A trip to Marrakech that we took a few years back with fellow designer friend Holly Phillips of The English Room inspired a collection of vibrant textiles and pillows that she launched in partnership with Lacefield Designs. We’re obsessed with them all, especially this Yves Persimmon pillow!
Jared Hughes Rocks the Southeastern Designer Showhouse
Jared Hughes, a wildly talented designer and lovely friend of ours, has us totally gobsmacked over his bedroom in this year’s Southeastern Designer Showhouse. From his beautiful use of Décors Barbares textiles to the ornate detailing of his custom wallpaper collaboration with Gracie Studio, we were thrilled to learn more about Jared’s inspiration and creative process for this project.
Desk Diaries: Creating Meaning
None of us would have wished for the mandatory global shutdown of our lives as we formerly knew them, and yet so much good has already come from it. A slower pace. Renewed focus on what really matters after all of the BS and busywork is stripped away. Creativity bubbling up in surprising ways. Connecting with old friends (#virtualcocktailhour, anyone?) But perhaps most importantly, a redefined sense of the significance of home, and an ever-growing, fierce love for the people we’re now spending more time with than ever before within these walls. One thing has never been truer - our homes are our havens.
Hecho A Mano
ABOUT | Aside from being one of my best friends on this planet, Rasheena Taub is a woman who has a profound way with words and rich understanding of the human spirit. In her first guest post on CLOTH & KIND, she shares the story and images of her recent trip to Peru and the loving art of creating mantas textiles by hand, hecho a mano. This fall, Rasheena will launch Kickstand Collections, an online resource for parents seeking more personalized collections of children’s books and souvenirs.KRISTA
I blame the elevation for my oversight in grabbing water bottles "con gas" at a small market on our way from the Cusco airport to the Sacred Valley. My nine year-old, who was newly exposed to Sprite, delighted in hydrating with a bit of bubbly. Our tour guide seemed less pleased. After twisting his bottle’s plastic cap off, he poured a healthy sip onto the ground. But then he chugged the rest. “Does it taste ok?” I questioned before committing to mine. “Si. That was for Pachamama.”
It turns out Spanish was not the native language of indigenous Peruvians – Quechua is. And in this ancestral language, Pachamama means “Mother World” or, as we know her, “Mother Earth.” Daily worship of their goddess of harvest and fertility includes this ritual of spilling a small amount of one’s drink onto the floor before drinking the rest -- a personal gesture of gratitude directed at feeding and giving back to the land that takes care of us. I tried not to think about our water bottles piling up in some landfill.
In the small town of Chinchero where we stopped en route to the Sacred Valley, we learned just how Pachamama and the Peruvians take care of each other. Sundays usher in busloads of tourists to experience the market, but this weekday afternoon our van was the sole vehicle in sight. We felt transported into a centuries-old way of living. Free from tourists, the town itself resembled an unoccupied Epcot country with souvenirs lining storefronts on the cobblestone road. Our tour guide led us to the front door of a local family. When no one answered his repeated knocking, he turned around and tried the neighbor’s house. A wooden arrow overhead had the words “Ayni Ayllu” painted onto it. We lucked upon a cooperative of women who thread traditional culture into their goods and weave their way into the modern world of commerce.
A man, disrupted from siesta, descended from an upstairs room and greeted us. He then swiftly left us in the care of two women who welcomed us into their courtyard. In its center stood a working loom. As a writer, I am drawn to storytellers. These women understood their history and the importance of it, and they sought to preserve it by mentoring their children and educating tourists like us. They were also artisans, taking great pride in their handiwork and personal expressions of an ancient Andean art. A girl my seven year-old son’s age quietly fed guinea pigs while her mother set up a display of wicker bowls that held her show-and-tell. We were invited to learn how their most important textiles, mantas, are made. Symbolic and functional, mantas are the long weavings that women wear on their backs to carry babies and items such as food. Distinctions in pattern and color identify the community in which it is created.
Did I mention yet that Chinchero perches at 9,000 feet? We sipped coca tea and staved off altitude sickness while the women washed dirty sheep’s and alpaca’s wool with soap made from the root of a local plant. This natural detergent is also used as shampoo for their long, braided hair. Lack of oxygen may have something to do with my imagining these women in a detergent commercial where their strands of glistening white wool triumph alongside the unnamed leading detergent and an article of clothing still visibly stained.
My children loved the next step, which involved spinning the wool into yarn on small toy-like drop-spindles. We’d see women around town that afternoon multi-task as women are prone to do: conversing, walking and spinning wool. In retrospect, I’m not sure how I thought color thread was created in this remote region. Again, they turn to the earth for resources. Hand-gathered natural ingredients such as leaves, corn, flowers, sticks and seeds produce different hues for the dyes. Salt and lemon alter the shades of colors drastically. Even cochineal, a small beetle that lives on the local pear cactus, is crushed to create a red dye. This same pigment adorns women’s lips and cheeks as make-up.
