Red Thread Studio

Shipibo Woman Stitching

The Medicine Hunter sent this new photograph of a Peruvian woman of the Shipibo Indian tribe weaving one of the magical patterns that they're known for. I've written about them before, here and here. This photograph is so lovely -- it really captures that universal sensation of peacefully stitching, concentrating while also dreaming of who knows what. The patterns of Shipibo embroidery are like a musical score, corresponding to the songs that the shamans sing in the ayahuasca ceremonies, which are said to be extraordinarily healing.

photo by Chris Kilham; used with permission.

Peru seems to be in the air these days. I've also been following the Mayu Hand-Knit Alpaca blog; Kate is a Chicago girl who went to the same high school that I did, as it turns out, and she's been working to help improve awareness of fair trade purchasing in Chicago. This is one of Mayu's handmade alpaca scarves:

Since I haven't been to Peru, I can only share these images from those who have. It seems that everyone who goes there falls in love with the country and the people--and the textiles.

All That You Have Is Your Soul

Every day I think about my poor neglected blog, and send out a silent thank-you to my readers who are still stopping by. It's been kind of a crazy month.

A couple of weeks ago, I got the loveliest e-mail ever from a woman named Maria, blogging here, who is living in Switzerland and working with Peruvian Indian textile artisans on a wonderful Slow Cloth project. Her message was extraordinarily kind, and extraordinarily well timed, reminding me that there is value to this blog and the efforts I've made here as a global textile explorer. I've been discouraged this month with my "day job" swallowing my life and possibilities, and I still hit roadblocks related to certain people who know me in real life lurking here--that came up for me big-time earlier this month. But Maria's message, her commitment to her work and her level of achievement, inspired me anew and reminded me of what matters.

A lot of what's mattered this month has been current events. The health care reform ugliness makes me heartsick. Every life decision I make is affected by whether or not I can get health care with my pre-existing condition; I am sure my health habits are as good or better than most Americans, but I'm considered a risk outside of an employer plan. And all of the hope and astonishment and joy of electing a man with intelligence and integrity is being drowned in the reality of our political system and our pathetically anti-intellectual, intolerant, violent and fear-driven culture.

Meanwhile, my brother's farm in California was at the center of the destructive Lockheed fire. There was no loss of life or structure, but the fire and the necessity of bulldozing to cut fire lines did significant damage. And there were some very tense days, not knowing if the incredibly courageous and dedicated firefighters could contain the fire. Everyone is okay, and I'm grateful for that.

Since we talk a lot in this blog about world cultures and their inextricable link to textile traditions, please take a look at the New York Times Magazine's special issue on women and girls this week. Some of this previews a new book by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl, called Half the Sky, and the accompanying Web site here. I don't always agree with Kristof's position on sweatshops but I do understand his point of view and greatly admire his commitment to giving voice to the silent female majority in the world, whose rights and freedoms are too often limited. Maybe we should start a group to make microloans to women and girls working with textiles. Anyone game?

I think all things are connected, and the article we read about women in Africa can inform every stitch we take or every piece of art we make, so I hope you don't mind these news-focused posts.

Oh, and one more thing! Maiwa has a blog now -- I was so hopeful about going to the symposium this year and it is not to be, but I am glad for all the material they're posting.

So that's about what I've got to say. I'm trying not to let the commute and the cubicle kill my spirit, to be grateful for the chance to work with interesting material and authors, and to believe that there's more for me and it will appear in time.

So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul
All that you have is your soul.
            Tracy Chapman, All That You Have Is Your Soul

Thank You, Sewing Diva Georgene (and the almost-200th-post)

Georgene of The Sewing Divas has posted part one of an interview she did with me on Slow Cloth and sustainable fashion. Amazingly, she edited my verbosity and published it while unpacking from a major move and coping with a computer meltdown. Thank you, Georgene, and thanks also to Sewing Diva Mary Beth, who referred Georgene to this blog and to me. Mary Beth also blogs at The Stitchery, and Georgene at MondoMode.

I'm calling this Post #199B, since technically it's #200 but I'm not quite ready for that festive moment yet. Still, in honor of Independence Day and the unofficial Red Thread Studio 200th post, and all my readers, commenters, lurkers and friends since the blog began, here's a big beautiful starburst firework for you. Hope your holiday has been awash in life, liberty and happiness.

Fireworks photo by K2D2vaca

Project 3/50 and Project 95

I've been meaning to note a couple of interesting local-economy initiatives. I think a lot of the "buy local" talk is oversimplified -- trade has been going on since humans began, and international trade is not new. But massive multinational corporations at the scale of Wal-Mart and Pepsi and many others takes us beyond trade to a frightening level of control and ownership, and that's why it's smart to return to an awareness of supporting local businesses.

