For the specific fabrics used in Palette No. 2, please subscribe to CLOTH & KIND's emails. Details for each textile are provided exclusively to my email buddies. Happy Friday!
Palette No. 1
It's no secret that all I want to do is play with pretty textiles all day, right? This is a new column that is totally self-serving in that respect. Each week in Palette, I'll share a stunning combo of textiles that I would use in my own home (if there were only enough rooms) or in my client's design projects. There's only one catch. If you want to know what the fabrics are in each Palette, you'll need to subscribe to CLOTH & KIND's emails. Details for each textile will be provided exclusively to my email buddies. Happy Friday, all!
D. Bryant Archie
"One of my favorite textiles is an old aso oke tapestry from Nigeria. "Aso Oke" translates to "high cloth". It's composed of narrow (approx. 4") hand-woven panels sewn together. About 50-60 years old, made of cotton and lurex and traditionally a man's decoration, the tapestry was most likely worn on special occasions."
"I usually deconstruct these vintage textiles and sew them into pillows. However, when it arrived, I was blown away with the unique color combination of this one (magenta, indigo, cobalt, tan). I draped it over my favorite wing chair, then happened to peer into my bedroom later that day and it hit me. The wall color combined with the hues of the vintage velvet chair fabric and tapestry patterning are both calm and exciting."
"I love its rustic character which reflects its history, significance and handmade origin." - D. Bryant Archie
If you have any questions about this brilliant aso oke textile, raise your hand (ie – leave a comment below) and Bryant will do her best to answer.
Framed Vintage Textiles
These small bits of vintage textiles floating on top of pure white mats in matte black frames from Jayson Home say it all. Really good design often lies in the littlest of details.
Genevieve Fennel
Today is a very special Show & Tell day. Not only is it the column's debut, but it's also a double feature (twice the textile amazingness, what's not to love?) Lauren & Genevieve are partners at the sublime Australian textile & furniture company, Walter G. First up was Lauren. By the way, what did you think of her gorgeous Rajasthani shepherd's jacket? Now it's Genevieve's turn and funny enough, she also chose a jacket for her most prized textile possession - great minds think alike!
"My favourite textile treasure is a little girl's jacket that I picked up in Bhuj, Gujarat. It is from one of the villages in Kutch (close-ish to the Pakistan border), totally hand embroidered by a mother for her little girl."
"I actually bought it in the hope that I will one day have a little girl of my own to dress it in. I think most people would think that I am jinxing my chances of ever having one now!" - Genevieve Fennel, Walter G
If you have any questions about this darling jacket, raise your hand (ie - leave a comment below) and Genevieve will do her best to answer.
Do you have something for Show & Tell?! If you have a really fabulous textile (anything from your bedding to a rug to an incredible pillow, etc etc etc) with an interesting story behind it that you'd like me to consider sharing in an upcoming edition of Show & Tell, please shoot me an email at info(at)clothandkind(dot)com with "Raising my hand for Show & Tell" in the title of the email. Kindly include a couple of hi-res photos and a brief description of your item. Please note that there are lots of kids in line for Show & Tell so I can't promise that everyone will get a turn, but will do my best to share a well-curated collection of the most interesting & inspiring textiles out there from all corners of this creative planet of ours.
Lauren Bennett
The best part about being in school, as I'm often reminded by my son and daughter, is show & tell. I'm convinced that this is because no matter what your age it's always fascinating to get glimpses into other people's worlds and the things that inspire them. Show & Tell is a new column that provides a peek at the fabrics people love most in their homes... and I'm sure that it will allow us to learn a thing or two in the process. Geez - those teachers really do know what they are doing! First up is Lauren Bennett from the oh-so-lovely Australian textile company, Walter G. Lauren's partner in crime, Genevieve Fennel, will be sharing her favorite textile later today in the second installation of Show & Tell, so be sure to check back in after lunch & recess.
"I have so many treasures scattered around my home and stuffed in suitcases that every now and then I get out to pat, but every time my eyes pass this gem my heart races. For me it is a work of art and it is a permanent hanging fixture in my home (apart from when it is being worn by yours truly!)…"
"It is a vintage shepherd's jacket, which is typically worn by the herders throughout Rajasthan. It is all cotton with beautiful gathering around the chest and the finest plum coloured embroidery throughout it. The arms are insanely long as if it were made for camel! The combination of all these elements are, as most textile gems you find in India, effortlessly put together to create something simply sublime."
"Just to think that this work of art, which I could see being strutted down the catwalk at Paris fashion week, is worn by a simple village man, herding his sheep in the dusty deserts of Rajasthan makes me smile and instantly teleports me back to the incredible India." - Lauren Bennett, Walter G
If you have any questions about this stunning jacket, raise your hand (ie - leave a comment below) and Lauren will do her best to answer.
Are you already familiar with Lauren & Genevieve's seriously incredible line of textiles & other interior goodies? If not, you MUST take a moment to visit Walter G. There's also lots and lots of their beautiful pieces throughout The Textile Files. I'm kind of obsessed myself. What do you think?
Last but not least...If you have a really special textile (anything from your bedding to a rug to an incredible pillow, etc etc etc) with an interesting story behind it that you'd like me to consider sharing in an upcoming edition of Show & Tell, please shoot me an email at info(at)clothandkind(dot)com with "Raising my hand for Show & Tell" in the title of the email. Kindly include a couple of hi-res photos and a brief description of your item. Please note that there are lots of kids in line for Show & Tell so I can't promise that everyone will get a turn, but will do my best to share a well-curated collection of the most interesting & inspiring textiles out there from all corners of this creative planet of ours.
Happy Friday
Seema Krish Sneak Peek, Part Deux
Seema Krish's soon-to-launch Bombay Glitz collection follows her successful Bombay Bliss collection. Glitz is more sophisticated, as Seema says, and is inspired by the glamour of Bollywood pop culture.
How gorgeous is this? The base metallic fabric in this line is called Glitterati. It's a solid linen with metallic zari yarn woven into it. Glitterati is the ground cloth for both Bandra Glitter blockprinted linen (top) and Pali Hill embroidered linen (bottom) but would also be so fantastic as a stand alone fabric. All of these designs will be available in both silver and gold, so you will be able to pick your glitz.
Thank you, Seema, for this fantastic peek of what's to come!
Seema Krish Sneak Peek
Did you enjoy Seema Krish's Proust on Design interview from earlier today? I loved getting to know her a bit better and hope you did too!
As promised, here's a little sneak peek of Seema's brand new Spring/Summer 2012 textile line. Per usual, I adore everything she has done. Juhu is a bold blockprint on a cotton/ linen basecloth with embroidery using a space dyed yarn. How rich and delicious are these colors? Brinjal (eggplant) is that sultry deep aubergine that you already know I love, and Baadal means rainstorm - how perfect of a description for this moody grey? It reminds me of the sky during monsoon season in India.
Check back tomorrow morning - I'll have one final peek at Seema's new line for you to drool over.
Katie Leede & Co.
I first saw this blissful bedroom, designed by Katie Leede & Co., in Veranda magazine. It's one of those images that I keep coming back to over and over again to admire (hmmm... now that I think about it, I wonder if it has anything to do with the color palette). Anyway, I always say that it's the details that make any well-designed room. Two things that strike me about this space are the custom upholstered headboard in the designer's own Papyrus fabric and the oversized Capistrano seaweed print. Everything else in the bedroom seems to make way for these two elements to shine. And do they ever.