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'Tiane Tenui is a bag brand that recognizes the importance of longevity, the nuances of elegance and the power of our feelings around purchasing something so special, and individual. There are only ever two bags made from the same materials and colour, ensuring an authentic bespoke experience for each client.

Christiane Smit - the mind and hand behind 'Tiane Tenui - believes that each bag should become a part of her clients daily lives, telling a personal story through the marks and impressions left over time. Before taking an order, she sends each client small leather samples so that they may experience the feeling and actual color of the leather, thus becoming a part of the creation process.

She also believes in the emotional connection her clients have with their bag — the way you feel when you carry it throughout your day, revealing in it’s handmade nature, an appreciation for the energy put into this special piece. Hard to find elsewhere, she believes in the gentle notion that sometimes the best items involve some searching. The technique of hand stitching she is using is borrowed from the shoe and saddle making trades. This is really at the core of what defines her craft. As Christiane explained: 'Each stitch is formed by hand with nothing more than an awl, one needle and a length of waxed linen. Very few companies can invest the time necessary to hand stitch their items, but the strength and resilience of hand stitching far exceeds the machine made equivalent.' Trend Tablet caught up with Christiane for an interview.

When did this new adventure started? While I was occupied in former occupations I discovered my talent in creating bags and at the same time I was exploring my style. Just before I came to Greece, I created my first hand stitched leather bag.

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Since I moved to Paros, taking Art History classes, I developed through working with leather my technique in hand stitching. I am working and living between Amsterdam and the island of Paros. As I need very much both, the energy of the city and culture and the nature inspiration of the island. Also my company is based in the Netherlands. What is your motto?

It was my love for soft though strong colors, structures of fine textiles, simple shapes, quality and unique and rare pieces of art, clothes and objects of nature and my passion for creation that through my former experiences and education gave life to a dream. I create customized bags that correspond to my standards for 'Refined Simplicity' and high quality. That highlights femininity and serve the needs of contemporary women.

The idea underlying is uniqueness through customizing, every woman is unique! How to do you create your bags? I work by listening to my heart and selecting colors of leathers listening to my feelings.

Creating my own trend but classic and durable. Choosing colors and qualities that lasts and which are not subjected by trends! Buying qualities from Spain, Italy and Portugal and Holland. Advising the client by choosing the model and color living up to her needs. Sometimes corresponding up to 30 mails! How do you see your future? Loving what I'm doing and being inspired by living in the Aegean sea, people and many more.

Enjoying always my passion for hand stitching. Craftsmanship and creating. There are incredible markets around the world and then there is the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an event that has been happening every July in Museum Hill since 2004.

Named the face of peace and the number one arts festival in the US by USA Today, this is the biggest global gathering of its kind. This year, 25,000 people from all over the world came, including 2,000 volunteers, thousands of travelers, shoppers, collectors and, most importantly, 160 folk artists from 53 countries.

The market starts with a parade of the artists welcomed by the city of Santa Fe as they gather in the main plaza welcomed by a Cuban live band. Li Edelkoort, the honorary chair for 2017 and Keith Recker, the creative director, read the names of each country and cried when Syria was called. “This market is humanity, humanity at its core” said Li to an audience of culture bearers who blur borders with an eye-dazzling convergence of handmade forms, textures, and designs—textiles, jewelry, beadwork, basketry, wood carvings, ceramics, rugs, glass and metal work, sculpture, mixed media, toys, and more.

“In these turbulent times, it’s an amazing experience to be part of something based on beauty and respect. Face to face with artists from over 50 countries, there to explain what they do, to invite you to know something about their lives and traditions — my faith in what we can accomplish as a species is restored. As one of the 154 artists who participated this year said, “The market is everything that’s right with the world” affirmed Keith Recker, IFAA Creative Director and board member.

Kavita Parmar from IOU Project was a first time participant in Innovation Inspiration, a special exhibition area featuring works by 30 artists who are reinterpreting time-honored materials and techniques into innovative works that express new meaning in the modern age. “I have had the opportunity as a designer to present my work in many shows and fairs around the globe including fashion capitals like Paris, New York, Florence, Milan etc. But I have never encountered such a strong sense of community and an incredibly beautiful empathy within the artisans, the clients and the many staff and volunteers of the IFAA. The client response I have had even after coming back from the show has reinforced my belief that the customer is looking for authenticity and a direct dialogue with the craftsperson and this is one of the answers to the future of a true luxury shopping experience. Carla Fernandez, from Mexico and also a first time participant, said that she was very surprised to encounter a spiritual experience sort of a boot camp of the positive, the possible and the future where sharing is the currency. She has been to many shows around the world just selling her products but this is the only time where she has felt a real support, a real sense of community. The show reaffirmed her belief that the future is handmade, that this is a possible and relevant future that can be a sustainable thriving business. She also said she encountered the real America, one that favors diversity and culture and a very different one from the one in the news.

