My notion of Slow Cloth was always meant to include both individual artists and commercial or artisan companies working with textiles in authentic ways. I've mentioned companies like John Robshaw Textiles, Peruvian Connection, ABC Carpet and Home, Indigo Handloom and others. Today (via the wonderful Sri Threads textile gallery Web site) I came across KasuriHome, owned by artist and designer Catalina Arocena.
KasuriHome uses vintage Japanese textiles to make throws, quilts and pillows. These aren't made from showy fashion kimono but mostly from "everyday" kimono and fabrics. Each item is unique and will not even necessarily conform to standard sizes, but is created to maintain the integrity of the textiles used. Some quilts include hand stitching done by professional Amish quilters, as this one does:
Others are machine-quilted and simply showcase beautifully combined fabrics:
These quilts are one-of-a-kind artisan objects that are not inexpensive . . . in the words of what I call "shopping journalism" that is so prevalent on the Web these days, they are aspirational. But for those of us who simply love textiles, they are inspirational.
I have multiple textile personalities these days, equally enchanted looking at these vintage/recycled/wabi-sabi pieces in the Japanese or Gee's Bend or Alabama Chanin spirit, and by rich, dazzling, mirror-laden, beaded and bejeweled, gold-and-silver-embroidered pieces with the spirit and colors of India or Morocco . . . and those are just some of so many amazing textile cultures. Whichever way you go on any given day, there is a rich universe of color, texture, soul, spirit and beauty, with thousands of years of humans putting worlds together stitch by stitch, to guide us.
Comments