Green Threads: Harmony Art, Coleccion Luna, More

After endless arguing with Typepad, I finally have the new composing software they promised two months ago. So far it's clunky and painfully slow. This post has taken me hours and it's still putting images over text. If it works as advertised, though, you should be able to open links in a separate window. 

I've been painfully slow myself about responding to some really lovely e-mails and comments from my readers. I'm not ignoring you -- I promise. I've been bogged down in work and wanted to write responses as thoughtful and generous as the messages have been. I love getting your comments and mail, and meeting you through this blog.

For this post, I have a veritable slew of sustainable and organic textile news and links. I'm still thinking about creating a separate blog just for sustainable and organic fabric, clothing and design, to be called some variation of Green Threads (Red Thread, Green Thread, get it?). It would replace my other dormant organic foods industry blog. Stay tuned. I realize I have trouble keeping up with one blog . . . the dream is certainly to spend my days researching and writing and educating about art, craft, cloth, culture etc., and editing textile books and building an amazing Web site and making art and craft, but for now I must simultaneously be (a) working to pay the bills and (b) searching for a long-term job, and I am feeling like I'm in quicksand on all fronts. Okay, no more complaining. Here we go:

These are new 100% organic cotton sateen prints from Harmony Susalla of Harmony Art. (I've tried a hundred different ways to load the images but they continue to show up on the site over the text; I have no more hours to waste on the disaster that is Typepad in this iteration.) All are 110" wide and 233 thread count. If you're dubious about these gorgeous vibrant colors on organic cotton, then be assured that Harmony, in addition to being a creative and generous soul, is one of the most conscientious organic people around -- she is extremely careful about dyes, printing processes, and standards, and these are the real deal. You can buy them from Organic Cotton Plus or Near Sea Naturals. Or you can order in quantity/wholesale directly from Harmony Art.

Harmony is eager to do more work with textile artists and will be a speaker at next year's Surface Design Association conference.

Next, Molly at Ambatalia Fabrics has announced that she'll be closing her Mill Valley, Calif., fabric store, but re-opening as The Fabric Society, a "creative resource center for sustainable textiles and innovative design." Sounds right up our alley, and it'll be great to see what happens next.

Finally, my friend Chef Donna sent me a virtual introduction to Stephanie Jolluck, the creative genius behind Coleccion Luna, a sustainable company that works with traditional textiles of Guatemala. Stephanie's designs use vintage and recycled woven fabrics, and the results are joyous and beautiful. I'm going to do a longer post on Coleccion Luna and Stephanie's other projects -- she has a lot going on, very inspiring global artisan change-the-world stuff. For now, go to her site and make your wish list.  Here's a taste of one of her beautiful bags, and the Cha Cha Chica shoes I am coveting, made from vintage textiles in partnership with Ann Roth Shoes, and supporting World in Need Now, Stephanie's nonprofit organization.

This is the Large Floral Lucite Handle Rainbow Bag, $52:

Now, go make something, read something, be inspired. I will be back soon if I can wrestle this Typepad nightmare to the ground.
Yours in beauty, truth and creativity, Lainie

Comments

[Heather]

Oh yum on those shoes. I love the fabric graphics too. Fabrics have just exploded with so many beautiful designs lately - of course after I have finally completed all of my curtains/bedspreads/pillows for my house.

[crafty chica]

ok, i would sacrifice a month's worth of Internet to have those shoes! Thank you for sharing!!!
Peace, love and glitter!
Kathy :-)