I like the 3/50 Project, which asks participants to spend $50 each at 3 locally-owned brick-and-mortar businesses each month. If you can't spend $50, well, whatever you can; I think consciousness is the point. This came naturally last month; I supported my beloved auto care shop,woman-owned and locally-owned Hoshi Motors; my hair salon, owned by a very nice man named Paul; and a local store with a phenomenal inventory of ribbons, beads and some very fancy fabric. Not bad, considering that I have been doing very little shopping for quite some time now.

Then there's Project 95, subtitled Fabric Shoppers Unite. According to their totally unattributed statistic (really, it's so much more meaningful when we know where the numbers come from), 95 percent of fabric purchases are made at chain stores -- Joann's, Hancock, Michael's and Hobby Lobby, I presume, are the leaders.

In theory I support this 100 percent. In practice, the only local fabric store that remains within 25 miles of me seems to have an institutional policy of condescension and rudeness to customers that has simply exhausted my good intentions over the years. I rarely go there, and I rarely buy garment-sewing fabric anymore -- online buying is challenging. And when it comes to notions and patterns, no question, I go where the bargains are. For fabric, I would definitely spend money at the local store if it were a pleasant place to go. And sadly, my lovely local quilt shop closed a few months ago.

Beyond the nice round numbers and sound-bite missions, can these projects make a difference? Well, yes they can. Grassroots movements are incredibly powerful. As noted, though, they only work if there are alternatives to chain stores, and in the fabric world, we haven't really made those alternatives viable. I have a dear friend who created and owned one of the world's best fabric shops here back in the early 1990s; she worked hard at it but couldn't make a living. When she had her going-out-of-business sale, the vultures descended, of course. Today, more sophisticated in our understanding of marketing and trends, we might say she was undercapitalized, or her timing was off, or whatever --  but it was a big loss to the creative community here. And to me.

Where do you shop? I know many of my readers use unique ethnic textiles or repurposed fabrics, or are lucky to live near a great fabric shop. We are only as good as our tools and supplies, but we also do find ways to be resourceful.

Disturbing but not surprising: Rob Walker notes in his Murketing column that Americans average 20 square feet of retail space per person, versus European countries that top out at 3 per person.

S-words: Sustainability, Slow Cloth, Slow Fashion

I haven't written much about the world of sustainable textiles and clothing lately, but here are a few interesting links:

• Anaka has a provocative post, Giving Crafts a Bad Name, on her Getting Down To It blog for BrassTacks Madras. Her caveats apply to everyone who makes handmade goods; quality still matters, and is too often left out of the craft equation these days. Scroll down to the April 30 entry (for some reason I'm not able to isolate a link for the post). Anaka works with artisans in India and is able to thoughtfully critique what many of us in the West romanticize about traditional textile techniques:

Most craftsmen will argue that handmade goods can never have the same perfection as a mill-made product. That is true, but there is a line (and it is not such a fine line) between the charming irregularities of a good-quality handmade product and a downright substandard job. Pressed further, the craftsmen will tell you that good quality (“the way our ancestors used to do it”) is no longer possible because it either costs too much or no one is willing to do that kind of painstaking work anymore.
With my understanding that good craftsmanship is possible (because I have seen good craftsmen produce outstanding work), it really gets my goat when traders or even some craftsmen prefer to blame the craft rather than take the effort required to improve their quality.

• Rajboori makes beautiful, colorful silk quilts and home textiles using silk that they say leaves the silkworms unharmed. I've frequently said that I'm more concerned about human rights and labor issues in silk manufacturing than about the silkworms, but let's assume, so our heads don't explode, that people making "peace silk" are committed to ethical human labor as well. Rajboori has an interesting blog here. While they're a little self-congratulatory -- okay, a lot -- they are making beautiful products that seem to be made with a Slow Cloth attitude: "The designs would be contemporary but the artisanship would be traditional." (The link came from Fibercopia.)