The women boiled water in large, Strega Nona-like vessels and then added the desired dyes. They dipped single-ply yarn into the pots for varying lengths of time. The longer the thread soaked in the dye, the more intense its color. My kids grew bored of the demonstration. My husband refocused them on the tables of mantas, sweaters, dolls and pouches for purchase. He knows me well enough to know that I was staying put for as long as they’d have me.
The gorgeous yarns then had to be rinsed and hung to dry, all before being spun again to create thicker ply for weaving. Thankfully, balls of yarn crowded a woven basket near the working loom. We were good to go (not out the door, but toward the loom!). My son remarked that the simple loom, with its two upright poles and cross bar, resembled the top half of a field goal. He was right to be thinking of sports, since the two women tossed the yarn back and forth to thread the loom, creating a reversible textile.
A weaver’s story, though, is told in most detail on an individual loom. Designs depicting natural elements such as rivers or mountains, stripes of varying thickness and color, and even animal figures emerge from the weaver’s mind. During Incan times, textiles commemorated personal milestones and peaceful offerings while representing basic beliefs and values of their makers. Even now, hundreds of years later, you get the sense that whatever a woman is feeling – whether longing or love or loss, she is expressing this through her choice of color and is identifying with Pachamama’s serenity, strength and survival.
On the afternoon we spent in Chinchero, women gathered to weave in the town’s center and on a patch of grass beside the cobblestone road. Some removed their shoes, made out of recycled tires, and used their toes to hold the yarn. Others worked dutifully on backstrap looms designed for individual use. I envied these creative women for having their community within arm’s reach. Mine is dependent on email, phone calls and care packages. I missed my girlfriends, the ones who value the importance of making something with your hands, who turn hardship into something artful and beautiful, who own their power and use it for a greater good, who get that once you share your story, your few drops of water on the ground, you share yourself with the world, and in doing so, you are sustaining it.
IMAGE CREDITS | All photographs taken by Rasheena Taub.
Fibers Underfoot
It goes without saying that we are obsessed with textiles but what really turns us on are the artisans behind the handiwork. We had the pleasure of spending yesterday surrounded by gorgeous antique rugs literally up to our ears, and in midst of talented textile artists who painstakingly repair the wear and tear. Although we selected several beautiful rugs to be shipped for interior projects, our favorites, hands down, were the combination of the plaited jute and Moroccan kilim rugs above.
Inspired: Fibers Underfoot | CLOTH & KIND
Inspired: Fibers Underfoot | CLOTH & KIND
We are off for another packed day before heading home late this afternoon, so with coffee in hand we are hitting the streets for Studio Four NYC. What's on your agenda for today?
IMAGE CREDITS | All images taken by Tami Ramsay of CLOTH & KIND
Timothy Corrigan
what is your idea of perfect design happiness? A WELL-PROPORTIONED ROOM WITH PLENTY OF NATURAL LIGHT AND A CLIENT WITH A GOOD BUDGET WHO SAYS: “AMAZE ME!”
what is your greatest fear in design? PLASTIC-COVERED FURNITURE… I SAW SOME IN A FRIEND’S HOME IN COLLEGE AND HAVE NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT!
which historical design figure do you most identify with? JEAN-CHARLES MOREUX DID IT ALL. HE WAS AN ARCHITECT, HE DESIGNED INTERIORS, HE CREATED FURNITURE AND HE DID LANDSCAPE DESIGN. A TRUE RENAISSANCE MAN.
which living designer do you most admire? NEW YORK DESIGN ICON VICENTE WOLF HAS BEEN A GREAT INSPIRATION.
what profession other than design would you like to attempt? I WOULD LOVE TO BE A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. WHAT A JOY IT MUST BE TO INTEGRATE SPACE, SHAPE AND FORM WITH THE MOST WONDERFUL OF ALL MATERIALS - TREES, SHRUBS, AND FLOWERS.
what is your greatest design extravagance? MY PORTRAIT COLLECTION. I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED PORTRAIT PAINTINGS BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN KIND OF ICONOGRAPHY THAT TELLS YOU ABOUT THE TIME AND PLACE THAT THE PERSON IN THE PORTRAIT LIVED.
when and where were you happiest with your design? MY PLACE IN THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE, THE CHATEAU DU GRAND-LUCÉ. I PURCHASED THE CHATEAU IN 2004 THEN UNDERTOOK ITS MASSIVE RESTORATION AND DECORATION, BRINGING IT BACK TO ITS FULL GLORY. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT I AM DOING THERE - PULLING WEEDS, FEEDING THE SWANS, OR WALKING IN THE WOODS - THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE I FIND THE TRUE MEANING OF JOY.
what do you consider your greatest achievement in design? I HAVE SO LOVED THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY NEW LINE OF FABRICS AND FURNITURE FOR SCHUMACHER AS WELL AS CARPETS FOR PATTERSON, FLYNN & MARTIN THAT ARE ALL COMING OUT NEXT SPRING.
