Textile Heaven

Kutch continues to be amazing. After two weeks, I'm still not bored of looking at textiles (which we have done all day, every day). Here is a look at what we have been seeing since we arrived:

Plus, a baby cow for good measure:

Read More

Khmer Traditional Textiles

While in Siem Reap I did my second textile visit of the trip, to the Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles, or IKTT. The center was started in 1996 by Kikuo Morimoto, a Japanese man who had studied Cambodian weaving and wanted to preserve the dying tradition. Since so many weavers were killed during the Khmer Rouge, Morimoto found a handful of people who could still remember the tradition to pass it on to others. Today, they have over 500 workers growing silk and weaving traditional Khmer ikat patterns.

The silks were incredible, with more color and detail than I have ever seen. They use all natural dyes and are beginning to grow silk in Cambodia again, rather than importing it from Vietnam. The weaving center is so highly regarded, and such an excellent place to work, that they have over 100 weavers on a waiting list wanting to join.

If I could have, I would have loaded up a suitcase with these beautiful silks, but the prices definitely reflect the ethos behind the company, which has started schools and medical centers for the weavers. Large scarves were around $800 USD, with single-color small scarves starting around $120 USD. The prices were definitely meant for high-end collectors, and not for the tourist market. The work they are doing at IKTT is incredible, with a focus on quality and innovation rather than mass-production, which we have seen in so many other places. I hope that there continues to be a market for these high-end pieces, but that some day Khmer ikat can be revived to a point to make the prices competitive, and replace the "Made in China" pieces that are being sold in markets today.

On a side note: if you would like to learn more about the Khmer Rouge, and what it was like growing up during that horrific time, I highly recommend reading First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. It's a page-turner, written from a child's perspective about what it was like to go from living in an upper-middle class urban family to four years of torture, slavery and starvation. If you didn't study the Khmer Rouge in school (which most people don't, despite it being one of the deadliest genocides in history), give this book a read.

Read More

Push Pull

Last week was the first textile-related stop on this textile-related trip. My cousin's friend Meg works for Push Pull, a Cambodia-based textile cooperative that uses traditional ikat weaving methods to make contemporary fabrics. It was started when the founder was traveling in Cambodia and became friends with his tuk-tuk driver. The driver took him back to his village for a meal, where the founder noticed that everyone in the village in Takeo Province had looms in their houses. People were all weaving independently, creating textiles in their spare time and selling them where they could. He decided to create an organization that these weavers could all work for together, and so Push Pull was born. Today, that tuk-tuk driver, Kea, still works for the organization and he was able to show us around the weaving center.

Traditional Cambodian ikats are woven with silk, but Push Pull decided to introduce cotton in order to make the products more marketable. The fabrics they create are high-quality cottons with updated, modern designs, but done in the same traditional method that the villagers were using in their homes.

Ikat is an extremely complicated weaving process, and the threads are stretched out and dyed before they are woven. That is why it has the zig-zaggy edges on the patterns; because the pattern is dyed on to the thread, they don't line up perfectly and it creates the soft edge on the pattern.

Here you can see the dyed threads being laid out to dry. The black is the dyed cotton, and the bright red, green and yellow is the plastic string they use to tie off the sections they want to remain white, so this will produce a black and white pattern. To add more colors, they then wrap the black section to protect it and leave the white exposed, then it is dipped in another color.

Since the weaving center is in the weavers' hometown, they are able to bike to work and go home for lunches, and to have a steady income in the village. To see the finished product, check out Push Pull's website right here, and see the products that this beautiful fabric is turned into! When we visited, they were busy weaving the Fall 2012 collection, which comes out in August. They are introducing five new patterns as well as a line of scarves, which I will be eagerly waiting for.

Read More

Handwoven Scarves by PidgePidge

One of my favorite vendors at Handmade Mart last month was PidgePidge, which offers an amazing line of colorful scarves that are all woven by hand. I loved the way she used all the different textures and patterns in one scarf, and I have spent plenty of time since the show looking at the huge range of color combinations they come in. She makes scarves in two weights: one for winter and one for summer, so you can keep wearing them all year round (especially when buildings are so air-conditioned in the summer you need to wear a sweater when it's 100 degrees outside).

I have never woven on a loom before, but it is something I have been wanting to do for years. After seeing these scarves, and all the amazing patterns she combines into one piece, I have been looking up classes again. You can see the full line of scarves right here.

Read More

Weavers at Work

To continue my coverage of The IOU Project, I thought I would share a few of their videos of weavers working today. Watching fabric being woven is so mesmerizing, it happens so quickly you almost can't see what's happening, but you can see the piece taking shape in front of you.

Just try not be hypnotized while you are watching.

Read More

The IOU Project

Take a look at this great video from The IOU Project. The company plans to offer clothes that are made from fabric that is hand-woven in India, supporting independent weavers rather than mass-produced textiles.



They haven't launched their line yet, but from the few preview images I've seen, it looks very promising. I really hope they can find the right balance between style and price, since all of the sustainable or fair trade clothes available right now seem to be designed without a sense of style (I am picturing a long hemp skirt and vest combo).

I really hope the idea works, because there is such a huge potential market of people who want to buy stylish clothes that support independent artisans. If it catches on, this could be huge for textile weavers around the world. So look out for the full line, I know I will be!

Photo from here

Read More

Kilim Pillows

It's no secret that I love bright colors and textiles from around the world, so today I thought I would share some pillows that have been calling my name for the last few months. They are all made from old Turkish kilim carpets and are available right here. I could stare at the combination of natural neutral colors and bright pinks and oranges all day.

All images via Sukan.

Read More