Hello! After a few crazy weeks, we’re escaping to one of my very favorite places for a quick getaway. I’m so excited to lay on the beach and read and just play.
This 50 Things project celebrating the launch of COS in the States is pretty rad.
Rebecca is starting to talk about transparency and responsible production – so awesome. I love when makers drive the conversation and am so excited for her upcoming posts.
Erin shared her favorite Midwestern Designers – such an incredible list that includes so many of my amazing, talented friends!
My friend and studio partner Lisa of Hackwith Design House partnered with Indigo and Snow to create an amazing shibori collection – I wonder where the Rita top came from?! 😉
Braid Creative takes on the topic of a day job that is also a dream job. We glamorize self employment. In some ways it’s awesome, in some ways it’s not.
The WSJ on finding the perfect tee shirt – a topic I happen to be fairly passionate about. My favorites are Current/Elliott (a splurge – but the cost per wear is totally worth it; I wear this tee embarrassingly often.) and Everlane.
You have a few more days to enter Katy Skelton’s incredible 4th of July giveaway – I don’t really want to tell you about this one because it decreases my chances, but it’s the right thing to do!
I’m a huge fan of Maryanne Moodie‘s incredible weavings, so a few months ago, I visited her at her beautiful home in Brooklyn to learn more about her work. Maryanne’s weavings are intricate and gorgeous – the thought and attention to detail in each piece is remarkable. Maryanne herself is as wonderful as her work – she is one of the nicest, most humble makers I’ve met, and her love and dedication for her craft is apparent.
My favorite part of our interview was when Maryanne told me about her search to find a craft and creative outlet – when you see a talented maker like Maryanne, you typically assume that she just picked up the craft and excelled at it – I loved learning about the many crafts she tried on her way to weaving, and can imagine that each of her attempts helped her to become the talented weaver she is today. Our meeting was a great reminder to me to keep pursuing new interests and hobbies… you never know what will come of them!
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
I was an Art teacher in Melbourne, and I also used to run a vintage clothing shop.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
I started weaving about 3 years ago… I’d been creative, but not really creating, so I was looking for something I could make as a hobby. While looking for a craft, I tried basket weaving, knitting, and crochet, but nothing was the right fit. I’d seen and liked hanging textiles but didn’t know how they were made. While I was cleaning out a storeroom at school, I found a weaving kit and realized that the textiles I’d admired were weavings. I kept the kit and made my first piece and was so excited! I shared the item on my instagram account and received great feedback, which was validating. So I kept making more and posting and getting great feedback.
While on maternity leave, instagram and social media created a creative connection with society – I didn’t feel alone even though I spent a lot of time at home with the baby. It felt like everything clicked into place when I started weaving.
DID YOU ALWAYS PLAN TO START A BUSINESS?
No, initially I thought this could be a hobby or something I could give as gifts. But, people immediately asked to commission work – I didn’t sell right away though, I wanted to make sure I was ready to sell – I had to figure out the finishings, how the weavings should hang, how to make sure they’d stay straight and even, etc.
This may be an Australian thing – but I was worried about Tall Poppy syndrome – the idea that if you rise above, you are asking to be cut down. Don’t be too confident, someone will always bring you back down. I wanted to be humble and to make sure my work was worth it. I wanted the work to speak for itself before I put it up for sale.
I primarily do commissions, I sell wholesale as well when possible. I like to push myself and I always treat this like a business even though I love it.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Nick Cave’s embroidery and textures in the book, Doppelganger, Images of the Human Being. Ted Sabarese.
I like working with people who have a loose vision of what they are looking for so we can work together.
WHAT MADE YOU START TEACHING WEAVING WORKSHOPS?
I love teaching weaving – it combines my current role with my previous experience as an art teacher. And I love weaving so it is nice to share with other people who are also excited about it. The 3 hour class I teach should help you get to where I was after weaving for about 1.5 years – I learned a lot when I started and now I can teach people how to get started quickly, but you need to keep playing and trying to get comfortable with it. Learning to weave is difficult – when you google weaving, you only get information on hair extensions! It was a lot of work to find the right information – I can make it easier through my classes and kits.