• I struggle with the S-word -- sustainability. It means nothing and everything. This helps: Charles L. Redman, director of the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, where President Obama recently gave the commencement address, offers these five elements of sustainability to the New York Times' dotearth blog: 

1. Awareness of the challenges facing us and the interconnectedness of the world and of our actions
2. Creativity to deliver innovative solutions in technology, business and social relations
3. Stewardship of limited and precious natural, human and cultural resources
4. Institutions that are flexible and effective because they continuously learn, adapt and provide leadership
5. Values that enhance equity, justice and inclusiveness

•  The beautiful Resurgence magazine has published "The Tyranny of Trends," an essay by Charty Durrant, former fashion editor of The Sunday Times, the Observer and British Vogue. This is a wonderful treatise on the economic, social and psychological costs of fast fashion, and the need for a true paradigm shift to a Slow Fashion model. I'm quoting one paragraph here but I really encourage you to read the whole thing:

Modern fashion is made from many seemingly incompatible ingredients, but the cornerstones are built-in obsolescence, fear of humiliation, and sexual attraction. Warmth, comfort and personal style have for the most part taken a back seat. As the ‘trend frenzy’ deepens, we can see that fashion is no longer about style and self-expression: it is primarily about judgement – self-judgement and judgement of others. A toxic media reporting how women ought to look, and celebrity obsession further enforce this strange new paradigm. Our self-image is distorted and it is now an indisputable fact that our collective psyche is in deep pain. 

(The link came from my beloved Alabama Chanin blog.

Housekeeping:
I realize this could have been four separate posts - this week I'm going to try to switch to shorter, more frequent posts to make it easier on everyone. Also, a few weeks ago I turned off the annoying Capcha function for comments, hoping to get more of my readers to reveal themselves. Now the toxic spam is showing up, and I'm not getting any more comments than usual, so I will give it another day or two and then likely will have to turn Capcha back on. Sorry, but that's how it goes. And please do comment!

Life continues to be really strange but interesting. I think things will settle down in the next few weeks; I'll be very busy but at least the path will be a little more defined. I'm looking forward to the Surface Design Association conference, from which I plan to blog later this month; please do let me know if you'll be there.

photo of golden silk fibers by woowoowoo. Some rights reserved.

Be About Beauty

This rich, stunning work, titled Be About Beauty,  is by nationally known fiber artist Adriene Cruz. She kindly gave me permission to reproduce it here; visit her Web site to see more of her work. The poem is by Kalamu Ya Salaam, founder of NOMMO Literary Society, a New Orleans-based creative writing workshop. The copyright date of the textile work is 2001.

I discovered Adriene Cruz through Rayela's Fiber Focus, a wonderful blog by Rachel Biel Taibi -- Rachel lives in Paducah, Kentucky, but is a sister global textile explorer. She's especially interested, as I am, in the cultural context of textiles, and she also writes about aspects of sustainability; she has an interesting post on fair trade, a concept that a lot of people relate to in terms of coffee and chocolate, but it also has great relevance in crafts and textile production.

Back to Adriene Cruz: her work is about spirit, meditation, power, beauty and heritage. Enjoy it, and let whatever you do be about beauty today.

Circles of Cloth: More Virtual Textile Travel

I have travel on my mind . . . especially places near water. Here's a dream trip: The Textile Society of America is having its annual symposium in Hawaii in September this year, and the theme is textiles as cultural expression. This sounds like a fascinating event, probably well worth figuring out a way to go.

Other temptations: The Maiwa workshops, and the Organic Exchange conference in Portugal in October for the organic cotton industry.

And if nothing else -- though it's mostly been a homebound year so far, except in my mind, there is a chance that I could go to Brazil  in the fall to speak about sustainable textiles and apparel. I was lucky to go for the first time a few years ago to attend an organic and sustainable products conference there that's run by some wonderful people, and we stay in touch to this day. The conference that year was in Rio de Janeiro, a city of great wealth and beauty alongside great poverty; like most magical places, it's a little dangerous and very seductive.

At Bangles & Clay, a blog that's part of a nonprofit organization called Nest, there's a post about Coopa-Roca, a sewing cooperative in Rio founded by Maria-Teresa Leal (the English-language Web site for Coopa-Roca itself is here). Leal founded the cooperative as a way to utilize the sewing skills of women living in the profound poverty of one of Rio's worst favelas and create decent work opportunities for women raising families in violent slums. Now the clothes of Coopa-Roca are seen all over the world, and despite many challenges, it's been a success story in the midst of all-too-common despair in these neighborhoods.

There are stories like this in many places, and room and need for many more. Each one is different and unique, and each one comes down to a chance for people to celebrate their textile and craft heritage and skills, often at risk of being lost, and to have work and fair pay.

The Coopa-Roca women use recycled garments and fabrics and traditional knitting, crochet and patchwork techniques, including yo-yos -- fuxicos in Portuguese. I love seeing the resurgence of yo-yos -- like many children, learning to make a yo-yo was one of my first sewing lessons. And I love that it connects me to women and children worlds away through something as simple as a needle, thread and a circle of cloth.

