Hand/Eye Magazine is a fantastic online magazine that "explores the nexus between design and development, culture and commerce, art and craft, and environment and ethics." Check it out.
Featured in Hand/Eye Magazine
Hand/Eye Magazine is a fantastic online magazine that "explores the nexus between design and development, culture and commerce, art and craft, and environment and ethics." Check it out.
The Cycle of Life & Our Upcoming Trip
We leave for Thailand and Laos on Nov. 29. It's our busiest season here with holiday shopping coming up soon and we're proud to announce our new website with an expanded online shop.
Life would be a bit easier if we had an 18-month cycle, because 8 months at home is too short. Too short for selling the textiles acquired on the previous trip (2.500 pieces last year!); too short for all the things that make up the richness of our lives -- from our organic vegetable garden to reading, friends and keeping connected here in Canada.
But the cycle for weaving is an annual one. Most of the weavers are farmers (they farm the staple food, rice, and many other crops), so they are busy preparing the fields, planting, growing and harvesting during much of the year. Only when the annual one crop has been harvested -- as most of them can't afford irrigation for a second crop -- do they have time to weave.
Weaving season coincides with our Canadian winter (cool season there, in the 3-season climate that includes cool, hot and rainy season). It begins in December, continuing into hot season. It's difficult to weave silk in sticky, rainy season, so we need to coordinate our visits, orders and buying with the times that work best for the weavers.
Dye materials -- natural ones like leaves, barks, berries, flowers, insect resin and so on -- also vary with the season. Some are only available a short time each year; other materials can be collected, dried or made into dyes for use later.
It's all a cycle that we respect and work with -- and one we learn more and more about during each trip. The artisans are our teachers.
We leave on Nov. 29 and will be travelling throughout Northeast Thailand (known as Isaan), Northern Thailand and Laos for 4 months. We look forward to the trip and to continuing our fair trade relationships with the women artisans with whom we work and from whom we have learned so much. We talk alot about eco-fashion, ethical shopping and conscious consumerism when we're here in Canada. We talk about food, daily life, natural colours, weaving inspirations and lots more when we're there.
It's all part of the larger cycle of life.
Life would be a bit easier if we had an 18-month cycle, because 8 months at home is too short. Too short for selling the textiles acquired on the previous trip (2.500 pieces last year!); too short for all the things that make up the richness of our lives -- from our organic vegetable garden to reading, friends and keeping connected here in Canada.
But the cycle for weaving is an annual one. Most of the weavers are farmers (they farm the staple food, rice, and many other crops), so they are busy preparing the fields, planting, growing and harvesting during much of the year. Only when the annual one crop has been harvested -- as most of them can't afford irrigation for a second crop -- do they have time to weave.
Weaving season coincides with our Canadian winter (cool season there, in the 3-season climate that includes cool, hot and rainy season). It begins in December, continuing into hot season. It's difficult to weave silk in sticky, rainy season, so we need to coordinate our visits, orders and buying with the times that work best for the weavers.
Dye materials -- natural ones like leaves, barks, berries, flowers, insect resin and so on -- also vary with the season. Some are only available a short time each year; other materials can be collected, dried or made into dyes for use later.
It's all a cycle that we respect and work with -- and one we learn more and more about during each trip. The artisans are our teachers.
We leave on Nov. 29 and will be travelling throughout Northeast Thailand (known as Isaan), Northern Thailand and Laos for 4 months. We look forward to the trip and to continuing our fair trade relationships with the women artisans with whom we work and from whom we have learned so much. We talk alot about eco-fashion, ethical shopping and conscious consumerism when we're here in Canada. We talk about food, daily life, natural colours, weaving inspirations and lots more when we're there.
It's all part of the larger cycle of life.
10 Qualities of Slow Cloth by Elaine Marie Lipson
Thanks to Elaine Lipson, we share her thoughts on "slow cloth," a term she began using in 2008. These nicely sum up the qualities expressed in the textiles that are produced by the rural artisans in Thailand and Laos with whom TAMMACHAT works. Visit Elaine's blog on Art, Craft, Culture, Sustainability and Slow Cloth for more of her writings. Learn more about these artisans on this blog and on our website.10 QUALITIES OF SLOW CLOTH (read the full, original piece)
Joy
Slow Cloth has the possibility of joy in the process. In other words, the journey matters as much as the destination.
Contemplation
Slow Cloth offers the quality of meditation or contemplation in the process.
Skill
Slow Cloth involves skill and has the possibility of mastery.
Diversity
Slow Cloth acknowledges the rich diversity and multicultural history of textile art.
Teaching
Slow Cloth honors its teachers and lineage even in its most contemporary expressions.
Materials
Slow Cloth is thoughtful in its use of materials and respects their source.
Quality
Slow Cloth artists, designers, crafters and artisans want to make things that last and are well-made.
Beauty
It's in the eye of the beholder, yes, but it's in our nature to reach for beauty and create it where we can.
Community
Slow Cloth supports community by sharing knowledge and respecting relationships.
Expression
Slow Cloth is expressive of individuals and/or cultures. The human creative force is reflected and evident in the work.