No, we’re not going anywhere. It might be a long time. And honestly, I’m getting a little tired of being urged to watch travel films or read travel blogs as a substitute for the real thing. But here I go. This time last year I was in Bolivia, loving everything about that country, from the […]
14
May
May
Every spring for the last thirty plus years, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) celebrates the little guys in the publishing world through its Benjamin Franklin Awards. This is actually a highly regarded indie book award program that recognizes excellence in editorial content, photography, and design. This year the IBPA judges, hundreds of them, chose […]
10
Apr
Apr
If life hadn’t taken an unexpected pivot, we would be in China right now with a group of friends. This very day, we would have been visiting a village that specializes in folded embroidery (my favorite kind), and we would be on our way to a workshop in that technique and others at the Sun […]
06
Dec
Dec
Sometimes it’s the humblest textile that takes up permanent residence in your memory of a place. I was fortunate to travel in Bolivia with a group from Andean Textile Arts recently, and was blown away by the fine basketry of the jipi japa palm weavers of the Santa Cruz region, and the lovely natural dyed […]
13
Sep
Sep
I first went to Bolivia in 1994 with my husband to view a total solar eclipse. It was a stunning experience, high in the Altiplano with the sky going dark, the donkeys and cattle bellowing, the birds flapping around in perplexity. The eclipse itself lasted only moments, but the memory overshadows everything else I experienced […]
19
Jul
Jul
We came back from the International Folk Art Market (IFAM) in Santa Fe last week bursting with the wonder of it all—the music, the dancing, the color, the artisans and the crowds they had attracted, all embracing the beauty and importance of handmade goods from around the world. World Class Books This year’s market was […]
26
Apr
Apr
I’m feeling a tad guilty that April is National Poetry Month and here we are in the final stretch, having done nothing to celebrate. Over the years, we’ve often found ways to join text with textile in poetic ways. For International Women’s Day a few years ago, Marge Piercy’s “For Strong Women” set a meaningful […]
12
Apr
Apr
Springtime always feels like a whirlwind at Thrums Books. We have new Spring books hitting the shelves while we’re sending our new fall books to the printer. It’s when we win awards (!) and plot our future fun. Check out what’s new in the world of Thrums Books and find out what’s on deck for […]
22
Feb
Feb
I’ve been an armchair traveler these days. It started a few weeks ago when I waved good-bye, electronically, of course, to Maren Beck as she left for Xam Tai, Laos. She was off to lead a small group of textile enthusiasts through the hill tribe villages of Vietnam and Laos. Maren, co-author of Silk Weavers […]
25
Jan
Jan
My friendship with Cynthia Lecount Samaké, author of our new A Textile Traveler’s Guide to Peru & Bolivia, has been a long and winding road, much like the tours she leads to far flung places all over the world. It started in the early 1990s when Interweave, which I then headed, bought rights to her […]
