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Bits + Pieces I frequently refer to myself as a “hybrid”. As an American mashup of multiple European nationalities, my ancestry is commonplace, centuries old and frankly boring compared to the ethnic combinations of others I know. A vintage embroidered + mirrored Indian bodice Yet in almost 14 years being an expat/immigrant, hybrid […] Original vintage Anatolian carpets Textile romantics cannot bear to throw anything away. Especially vintage fibers that have been handspun and dyed, then woven into a rug using the knowledge gained by tradition, communicating the patterns of a timeless heritage. The pride and talent of an anonymous Anatolian woman, someone we’ll never know, leaves a […]
Turkish fiber arts were woven in the past with a purpose in mind: to carry belongings, to use as seating, to warm a floor. Always practical, yet beautiful and decorative too, through pattern, embroidery and other embellishment techniques.
But when it comes to sheer whimsy and exuberance, nothing comes close […] Stitching ourselves together, bit by bit…we think these rugs will help us offer women – local, visiting or expat residents like me – a place to connect, learn and create, and hopefully to revive some dying crafts. Read more here. After nearly 12 years in Turkeyand a lifetime of loving weavings and embroideries, I’m hardly an expertdespite a formal textile education. In a city like Istanbul,I’m surrounded by generations of rug merchants who could offer the equivalentof a PhD in techniques, styles and the various regions from which their warescome. While I’ve met a […] The Carpet Merchant, Jean-Léon Gérôme The occupants of the cavernous room, with walls of hewn stone punctuated by arabesque carved doorways and filled with a soft light from above, are rapt with attention. Three men in flowing robes and large turbans watch while a barefoot carpet seller with a long beard works […] |
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