Porfirio Gutierrez from Oaxaca who participated in 2013 and 2017 says this is a unique show because it caters to people who know and appreciate folk art. To be accepted means to receive a special recognition and be the beneficiary of all the knowledge and care by a pull of top specialists in different areas such as branding, entrepreneurship, marketing etc. Porfirio was very proud to be chosen as a mentor this year, helping first time artisans to get around. Somporn Intaraprayong from Thailand, represented by Chinalai, has participated 8 times at the market. Her booth is the first stop of any serious textile collector and one of the first to sell out. This year she was invited as a panelist where she spoke from the heart about her community of seamstresses and sewers who use stitches to tell stories of the rice fields and their daily lives.

She includes everyone who needs and wants to work, they all have a chance and get the most important teaching of all: there is also beauty in imperfection, beauty in every process, beauty in every stitch. Olga Reiche from Guatemala has been to the market 8 times representing pik’bil textiles from the Queckchi ethnic group of Coban. These lace type textiles were nearly extinct with all the Chinese imports. Olga, the daughter of a German and an indigenous woman from Coban, remembers visiting her grandmother and being mesmerized by her silver jewelry and intricate white lace dress made using one thread hand spun cotton, back strap loom and white on white. Eight years ago, Olga saw the market as the perfect place to present to the world this technique and to use this as an “excuse” to rescue the knowledge and convince the artisans that there is a market that appreciates their heritage. “I have the highest respect for the show, I know I will be surrounded by the best of the best, all chosen carefully according to principles of ethics, respect, tradition, heritage and culture.

There is no place in the world where artisans are respected and honored like in Santa Fe”. Olga travels to the market with Amalia Gue, a weaver from a remote village who at 36 has 6 children, one of them born during the market four years ago to everybody’s surprise, including Olga’s. Fe Francis is the name of Amalia’s baby, named after the patron of the city and the market. Indeed, this is not a market, this is a miracle, as one of the slogans claims. The Santa Fe Folk Art Market is a community of ideals around sustainability, entrepreneurship, empowerment, diversity, well being and cultural preservation. Artists go home with 90 per cent of the sales.

This impact is especially great for disenfranchised women and artists from developing countries, where artisan work is second only to agriculture and daily income averages less than $3.10 per day. “For both consumers and artists, the most positive path to the future is handmade.” Affirms Keith Recker. “Seeing these cultural treasures and meeting the artists creates a connectivity that stirs the heart, opens the mind, and invites us to speak a single language,” says Judith Espinar, a co-founder of the Market. “Through folk art, hope grows and understanding spreads across the world.” Marcella Echavarria Marcella Echavarria is a Colombian-born, Mexico City based lifestyle specialist. She collaborates with designers and artisans around the world developing links that connect local knowledge with global trends. Her specialty is branding luxury and sustainability in a way that preserves cultures and traditions.

Collectivo 1050 Grados, a collective of Mexican potters, makes modern forms using traditional methods and finishes. Left: Densely stitched indigo textiles by Thailand’s Somporn Intaraprayong Right: Li Edelkoort shopping at Somporn’s stand. Generously scaled Thai tribal silver jewelry was included among the textiles at Somporn Intaraprayong’s stand. Detail of a hooked rug made from recycled clothing by Cooperative de las Alfombras de Mujeres Mayas de Guatemala, a group of over 60 indigenous women adapting motifs from their traditional clothing into a vibrant new art form. An array of indigo and natural cotton textiles by Somporn Intaraprayong Detail of the sensuous stitchery of Somporn Intaraprayong Detail of the recycled running stitch quilts of India’s Siddi Quilters, an African diaspora group whose work combines Indian and ancestral influences. Naturally dyed silks by Somporn Intaraprayong.

Peruvian textile artist, author, and community organizer Nilda Callanaupa demonstrating the basics of hand spinning the Incan way. Details of hand-sewn, hand-embroidered, and hand-trimmed traditional Mexican blouses Nepalese carpet weaver Sandeep Pokhrel shows off the lush tactility of his work. Kyrgyz felter Fariza Sheisheye stands in front of a massive, masterful felt carpet that sold moments after the opening bell. Details of jackets and tunics from the workshop of Uzbek ikat master Fazlitdin Dadajonov, who learned his skills from his father and grandfather.

