning here in Toronto and it has got me thinking about my long term dream of traveling to Morocco. These are some of the images that have been inspiring me.

Geometry

Source: ffffound.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: designformankind.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: racheldenbow.blogspot.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: 50kvadrat.blogspot.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: happymundane.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: jennypennywood.blogspot.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: thecovetedmuse.tumblr.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: designspiration.net via Alison on Pinterest

I've been working on some new screen prints for the Fall and Christmas shows. Some of my current fabrics are very geometric in appearance, so i've been looking at a lot of geometric patterns, especially in tribal textiles and clothing.. These are some of the images inspiring me right now. I could have posted a hundred more pictures. Have a look through my Pinterest for more.