Joshua Hirschstein, co-author of Silk Weavers of Hill Tribe Laos, drops in this week to share his thoughts about the challenges to traditional textiles in a global economy. Minimizing the Impact In 2008, in a small village in the beautiful Annamite Mountains of northern Laos, Maren and I met a Tai Daeng silk weaver who […]
02
Feb
Feb
Author Mary Littrell shares her experiences from her recent book talk at the Wheelwright Museum. My public talk for Embroidering within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future drew a full house last Sunday in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Following a week of three horrific attacks in Afghanistan, Santa Feans seemed eager to hear a message […]
15
Aug
Aug
We spend a lot of time thinking about textiles in all their glorious manifestations, but we don’t spend very much time thinking about the tools we use to make them. At least, I don’t. I was reminded of this when I was looking at some of the amazing goodies the Carlos Museum at Emory University […]
05
May
May
A Bond between People Written above the entrance to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, are these important words: “The art of the craftsman is a bond between the peoples of the world.” And that’s what the Museum of International Folk Art is all about—connecting people with the arts, traditions, and […]
28
Apr
Apr
I’ve been told by a revered marketing guru that it’s not a good idea to write about a book a year and a half before it’s published, and before it even has a title. So I’m not going to write about that book which has no name. But I must share a slice of the […]
24
Mar
Mar
Coming Together It’s an interesting word, Tinkuy. (Say tin-kooie). While it means a “coming together” in Quechua, it means more than that. It means (among other untranslatable things) coming together like rushing streams converging in foaming eddies to create a bigger river. There’s a lot of energy implied in the word. The first Tinkuy, in […]
03
Mar
Mar
Textile Fiestas of Mexico author Sheri Brautigam writes to us while shopping at some of her favorite markets, on-the-road, in Mexico: Besides the exciting festivals and ferias of Mexico, there are wonderful local markets to experience every week, so don’t miss out. Back in Mexico this winter I visited two that have become my favorites […]
20
Jan
Jan
In our ongoing recognition of an institution that works to preserve and celebrate traditional textiles, our hats are tipped this month to the Fowler Museum at the University of California Los Angeles. The Fowler’s mission is to enhance understanding and appreciation of diverse peoples and cultures of the world through its exhibitions and public programs. And it does! Fowler in Focus […]
06
Jan
Jan
Here in Havana My extended family and I (all fifteen of us) spent Christmas in Cuba. We stayed in random Airbnb rooms in Havana’s old Centro neighborhood, in once-grand shabby houses where the amenities were sparse but the people were wonderful. A couple of our hostesses made daily breakfast—eggs, black beans, fruit (bring your own hot […]
02
Dec
Dec
Exactly three years ago, Thrums Books released Beyond the Stones of Machu Picchu. It was such a pleasure working with the author, Libby Van Buskirk, who had deeply researched the folk tales and folkways of the Peruvian highlands during her many years of travel in that country. And the illustrator, Angel Callañaupa Alvarez, is a […]