A member of the Valadez family, whose Huichol yarn paintings and beaded objects are market favorites for over a decade The sisal-beaded edges of Tintsaba baskets from a women’s cooperative in Swaziland. Rushana Burkhanova sits atop a luxuriant pile of intricate Uzbek rugs from the Bukhara Carpet Weaving School. Left: an embroidery artist from Qasab Kutch, whose revival of 19th century clothing motifs produced some of the loveliest textiles of the 2017 market. Right: a sculpture from Mexico’s Juan Garcia Antonio. How would you describe yourself?

I am a creative person who has always had a passion for artisan and folk crafts. I love the element of mistake and error that machines can never replicate, the wobbly line, the unevenly spun yarn the raw edge. What is your personal connection with textile? I trained in textile design and have always had a passion for textiles but it was only about 20 years after graduating that I had this chance to launch my own collection.

What fascinates you about India and Nepal? I love India and Nepal because of the artisan techniques that are all around and their unique creativity. Could you describe your creative process? I love to immerse myself in the craft process and adapt those skills to create something new. I want to put their work into a new context Is ethical production something meaningful for you? Ethical production is very important I want people to invest themselves in what they are doing and have a pride in it, therefore people have to be treated well and paid fairly.

Do you think you are giving a modern twist to a traditional heritage? I don’t think of this as a modern twist more a personal interpretation of traditions. I prefer the idea that our products have a timeless quality. What are your plans for the future?

We would like stitch to grow slowly and steadily to gradually add new products and work with new artisans. We are just beginning to sample a new cashmere blanket with a group of women weavers in Afghanistan. Cecile Poignant. Handcraft more than ever is a strong direction for the future. Since the two past decades, we have seen an increasing interest in handmade; first to rediscover nearly forgotten shapes and techniques, to associate these manmade objects with industrial ones, then to inspire serial productions with a handmade twist and now, more and more, to map a new road for creation taking into account not only local talents yet also local and sustainable production. A new way to look at history of man and to rethink ancestral knowledge in order to shape rooted, human and smart design for the future.

Nelson Sepulveda, passionate and expert in handcraft techniques, collaborates closely with handcrafters to understand their history, their identity, their knowledge, their material resources and their process of work. He cooperates with them to bring up new designs to the market without forgetting a complete reflexion on their long-term existence to avoid producing for the sake of producing and thus better adapt to the evolution of our society.

With the CITEM, organization managed by the Philippines Government, Nelson Sepulveda co-worked with about fifteen basketry handcraft companies to create design-, human- and market-driven items that were presented last October in Manila Fame and this January in Maison & Objet. Lamps, sofas, daybeds, carpets, baskets and decoration pieces in wood, in paper or in vegetal fibres such as abaca, rattan, bamboo, seagrass came to life, bringing our homes tactility and grace as well as a deep sense of belonging. Do you make certain styles and shapes of vases in connection to the flowers and plants in season? I like to gather various small bouquets from the garden and bring them inside, into the house. These collections are like memories of and witnesses to the outside world. With these pickings I create vases and they allow people to make small, indoor gardens in their homes.

The change of seasons resonates indoors through the flowers and foliage, stems and colors. All of these factors might lead me to create a different type of vase depending on the time of year. Did you study botany?

I really know plants by experience. I have always had a garden.

For a time, I had a small, urban garden when I was in they city, but now that I am in the country my garden has a life of its own, it is without limits. And I really enjoy learning through books, gardening classes, working with other gardeners and cultivators. I appreciated a lot the seminars in Ethnobotany of gardens given at the Museum of Natural Science at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and learning about the history of man and plants, the different ways plants have been used and cultivated across various cultures and generations. Can you talk a bit about your connection to water? It seems to be an important part of your work? Yes, it is an important part of my work. I have developed different types of vases and sculptural objects using metal and glass which are not for holding water to keep plants alive, but simply for the water itself, as vessels to observe the water, the wind, the light and evaporation.

A simple layer of water struck by light and air can serve as a tool for for observing the world around us, as a way of capturing and offering us a way to see a place. This series of work was called les capteurs. A little bit of water is enough to develop something very beautiful, very alive. A few flowers too. And these two go very well together Blaire Dessent Blaire Dessent is an American in Paris working as a cultural writer, copywriter and translator with a specialization in the cultural and lifestyle industries including contemporary art, design, fashion and beauty. She is also special projects manager for American design at Triode, a leading design showroom located in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. Short, obscure winter days make us dream about springtime.

This most desired time of the year is now officially here and along with it, there is a growing necessity to express happiness. Little handcrafted textile flowers by the Paris-based textile artist Karuna Balloo seem to be the best way to show ones’ vibrant feelings. The story behind Balloo’s designs is very simple. After accomplishing both her History of Art and Fashion studies, she devoted herself to textile and costume design. Whenever she went out with her friends in Paris, she wore a colorful flower made of fabric as a hairpin. Fannie Mae Homepath Program Guidelines. It is not hard to guess that after some time some people started requesting about it and made orders.