Mental Gridlock

My next scheduled post on the Slow Cloth list is the topic of Beauty. I was all rarin' to go on it last week, and e-mailed someone with a very popular and charming blog about using one of her photos. Though she said yes, she was so curt and unappreciative about it that the photo's beauty was diminished for me, and I no longer want to use it. There are other beautiful images to choose from, but it derailed me, so here I am a week later. The topic of beauty is coming, and in the meantime, in the words of the walrus, let's talk of many things.

I've had a sense of mental gridlock with this blog lately. I want to write about so many things, but it seems now as if it should be two separate blogs -- one on sustainable and organic textiles, clothing, and companies (that would probably replace the dormant Organic Confidential), and a second for art, craft, culture, and the Slow Cloth concept. What do you think? That would mean two new blog names -- there actually is another Red Thread Studio, and in any case, I think that name is no longer quite right for the me of today, rather than the me of some years ago when I first heard the legend of the red thread.

On the green side of things: My report, The International Market for Sustainable Apparel, was published; you can read the press release here and the abstract and table of contents here. These reports sell to businesses for alarming amounts of money, but have no fear, the money goes to the publisher, not me (though I was paid to write it and grateful for it!). It's out of the price range for individuals, but if you have specific questions I am more than happy to answer them and recommend other resources that are accessible. In any case, I hope it may help in my search for the right work.

Sadly, one of the most innovative and risk-taking sustainable apparel companies folded this week, unable to secure enough financing. NAU was trying to achieve very high levels of aesthetic beauty, high performance, and sustainable materials and production, all packaged in a Slow Fashion design philosophy, but they may not have been flashy enough for today's standards. There is a long way to go in this market, despite the indisputable successes and media attention of 2007.

And then the NY Times had a silly article about Sarah Jessica Parker's clothing line, in which nothing sells for more than $8.98, but of course they claim there are no sweatshops involved because the factories are monitored. By whom? According to whose standards? How often? I think the reporter failed to do the job on this story, as he keeps asking how clothes can be made at this price but never really answers the question. And it's a good question. I'm not sure it's possible without some exploitation of resources and/or people.

On the art and craft side, I found the True Stitches blog, another kindred spirit. I especially loved her post about the level of critique on craft blogs and the unspoken rule that you can't ever say you don't like something. I'm so glad someone spoke up about this. I'd much rather have someone respond honestly to my work than just tell me it's great all the time. As I said in my comment to this post, aren't we smart enough and tough enough for real dialogue? I'm a marshmallow underneath my curmudgeonly exterior, but as long as it's not a personal attack, I'm fine with people not liking everything I do and with collaborative process and conversation.

Finally, thanks to Judy Martin, who linked to me on her wonderful Judy's Journal blog (she has more than one, actually, with very intriguing and inspiring work), and welcome to new readers coming here through Judy. I love connecting to all these Canadians, as I am Canadian-born, though raised in the U.S.,  and just may end up back there or somewhere else if the election doesn't bring some new hope to this country. And off topic, I know (or maybe it's not,  but that's another post) but don't even get me started on more news this week about horrific acts of violence and abuse toward women and children. Surely we can do better.

Tomorrow -- back to art and fabric and beauty. Thank you for coming by, and for your patience with me with this long post, and the time between posts. I'd like to be posting daily, with more pictures, and I'm working on it.

Word Theft (and Recovery)

* This post has been edited, since the situation's been rectified. In short, I stumbled across unattributed use of some of my work from this blog on a major site.

So, just a reminder -- all of my work is copyright-protected. I'm thrilled and grateful to be quoted as long as there is proper attribution, and if possible there should be a link back to the original post. I am very easy to contact if you have questions about this. My intellectual and creative property is my livelihood, and using it without attribution amounts to stealing from me, even if that's not the intention. I always assume that there is great honesty and trust in the textile, craft and sustainability community, and I believe that's true, but you know what they say -- you still have to tie up the horses.

Sustainable Textile Resources and 5 Things I've Learned

I'm going to take a break from market research on sustainable apparel to write about . . . sustainable apparel, from the textile art-design-craft-authenticity point of view. I've been reading about this market for three months now, and there are some very innovative and committed designers, entrepreneurs, artists and crafters; there are also some who just seem to want to jump on a trend. They're making exaggerated claims and counting on consumers not to scratch too deeply. This is pretty standard for an industry that's suddenly a runaway train, and a train people will pay more to be on, but until there are more consistent and clarified standards we all have to educate ourselves; Organic Clothing is a great blog if you want to dig into this.

