Almost 36 years ago, National Geographic magazine published an issue with Steve McCurry’s photo of a young Afghan woman on the cover. Her intense green eyes were so unexpected, and her expression so loaded with hard-to-read emotion, that the photograph has become iconic. Just google “afghan girl” and there she is, after all this time. […]
10
Feb
Feb
A year ago, the world was different. We were eagerly awaiting a boat from China bringing our newest book, Every Thread a Story and its companion volume, The Secret Language of Miao Embroidery, to our warehouse. Then we were going to hop on a plane with 16 intrepid fellow travelers and head off to Guizhou […]
27
Mar
Mar
What I love: mountains, hats, cloth, stories within ritual. On our third day in China’s Guizhou Province last spring, publisher Linda Ligon, photographer Joe Coca, and I bounced along steep and muddy mountain roads with our dear guide Wang Jun and faithful driver Mr. Zhou. We were in China to work on our newest book […]
06
Mar
Mar
“I’d like you to meet a friend of mine,” says Wang Jun, wanting to broaden our understanding of Miao textiles. I was in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, with Karen Brock and Joe Coca, working on Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province. So Jun took us straightaway to meet with his friend Zeng […]
14
Feb
Feb
It was a chance encounter, my first meeting with Wang Jun. Joe Coca and I were in Guizhou Province, China, with a potential author, checking the area out for a couple of weeks. Wang Jun was our translator. That book didn’t work out, but in the course of our travels, we became enchanted with the […]
24
Jan
Jan
I didn’t even know who Mr. T was, until I received an impressive certificate, suitable for framing, with his fierce visage staring me in the face. Such a surprise. You might wonder what I did to earn such an honor. Well, it was easy! I got in front of a video camera and babbled with […]
15
Nov
Nov
Imagine being greeted with song and flasks of rice wine in a traditional Chinese village. Imagine spending a day in the life of a Miao artisan and discovering the stories behind her ancient needlework traditions. Now you can! Several weeks ago we announced our plans to travel back to Guizhou Province, China, in celebration of […]
04
Oct
Oct
This excerpt from a recent travel guide communication just cracked me up: “The travel coach drivers in Guizhou Province (China) have the skills of a Nascar driver, the patience and gentleness of a collie dog, and the quiet charm of an Arabian prince.” Does that sound like a bit of hyperbole? Actually, it seems pretty […]
22
Mar
Mar
Travels You may have glimpsed photos from our Facebook or Instagram pages over the last couple of weeks, documenting our travels around southwestern China. Our days were filled meeting batik artists, embroidery artists, weavers, indigo dyers–many whose families have worked these textile traditions for several generations. They were happy to share their stories, their skills, […]
09
Mar
Mar
Last year at about this time, I was in Guizhou Province, China, with photographer Joe Coca and fashion designer Angel Chang. Angel was in the process of building a fashion collection around the indigenous fabrics of Guizhou, an ethnic minority province, largely populated with Miao and Dong people. She graciously took us along and gave […]
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