BY PAMELA RAVASIO When in January 2009 Michelle Obama’s lemon grass colored inauguration dress adorned the front page of virtually every newspaper across the world, only a selected few were aware that the dress’ exquisite Guipur wool lace fabric is the…
BY TON VRIENS Learning an unfamiliar craft to earn income From the main intersection in Verrettes, a dusty small town in the Artibonite valley, a dirt road leads to an open hangar in the midst of rice fields. Here, about thirty…
BY WENDY GARRITY I wash a handful of popped rice down with warm, rich butter tea, and glance out of the gracefully carved windows. The only sounds are birds looping through the crisp air and the low murmur of my hosts…
BY REBECA SCHILLER It’s all about the blues at Merci In the mood for the blues? The Parisian concept store Merci hopes so. If you happen to be in Paris this month, head on over to Boulevard Beaumarchais in the Marias…
BY RITU JAIN AND V… It’s airy, translucent, and made from cotton and silk; ideal for hot and humid weather, this gossamer-like fabric, known as kota doria, has been recognized as the fabric of the future by fashion designer and former…
BY REBECA SCHILLER Crocheting and Knitting from Peruvian Mining Towns In 2003 while on an internship at the Julcani mine in the village of Hunacavelica, Peru, geologist Jose Alberto Vizquerra reached out to his mother Mercedes Benavides and asked if she…
BY INDIA FLINT Take a walkabout through the vast and varied Australian artistic landscapes with the people who know it best—the Aboriginal artists. The exhibition Desert Country takes the viewer on a journey that follows the development of contemporary Aboriginal painting…
BY ELBE COETSEE Embroidered tales of daily life I have an overwhelming passion for craft art. The very tactile qualities of a hand crafted object fascinate me. I never imagined that one day this passion would allow me to found and…
BY KEITH RECKER At the beginning of the 21st-century, the functionality and affordability promised by 20th-century Modernism have probably been pushed about as far as they can go. What’s next? Italian design company Moroso may have answered the question with their…
BY TERRA FULLER Tradition and innovation in Quechua weaving The iconographic traditions of today’s Quechua weavers are rich with surprising innovation. These women may be carrying on ancient hand-woven patterns and loom techniques from pre-Inca times, but this is a living…