Last week, publisher Linda Ligon transported us to the highlands of Bolivia and Peru. This week, I’m taking us on a journey to Morocco. After my first visit there with author Susan Schaefer Davis, I described it as a place of “Layers and layers of flavor, color, and light, distilled into a single joy.” I […]
26
Jun
Jun
All of our books, despite variations in craft techniques and far flung locations, share common themes: endangered textile traditions, the life stories of indigenous artisans, and culture and place as context—those hands that shape craft and crafter. The other common thread in our books is the remarkable photography of Joe Coca. Last fall, in celebration […]
12
Jun
Jun
Do handknitted mittens turn away the evil eye in Estonia? Well, maybe. How do you spin pineapple fiber into thread for piña cloth? You don’t. (You just tie single fine strands together.) Can you make Miao shiny cloth without pigs’ blood? Yes you can. Egg whites are an option, or if you’re vegan, maybe yellow […]
08
Nov
Nov
I returned a couple of weeks ago from the third ClothRoads & Thrums Books Textile Arts of Morocco Tour with author Susan Schaefer Davis. To wander just a few of the 15,000 alleyways of medieval Fes, to breathe in the mounds of Marrakesh spice, or drive along the edges of the High Atlas Mountains is […]
18
Oct
Oct
I’ve been traveling for the last week with Women Artisans of Morocco: Their Stories, Their Lives author Susan Schaefer Davis. We’ve been visiting many of the artisans featured in her book on our third ClothRoads/Thrums Books textile tour. Susan has been leading our small group of textile travelers through the mountains and markets of this […]
23
Aug
Aug
Women Artisans of Morocco author Susan Schaefer Davis shares some great examples of how our books and her tours are improving the lives of women artisans in Morocco. Thanks, Susan! While working on my book on Moroccan artisans, it was obvious that the women I spoke with hoped that being in a book would increase […]
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 […]
11
Jan
Jan
Fadma Wadal lives 5,300 miles away from me. She’s six years younger than I am; when I was graduating from high school, she was getting married. Do the math: she was only twelve years old. I went away to college; she waited for puberty and soon had her first child. I personalize this because our […]
10
Nov
Nov
Morocco, on our two-week ClothRoads/Thrums Books artisan tour, felt familiar in a way. Joe Coca so beautifully photographed the people and places in Women Artisans of Morocco, and Susan Schaefer Davis introduced us so vividly to the artisans and their families that I had a strong sense I’d been there before. And yet, how can […]
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