Today, her horticulture textiles became a burgeoning business. The resurgence of Hand-Made design in today’s world of mass produced products is a welcome alternative for those seeking a distinctive and original product handcrafted by an artisan. You can own a machine-made, digitally crafted replica or a one of a kind that is imperfect, tactile and unique. The eclectic stylist Emma Freemantle a curator and collector at heart is a lover of anything hand- made. Her label 'worn with love' established in 2007 expresses her passion for creating one of a kind pieces from treasures she finds at charity shops, car boot sales, flea markets and house clearances. Her signature headdresses are inspired by her travels to South America and Asia and reference the twenties, sixties with some Navajo thrown in.

Incorporating recycled and vintage textiles, brooches, geese, parrot, guineafowl feathers she creates headpiece tapestries by layering and combining various textures and details. Gisela Torres Photos: Gisela Torres Hair and Makeup artist: Katie Campbell Model: Ilona Ecott /Premier Model Management Stylist: Emma Freemantle Location: Will and Charlotte Fisher. Discovered at one of the most beloved locations of the London Design Festival; the design shop named “Mint” located in Kensington, a humble and touching project by Studio Gutedort and the woman from Iraq El Amir in Jordan, generates nothing but great empathy. Invited by Lina Kanafani, the mastermind behind Mint, Studio Gutedort travelled to the Middle East to work together with women from a popular historical site named Iraq El Amir. The aim of the project was to invent ways to produce locally crafted products in a sustainable way to generate a solid income for the community.

Lina invited the girls of studio Gutedort for their expertise and innovation in natural colors. To continue on their work for “Krautfarben”, where the studio investigates the dying possibilities with red cabbage, they decided to work together with the community in making naturally dyed paper bowls using as little water as possible. The paper bowls are fully absorbing their local environment, using natural spices and herbs from the local market for dying the paper in different hues. What makes these bowls so charming is the use of curcuma, coffee, paprika powder, sumac, carcade, palm leaf and mansaf green as color pigments, products which are usually used as a spice to change taste and to add flavor. The result of considering spices as color pigments for the process of paper dying is a sensory product that becomes alive.

Each individual bowl evokes a different sensation, spreading culinary smells; combined with beautifully dyed papers in resembling colors and touch. Willem Schenk. MOOWON is an online magazine unearthing noble values of the past, capturing the essence of a place, and inspiring respect for the ways people make or do things.

Its stories connect readers to the unique, extraordinary people and things of our world: masters who revive vanishing arts, ideas and places that embody beauty and authenticity. The following is an excerpt from its story on the master weavers of Bhujodi in the Kutch region of India.

A sun-drenched yard. An airy, low-lying stone workshop. There, meditative rhythms of traditional looms set the pace of time. A tree canvased against whitewashed wall stands bearing one lone rose bud.

Anchored to the ground are pots— opaque wells of indigo, seemingly bottomless and infinite. Above, handspun yarn in subtle gradations of indigo flirt with the silent arid air. Woven into the rhythm of this open-air atelier are the soft yet lively melodies of Kutchi conversations. Welcome chez Vankar Vishram Valji, where a multigenerational award-winning family continues the heritage of fine weaving par excellence. Vankar is a name of a social group whose main occupation is the weaving of cloth, and Bhujodi has been home to the « weavers » for centuries. Up until fifty years ago, weaving was not an year-round activity.

Bhujodi’s inhabitants dedicated half of the year to farming, and the other half to weaving. But due to climatic shifts that caused inconsistency of the monsoon and its consequential lack of water, farming became less reliable.

In order to sustain a living, the shift to weaving became the community’s main livelihood. The Vankar brothers, Shamji and Dinesh, two of the six sons of Vishram Valji, shed light on a quintessential factor that defines a highly skilled weaver. The village of Bhujodi is now full of weavers. But how does one distinguish the quality of a weaver’s work from that of another, beyond that relative degree of « taste » that one may own, or years of expertise most people do not possess?

Dinesh’s response is humorous and poignant: « It’s just like handwriting. Some have good handwriting, some have bad handwriting. Good weavers work with their mind. The mind needs to « see » the pieces. Some people do not see it.

But those who have been the benefactors of generational continuity see it. According to Dinesh, it is not just about weaving—the mind needs to be trained. They have lived with the art and have been weaving for generations so they recognize what quality needs to be. The best weavers are recognizable by the borders they weave.

Tradition dictates a certain technique for the weave, identifiable in the amount of thread counts, a specific design, and orientation of the weave. In essence, the weaver knows and understands the technique. This refined « language » and code help distinguish the novices from the skillful artisans.

