Afghanistan Everywhere: Grand Bazaar

Irresistible.
credits:
Photography by Begum Yetis
Styling by Dilara Fındıkoglu
Hair by Tayfun Kaydok
Makeup by Ufuk Celep
Model Kat Cordts @ Joy Models Istanbul

found via: theones2watch

Happy 2012 and a Dream of Mughal Miniatures

I wish a blissful and happy 2012 full of inspiration and beauty!
If you want to be in an oriental fairy tale scroll down the pictures.
And if you want to be a princess for a day - all these beautifu gowns are for sale here and here!
Pictures: Laroyal.

Boro: And A Story of White and Blue

My new passion regarding Japanese (Folk) Art is a technique to recycle and to reuse tattered cloth. The aspect that, in my eyes, makes these pieces for everyday-use so singular is the combination of extremely simple material and the wide range of possibilities experienced in the use of used cloth and simple repeating stitches.

Boro is a Japanese word meaning “tattered rags” and it’s the term frequently used to describe lovingly patched and repaired cotton bedding and clothing.
The frugal Japanese woman repaired the family’s sleeping futon covers and noragi (farm clothing) again and again by “boro” patching fabric scraps over thin areas and holes in the fabric. Adding sashiko sewing to the repair gave greater strength to the material. Today international collectors regard boro textiles as uniquely Japanese and striking examples of a bygone and lost folk craft.

At a time when Japan was struggling to recover from the devastation of the second World War, the Japanese regarded boro textiles with great shame. These utilitarian textiles served as an open reminder of Japan's impoverished past. Now these same textiles are cherished and collected for the stories they tell and the windows they open into Japanese folk culture and history.

Kimonoboy is an online-shop based in Japan which offers an incredible variety of boro and other cloth and garments. All the pics are from there.

Another remarkable site is Srithreads. You can also buy here and you can find a lot of fascination information on Japanes and Indian Textile Art.

Wonderful Life

One exciting week in Thessaloniki... a lot of work during an International Study Week, but also time for other things, e.g. fabric shopping ....

... and girly chit-chat over a cup of coffee ....

... and, of course, the coffee ground had to be read ;-)

... a spiral ... symbol for fertility and growth at the coffee drinker's handle ... how lucky I am ;-) and on the bottom of the cup ... a harp ... stands for harmony and happiness in the house.
Isn't life wonderful?

Coffee pictures: Ana Karaminova

Textile Art from Afghanistan

For centuries the Silk Road has been a channel for the diffusion of extremely skilled artisanate, converting everyday objects to beautiful art pieces. One of the most important branches is textile art. Unfortunately the free flow of goods has been interrupted nowadays and the difficult economic situation in the countries along the ancient Silk Road does not benefit the request of high-art luxury items. Consumers in the local markets prefer bright, flashy and affordable, machine produced embroidrey. Abroad customers request high-quality hand made items, but they form only a small fraction of the market. So the traditional artisans switch to more profitable methods of productions.

But there are also opposite developments, often supported from abroad. One of these companies is Zardozi ("Gold-embroidery"), an Afghan NGO that employs 91 people in Kabul, Jalalabad and Peshawar, manifacturing and selling the home production of more than 1500 home-working women.


Zardozi works on both sides of difficult Afghan-Pakistani border, creating livelihoods for Afghans in refuge. As well, they embroider and manufacture goods within Afghanistan, so that returning Afghans can bring their skilled livelihoods home with them.

They offer a women-clothes line as well as highly decorative accessoires. Cross-stitches from different regions give us an insight on the most private beauty of an endangered culture...


I highly admire the lovely work of those women and I love the idea that not only old artisan techniques are preserved, but that women are encouraged to contribute to the family income with their own hands.
And aren't these recycled Burkhas just gorgeous? Handbags and bottle-covers add new meanings to these extremely discussed pieces of fabric!