The business has grown organically – I was making my own art, and then people wanted to buy it, so I sold it. Now, people want to learn, and I am happy to share. It’s a way to connect with people who are all over.
I’ve fallen a little in love with Objects Without Meaning over on Need Supply. The black, white and grey collection is simple yet considered – these are pieces that you could wear again and again. My personal favorites are above but OWM has also created some exclusive travel pieces for Need Supply’s Go Explore Collection – and the black & white palm print is pretty rad.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that there are few things I love more than travel… Along with this exclusive collection, Need Supply also has some awesome summer city guides available on the site (including TAE favorites Clare Vivier & Diana Moss!) and is hosting an Instagram contest – through the end of the month, tag your travel adventures #goexplorenow for a chance to win an Artifact Uprising book (another TAE favorite!) and a $1500 Need Supply gift card. I don’t typically share brand contests on here, but I happen to be headed to the beach this weekend and I know I’ll be tagging my ‘grams, so I figured I should let you in on the fun – I hope you join me!
[lifestyle images by Stella Berkofsky, all images via Need Supply]
The walls of the house I grew up in were covered in textiles and wall hangings – each with a story. Some were carefully packed up and brought to America from my parent’s homes in India, the others were made by my mom for our home. I remember laying on our couch, staring at one particular macrame piece in awe as a kid, not understanding how it all worked and hung together. (I appreciated my mom’s skill even more as a teenager when I became obsessed with friendship bracelets and hemp necklaces and realized she could teach me new knots!) Although my tastes are quite different than my parents, I’ve always loved textiles and wall hangings and have been happy to see them come back into fashion over the last few years.
I knew I wanted to incorporate some textile pieces into our bedroom but was struggling to find an option that Matt also liked and that made sense in the space … I came across Trilby Nelson‘s wall hangings and fell in love – her use of natural materials and pops of color make her work feel more modern and casual than the pieces I grew up with and I knew they would brighten up our dark bedroom. Luckily, Trilby was open to a custom project, awesome to work with, and created amazing pieces that I could never have even imagined – but that make me happy every time I enter our room. Unfortunately, Trilby and I have yet to meet in person – I’d love the chance to meet her and see her studio! Thankfully, she took the time to answer some questions about her work… read on for an interview with Trilby, and check back next week for more wall hanging (and weaving) goodness!
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND:
I studied Fine Art at Scripps College and Environment Design at Art Center College of Design. After school, I worked in exhibit design and branded environment design. For the past several years I’ve worked for Free People and Anthropologie designing and crafting window and interior displays.
WHY DO YOU MAKE YOUR COLLECTION?
I’ve started to make custom wall hangings as a way to work with some of my favorite materials. I love making compositions of color and texture with very tactile materials like fabric and rope. My boyfriend, Jon, and I make log planters because we enjoy the process – finding and collecting the prefect logs, boring into the wood, and planting a pretty succulent in each one. We feel good about making something simple that doesn’t create any waste in the process.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
The outdoors and nature. The landscape of the Southwest. Colors and textures of different cultures. Movies and fashion of past eras. Hardware stores and all the materials that can be repurposed. Visiting new places and revisiting familiar places.
WHERE ARE YOU MOST INSPIRED?
In the morning. The beach, the mountains, the desert, on the road. Where the sky and landscape are big and vast. Always in California.
WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY?
80 degrees and sunny.
WHERE DO YOU ESCAPE?
On the weekends we like to drive out to the hill country surrounding Austin and find a small town to explore. We find a local diner for an early breakfast and spend the day wandering the town. We call it “small town saturdays.”
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT?
Growing my work and collaborating with others in Austin. I’m also excited about summer and everything that comes with it – swimming, road trips, vacation.
WHAT IS NEXT?
More projects using fibers. Possibly an online shop. An exciting collaboration with my sister.