The newcomers don’t know. Besides its telltale function to identify the skilled, the border also has a functional purpose. When a shawl is worn, the edges are the first to deteriorate. Hence, the borders are not just about design or aesthetics, it is also about function. 'Certain weavers, they just want to sell. They don’t even think about tradition and what our forefathers did.'

Mona Kim Mona started a campaign on to publish a beautiful book. Support her to never forget how beautiful the world is!

MOOWON is an online magazine unearthing noble values of the past, capturing the essence of a place, and inspiring respect for the ways people make or do things. Its stories connect readers to the unique, extraordinary people and things of our world: masters who revive vanishing arts, ideas and places that embody beauty and authenticity. The following is an excerpt from its story on the rare art of Rogan. The ancient and rare craft of Rogan art comes from Persia. Rogan in Persian means 'oil-based'. The motifs used in Rogan art, such as geometric flowers, peacocks, and the tree of life, evoke a once-sublime culture and its understanding of beauty.

In the sleepy hamlet of Nirona in the Kutch district in India, there lives a family who has kept this art form alive while others had decided to abandon it. The Khatri family has held steadfast to this intriguing craft for over three centuries, preventing it from becoming yet another vanishing art. Mysterious incongruent spheres of vibrant natural colors mixed with castor oil adorn the small bowls within a larger bowl. Sumar Khatri, a soft-spoken craftsman of remarkable humility, takes a rod resembling an oversized blunt needle and dips it into the yellow pod. What follows are a series of enchanting maneuvers instrinic to Rogan art. Nimbly, he twirl-wraps the color around one end of the rod.

Against the base palm of his right hand, as if it was an easel, he mixes the color to achieve a perfect consistency. Sumar then gently stretches out a vibrant yellow strand from his 'easel' with the rod, creating that perfect fine 'thread' to transform it into an exquisite flower.

Air weaving: Our common understanding of weaving involves a needle and color thread that pierce through fabric to generate imagery. Rogan defies this logic: the rod 'pre-manipulates' the strand of color in the air to create intended motifs before it hits the fabric; the fingers under the fabric help shape the final form into the fabric. In this sense, there is a dialogue between the two hands. It is only when one witnesses the time, agility, and the utmost control required to draw a simple flower, that one begins to understand the virtuosity behind highly intricate pieces such as the tree of life. It is a calling for those with Buddha's patience, willing to embark on the long road of practice to perfect beauty.

'No drawings, no planning. It comes from the heart, to head, to hands.' Mona Kim Mona just started a campaign on to publish a beautiful book. Support her to never forget how beautiful the world is! Flowing and supple, Emilie Roche’s creations dress the skin as fine fabric would.

Their bearing lends them a surprising presence considering their featherlike weight. Cool at first, the glass snake coils itself around your neck, curls up on your wrist or underlines a waistline that shies away from the constriction of a belt. Little by little, your fingers invite themselves on its moving body, stroke it and lose themselves in highly sensual games of chance. Handcrafted but not plaited or stiff, these smooth jewelry bestows your skin with an incredibly relaxing sensation. Spontaneously, your fingers play with the material and loosen up. Bead crochet is Emilie Roche’s technique. The first pieces of work using this technique date back to the mid-19th century. Purses, little bags, bell-ropes or children’s bonnets were then made by idle upper-class ladies.

Curiously, the same technique was found in the Balkan villages and in the Ottoman Empire’s jails! To stave off boredom, Turkish prisoners crafted snakes and lizards with bead crochet to give as presents or to sell as a means to better their daily lives. During the First World War, many of them made dozens of bead reptiles, some of these up to 1.50m long!Imported from Japan or Bohemia, the beads come in an endless number of shades, transparencies and shimmers. Matt or shiny, smooth or faceted, they play with light like a stream’s water with the sun’s reflections. The story started in the corner of a dark shop in Alexandria, Egypt. There was a shambles of items straight out of the One Thousand and One Nights. Emilie spotted an orange necklace, made of tiny beads, took it in the palm of her hands and stroked it.

This tiny snake of living light was about to change her life. The orange necklace remained an enigma for a long time.

No matter how much Emilie studied it, analyzed it and dismantled it, she could not penetrate the mystery of its manufacture. Until the day she understood that it had been made by a right-handed woman From that moment on, left-handed Emilie began to redesign the whole technique the other way around. When the beaded ropes were first shown to friends and family, the response was unanimous: she could not stop there! Emilie had to set up a production unit and put her creations on the market. Admittedly, she was trained in jewelry and had just left Fried (the Parisian bead and trimming manufacturer and wholesaler), but she simply could not picture herself going to China and looking for a factory to manufacture her jewelry At that point, a journalist friend told her about the small Moroccan oasis of Figuig, where the women knew how to work with beads. Once in Figuig, Emilie Roche explains she can only train three women, due to the technique’s subtleties. On the first day, ten trainees turn up, around fifteen the next day and about thirty in the following days.