if you died and came back as another designer or design object, who or what do you think it would be? EMILIO TERRY WAS AN INCREDIBLE TASTEMAKER WHO NEVER REALLY RECEIVED GREAT FAME. I WOULD LIKE TO COME BACK AS HIM TO INSURE HE ACHIEVES THE LEVEL OF NOTORIETY HE DESERVES.
what specific design related talent are you lacking that you would you most like to have? GOOD HANDWRITING AND THE ABILITY TO SKETCH WELL… WHEN IT COMES TO A PEN OR PENCIL, I AM SEVERELY CHALLENGED!
what is your most treasured design related possession? A SMALL SILVER AND VERMEIL BOX WITH ENAMEL AND PORCELAIN THAT WAS GIVEN BY EMPRESS ELIZABETH ("SISI”) OF AUSTRIA TO HER NIECE, MY GREAT, GREAT GRANDMOTHER. IT’S FILLED WITH AN ODD COLLECTION OF SMALL MEMENTOS FROM MY FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD, LIKE THE FIRST STARFISH I EVER FOUND AND SOME OLD KEYS TO THE STABLES AT MY GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE. IT HAS BEEN WITH ME THROUGH TODAY AND SERVES AS A KIND OF TOUCHSTONE.
what do you regard as the lowest depths of misery in design? CLOSED MINDED PEOPLE WITH NO DESIRE TO GROW OR LEARN. IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS BE OPEN TO NEW IDEAS AND WAYS OF LOOKING AT THINGS… THAT’S WHEN MAGIC HAPPENS IN DESIGN, AS IN LIFE!
what curse word do you most frequently use? I AM EMBARRASSED TO SAY IT, BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE “WHAT THE FU-CK?...YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!”
what is your favorite design related word? ELEGANT
what is your least favorite design related word? DELICIOUS OR FABULOUS… REALLY, WHAT SELF-RESPECTING PERSON WOULD UTTER SUCH SILLINESS?
what turns you on in design? HAVING NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES TO TRY NEW AND DIFFERENT THINGS. I ALSO LOVE THE CHALLENGE OF TAKING ARCHITECTURE FROM AN EARLIER TIME, IN WHICH PEOPLE LIVED VERY DIFFERENTLY AND THEN FIGURING OUT HOW TO APPROPRIATELY UPDATE THAT STRUCTURE FOR THE WAY WE LIVE AND WORK TODAY.
what turns you off in design? OH, WHERE DOES ONE BEGIN HERE? 1. I AM SO OVER IKAT THAT I COULD SCREAM. 2. I HATE ROOMS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY JUST CAME DELIVERED FROM A SHOW ROOM. 3. I DON’T UNDERSTAND MOST OF THE PLASTIC FURNITURE FROM THE 70’S… IT WAS CHEAP THEN AND HASN’T IMPROVED WITH AGE.
what is your motto in design? COMFORTABLE ELEGANCE. I TRY TO CREATE ENVIRONMENTS WHERE PEOPLE FEEL AT HOME AND WELCOME. COMFORT IS THE KEY INGREDIENT.
//
IMAGE CREDITS | Images courtesy of Timothy Corrigan, Architectural Digest, Vulgare & OperaGloves.
ABOUT PROUST ON DESIGN | Answered by our design icons, these must-ask questions come from a 19th century parlor game made popular by Marcel Proust, the French novelist, essayist & critic. Proust believed the direct questions and honest responses that they elicited revealed the true nature of the individual. For this column, we have put a design related spin on the traditional questions. While this method has been used by many journalists throughout the years, we were primarily inspired by The Proust Questionnaire, which appears monthly on the back page of one of our all time favorite magazines, Vanity Fair (also Krista’s alma mater). Read all of the previous Proust on Design questionnaires here.
The Beauty of Arizona
I'm fresh back from a blissful week with the family in Scottsdale, AZ. Can I just tell you how much it was needed?! I feel like a new woman, all rested & relaxed. And who wouldn't be with views like this...
But of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't stop to drool at some of the fabulous design elements along the way. Vacation or not, it's impossible for me to turn off the textile-addicted side of my personality. In particular, the vintage textiles they used to make these stunning pillows from at our resort blew. me. away.
As wonderful as the break was, I'm happy to be back in the swing of things. Does that sound crazy? This vacation has accomplished all it was supposed to - uninterrupted days with the kids and hubby, decompression time for all of us, a break from the chill temps in Ann Arbor - but I'm not one for sitting still for too long (as you may have guessed).
This week in particular is going to be a great one on the blog, with two new columns from guest editors debuting - Curated, by Tami Ramsay (who you already know from her stunningly beautiful Anatomy of Flora column here on CLOTH & KIND) and Deconstructed Kitchen, by my incredibly talented photographer and passionate home chef friend, Bonnie Berry. Art and Food. I mean, really, what could be better? I'm also quite excited to share some new Show & Tell with you. The accomplished interior design duo, Andy & Cara from Ore Studios, will be here to show us their favorite textile-based design items in their homes. So check back frequently this week... Lots going on and I want to hear what you think about it all!
PHOTO CREDITS | All photos taken by moi, via Instagram. Follow along, why don't cha?