Right now, there are just a few resources for those who want to buy organic or other sustainable fabrics by the yard in small quantities.  Yarn is a little easier; there are beautiful organic cotton and wool yarns in many colors, and I'll post about those separately. For fabric, here are some online retailers:

• NearSeaNaturals specializes in organic and sustainable fabrics and notions. This is a good place to buy Harmony Art organic cotton fabrics by the yard. It would be fun to do some beading or overdying or color printing on this one, or use as is:

• Rawganique, a clothing manufacturer, has European hemp fabrics by the yard
• Aurora Silk has beautiful wild, muga and peace silks (wherein the silkworm is not killed, and I'm confident Cheryl is very conscious about ethical treatment of human workers too).
• ModGreenPod has decorator-weight organic cotton prints -- bright and lively.
• Silk Road Fabrics in Austin has organic cotton chambray and flannel.
• Hart's Fabric, a fabulous store in Santa Cruz, has a selection of eco-friendly fabrics. Some of these are more eco-friendly than others; see below.
• Dharma Trading has some organic cottons and blends of soy, hemp, and bamboo that can be dyed, and organic cotton t-shirt blanks.
• Hancock's of Paducah has organic cotton sheeting in muslin and gingham checks.
• PurlSoho has O-Wool's truly gorgeous organic wool melton (be ready for sticker shock: $65/yd) and a few other selections.
• Equilter.com has organic sheeting, cotton fleece, and eco-felt. Note that their "organically dyed cottons" are not actually organic cotton; they are conventional cotton dyed with nontoxic dyes. Still a good step. They also offer organic cotton batting, as do many other quilting suppliers.

I'm happy to add to this list if you have other sources. Most of these are not inexpensive, and if you need something quickly or need particular colors, your choices are limited. This is going to change -- I'm sure of that. There is far too much interest and growing awareness of the need for reform in the textile industry. And that brings me to my list of Some Things I 've Learned about sustainable garment and textile production.

1. It Matters. The textile manufacturing industry, a $500 billion global behemoth, is highly polluting -- from enormous quantities of pesticides used on cotton to harmful treatments and dyes. It also has a track record of very poor social responsibility and ethical treatment of workers. We've outsourced it all to developing countries so we don't see the mess, but it's there. Our global culture can do better.
2. It's Not Just the Fiber. Growing or sourcing fiber responsibly, whether man-made or plant- or animals-based, is just the beginning. As mentioned above,the dyes, finishes, and treatments that turn the fiber into the glorious fabrics we love can be highly toxic. There are alternatives; we don't have to sacrifice color or texture. But the textile industry does have to invest resources into developing those alternatives and putting them into widespread  use.
3. Tell It Like It Is. What does "sustainable" mean, anyway? Not much. It's supposed to mean that all resources will be replenished, and there will be no net cost to the environment for future generations, but it's come to mean -- well, just about anything that is vaguely eco-ish, or even the palest shade of green. Thus we have a lot of claims being made and things being called sustainable that aren't, so much. To me the worst offender for exaggerated claims is bamboo. The process used to turn bamboo into fabric is similar to that of rayon, and quite chemical-intensive. Claims are made that no pesticides are ever used on bamboo; not true. And the claims that it is both antibacterial and biodegradable contradict each other. I haven't seen anything that convinces me that fabric made of bamboo is antibacterial. Soy- and corn-based fabrics are also flawed; they're made from genetically modified crops, leading to more pesticide use and decreasing biodiversity. Now, these are still better than some of the other choices available. Bamboo is a highly renewable crop that doesn't use pesticides in the way that cotton does. Soy and corn, even GMO, are probably better than petroleum-based synthetics (though petroleum is the base for the pesticides used on these crops). So nothing is simple; there are many shades of gray. This is why, for me, organic fibers, and especially the new GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) label for processed textiles, have the most meaning and credibility. Yet organic cotton (and much textile processing) uses a lot of water, so that's a consideration; there are always multiple factors at play.
4. We Buy Too Many Cheap Clothes. Planned obsolescence is at the heart of our current system of fashion. Styles, colors and trends change radically from month to month, and you can just go to Old Navy or Wal-Mart and buy something new and incredibly cheap. The Slow Fashion movement says: change it. Buy fewer clothes, and buy better-made clothes so they'll last longer. Choose colors that will go with what you already have. This kind of investment dressing or European-style approach to clothing has long been recommended by style experts, but it's up to us to put it into practice.
5. Take the Long View. The fashion and textile industry is not going to change overnight. But just as the industry has to start making incremental and meaningful changes, so can we. Replacing your wardrobe isn't the answer -- nothing is sustainable about that. But at the right time, just one purchase of an organic cotton or wool fabric or batting or yarn, or one item of clothing that is well-made from appropriate fibers with non-toxic processing and ethical labor practices, helps support change in the industry.