Emilie finds herself alone facing these women dressed in haïk, whose ways and language are not her own. Yet the magic happens: after all, isn’t Emilie herself a woman and clever with her hands? Having developed her own teaching technique (for the right-handed!), Emilie began training the women.With much patience and humor, she transmitted, showed and joyfully explained the know-how that had taken her so long to make her own After several visits and dozens of hours of training, Emilie Roche can now count on a team of about fifteen “beaders”, all members of women’s organizations based in Figuig. Ultimately, Emilie’s idea is to ensure that the women in Figuig take up the bead crochet technique to create their own models, adapt them to Figuigi culture and add to the range of handcrafted goods marketed in the oasis.

You can find Emilie's creations in France, Japan, UK, Spain. She will also be. We are happy to introduce you to MOOWON an online magazine unearthing noble values of the past, capturing the essence of a place, and inspiring respect for the ways people make or do things. Its stories connect readers to the unique, extraordinary people and things of our world: masters who revive vanishing arts, ideas and places that embody beauty and authenticity.

The following is an excerpt from its story on Erroll Pires, the last living master of ply-split braiding.Enjoy! In the ancient modernopolis of Ahmedabad, India, lives a singular man of towering guru-like presence, godly white ponytails, and two extraordinarily long thumbnails. Erroll Pires has devoted his life to ply-split braiding, a traditional technique utilized to make camel belts. He has refined, transmuted, and reinvented its usage for over 30 years in what some would call an obsessive dedication, purposefully refusing the boundary between art and object. His repertoire now extends from traditional camel belts to avant-garde three-dimensional objects and seamless dresses. His tools: his hands.

His universe: the magnificent explosion of braided colors. How had a man who once led the hectic and pressured life of a textile designer, so gracefully transform into an ancient soul embodying the simplicity of the desert and the generosity of a guardian angel?

For those of us willfully enslaved to today’s reality of ‘too many’ — choices, devices, interests, tasks to accomplish—, this is a curious disposition that is both aspirational and enviable. The confluence of events and people in life often instigate profound change and compels us in directions previously unimagined. The impetus came from the pre-eminent British artist and master weaver Peter Collingwood, his beloved mother, and his ply-split braiding master Shri Ishwar Singh Bhatti of the Jaisalmer desert. The camel belt, as a result, became his story and a force that has shaped his life philosophy as a craftsperson. Persistence, wisdom, simplicity, patience, and generosity were his guiding principles in his long path to the mastery of the art form. Erroll Pires is a celebrated contemporary ply-split braider based in Ahmedabad. He was a faculty member of textile department at the National Institute of Design (NID) of Ahmedabad for 27 years.

His work has been exhibited in United States, and several countries in Europe including United Kingdom, and his pieces are part of the permanent collection in Whitworth Museum in Manchester. Currently, Erroll « splits » his time between a meditative state of transmuting the traditional 2D technique into 3D, and conducting conferences and workshops in art and design institutions internationally. The truth will always be the truth, especially when that truth is our own sincerity. But when something unpredictable happens and we feel exposed and vulnerable, our truth all of a sudden becomes tangible. That tangible truth asks for our ability to open up to change and transformation. Tangible Truths is a heart-warming project by Sybille Paulsen that focuses on the transformation of loss by turning it into a personalized and stunning piece of art.

Sybille, who is a Berlin-Based fiber-artisan and designer, works primarily with a very exceptional material, namely hair. She believes that hair is a unique substance that awakens a lot of feelings.

In her designs she tries to honour these believes by creating artefacts that go beyond the basic intention of jewellery. “My inspiration is ignited by the sensuous experience of materials - their roughness, their weight or color - as well as details from my daily life” - Sybille Paulsen - The art-project Tangible Truths turns the hair of cancer-patients, who lost it due to chemotherapy, into personalized jewellery. As every woman is unique and experiences her illness differently, every piece is different as well. It is an intensive cooperation between Sybille and the concerning woman, who get to learn each other deeply to create a perfect story.

A serious illness, such as cancer, unfortunately does not only effect the patient but her whole environment, therefore Tangible Truth offers additional pieces for friends a family to support their beloved ones by functioning as a unbreakable bond and to visualize the togetherness one seeks for in difficult times. Every single piece Sybille Paulsen creates is handmade and asks for tremendous accuracy. A single piece can therefore take several days or even weeks to be completed into one of her breath-taking designs that, piece by piece, tell the personal story of a beautiful human being. Tangible Truths is a perfect signal of “positivism” as it turns an overwhelming sad life experience into an unforgettable artefact. It transforms a loss into a precious gift and makes the situation discussable.

Tangible Truths is the embodiment of societies changing attitude regarding alter negative happenings into added value. In a way we can even pose that it is the ultimate form of “personalization” as it literally makes a part of our human being immortal. Cecile Cremer Extremely curious and always searching for little weak signals that tell us things are changing.

Cecile is a trend researcher and creative concept developer with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan.Her aim in life is to develop things that matter to others and to help others change their strategy to be ahead of the future. Because she believes “The future is ours”. Trend Tablet is a huge fan of Little Dandelion we asked Jacqui Fink, the hands behind Little Dandelion to tell us her story.

Here you are! 'I’m a mother (41) of three children and I live on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Australia with my Husband Eric, two cats and a menagerie of wildlife who visit for a daily feed. I have a law degree but am otherwise untrained in fine arts, design and textiles.

I launched Little Dandelion in 2012 after a long and intensive search for a creative outlet. I had been searching in earnest for something to call my own and I knew it needed to be creative: the need to work with my hands was powerful. To cut a long story short, in November 2009 my Mother received a life saving double lung transplant. In the weeks that followed, I found myself in a heightened creative state culminating in a dream that was as terrifying as it was profound.

In the dream, a very loud booming voice told me that I needed to knit blankets and that the knitting needed to be “big”. The very next day I started the process of bringing Little Dandelion to fruition. I suspect the fact that the answer to my search for a creative outlet was so intimately connected to my Mother was no accident.

My Mum taught me to knit when I was quite young. Mum was and is a profuse knitter and I noticed that it was a beautiful respite for her.

As a child though I was too impatient to commit to the language of knitting to be able to follow a pattern. But, I did work really hard to perfect my tension and the consistency of my stitches.

I also enjoyed the respite. Fast forward five years, some intense experimentation and the making of many mistakes, I now produce by hand oversized scale blankets, throws and installation works using naturally coloured high quality unspun merino wool and other natural fibres from Australia and New Zealand and a set of massive knitting needles made from PVC pipe. My work is informed by three great passions: my need for sensory feedback and my love of both texture and natural fibres. At the heart of my work is the extreme scale the unspun wool allows me to achieve.

For the observer, the scale provides the perfect platform to showcase the beauty and rawness of the natural fibres I use. The textures are rich, luxurious and have the ability to imbue both solace and joy to the handler. On a personal level, each piece is as much a physical challenge as a loving creative exercise and pushing the boundaries of what is possible is a huge driver. However, knitting with unspun wool is problematic due to its delicate nature. To overcome this, I felt each piece once it has been knitted. This is no mean feat given that most of my creations weigh a minimum of five kilograms.

The felting gives stability to the unspun wool and allows for a greater stitch definition. The Violet Ray Book Pdf. The resulting texture is both rustic and sculptural in its appeal. My self-taught process is laborious and often menial but it is equally satisfying.

I suspect my lack of technical know how actually helped me push the boundaries of what was possible because I had no concept of what wasn’t. Essentially, Little Dandelion is my quiet rebellion against mindless mass production and my loving contribution to a kinder and more conscientious world. I am currently developing my own Little Dandelion oversized knitting yarn so that others can experience the joy of slow craft and extreme knitting.' Alberto Fabbian and Paola Amabile are two young Italian designers based in Northern Italy. They identify their role as responsible explorers by investigating new connections among actors, processes and knowledges.

Their purpose is to create positive impacts by transferring contents that can be shared in several forms, whether they be objects, situations or food for thought. They recently worked with local craftsmen to create 'Workbench' project, which represents the result of a collaboration between two traditional artisanal realities as wicker and clay. 'Workbench Tray' represents a deep research project that explores feelings and technical possibilities of wicker and clay combining them together, in order to identify new languages and processes. Entirely handmade with natural materials, 'Workbench Tray' is the result of knowledges and intuitions reached inside different craftsmen workshops. The delicacy of porcelain joins the flexibility of wicker thanks to a single wire that runs all along the tray, completing naturally its essential shape.

A wood base sustains the object highlighting its lightness. '&Ability' wants to interpret networks as personal and business intersections reflecting culture and land, through unique and matchless know-how.

Wicker weaving, decorated weaves on ceramics: different materials and processing, to develop and rise the tradition in which identify, to interface with “the diverse”, promoting innovation. The name itself - '&Ability' - is the union between the junction par excellence, “&”, (from Latin, Et) and “ability”, to underline the importance of sharing different expertise. '&Ability' is made of one wooden table holding different components: lampshades, bowls, wicker baskets or ceramic vases, each of them carrying its own identity, even though they’re part of the same project.

Components are connected in a dynamic dialogue and may be combined upon user’s taste and needs, creating different compositions, in which weaving is the continuity element. Victoria Aguirre and Carlyon Wilson are photographers, Victoria is from Argentina and her partner is Australian. After years of exploring the world with their cameras, they launched 'pampa'. As Carlyon explains it: 'Pampa is the word used in Latin America to describe the open plains, lands that lay uninterrupted to the horizon. It is hard not to feel a sense of freedom when being surrounded by such a vastness.' Pampa is specialized in Hand-Woven Art Rugs made in native communities from Argentina. These pieces are unique products handcrafted with great knowledge, art, technique and humility. Through each rug we can discover new customs and new ways of being.

Each unique piece represents a way of living that shows simplicity and wisdom. These textiles come from a world of older times, filled with identity and truth. Truth is what you see in these peoples eyes. Victoria and Carlyon both feel that their photography is the perfect way to show what Pampa is all about Pampa unites territories through art. Pampa traces heritage, as to return to simple basics.

Pampa connects culture by its memories and creations. Pampa is tracing a map. The rural Swazi reality isn’t as bright as the colorful pieces crafted by them. Finding themselves having to pay for transport to clinics, school fees and support an average of 7 children, Swazi women found their way to overcome the challenges and empower themselves financially.

Gone Rural is a holistically sustainable company that enabled the craft of over 760 Swazi women to reach 32 countries, establishing a respectful relationship between the world and the Swazi cultural heritage and community. The company, creatively directed by Philippa Thorne, a Central Saint Martins graduate, was very successful with their use of local resources and keeping Swazi traditions – the invasive weed, sisal fibre, used as one of the materials for the products, grows the year-through and doesn’t threaten the biodiversity; the lutindzi grass, which in Swazi means “Flora of Swaziland” is another fibre used for the fabrication, harvested once every 12 months without damaging the roots, is enough for the whole year. The community work enables generations to work together and share skills and precious moments with their families and friends. The women naturally developed their own network and side jobs, trading food or clothes amongst each other. All the new designs or skills introduced to the production are studied and passed onto every woman, who then add their own creative touches to it. A complementary non-profit company was then founded, in 2007, by Philippa, in order to provide the community with access to education, guarantying it for 360 children annually through School Fees Bursary Fund, Motivational Training and Early Childhood Development; health through Mobile Wellness clinic, Peer Education and access to holistic homeopathic care; community development through clean water, food and shelters; and women’s empowerment, through teaching artisans how to read and write, save and invest money and learning about their basic human rights.

Mixing traditional techniques and aesthetics with contemporary ethical designs, the psychedelic homewear and accessories pieces are handmade and unique, and a true example of what design can change lives. Lydia Caldana. I have a fond memory about the first time I worked directly with the karigars (the embroidery workers). In France, only women do embroidery. There, it’s the opposite, only men do.

I was trying to explain to them how to do a special technique but I could not find the words. So I took thread and needle, sat down in front of the frame and then 60 people stopped working to look at me. It scared me a little bit, I thought they did not approve of that.

But it wasn’t that, they were just amused and curious. Why did you decide to launch DIY embroidery kits? One of the main reasons I’ve started this project is to make embroidery and fashion embellishment more accessible. Not everyone can afford to buy an haute couture gown but everyone can learn a few stitches and make their own embellishment at home. Also, people still have this idea of embroidery being an outdated and old-fashioned pastime. I want them to look at it in a new way, to bring a younger and more contemporary version of this amazing technique.

Working with your hands and making things yourself is deeply rewarding and can become an almost therapeutic activity. Friends often tell me embroidery is too complicated or hard to learn. So I wanted to give them an easy, funny and refreshing way to do it. My students at the London College of Fashion always kept asking for more techniques, more tricks, more designs, so I decided to launch the All Over Sequins website.

I have been working for the fashion and embroidery industries for the past seven years. Each house, each atelier and each of the artisans I have collaborated with taught me different styles and techniques.

With All Over Sequins, I want give back for everything I’ve learnt, by sharing this knowledge with a broader audience. Do you have others DIY kits in preparation or any other plan for the future? Yes, I’m working on a series of kits like cushions, bags, pouches and lampshades inspired by different themes such as nature or tiles ornaments. They will be available online in the next couple of months. The blog is becoming a collaborative space where we share not only techniques and tutorials but also inspirations from our trips or research around our points of interests: exhibits, textile art, DIY craft, books, printing, vintage furniture and architecture. Through this project, I want to explore the relationship between illustration, print and embroidery, using a wide range of media and a variety of materials like sequins, stones, beads. I really enjoy teaching so I’m planning to open some courses in my atelier in Paris for people who want to learn more and explore hand embroidery.

Where can we find 'All over Sequins' DIY?