lisa corti, textile designer from milano.

lisa was born in asmara (ethiopia)
where she lived up to when she was 19.
the beauty of the african people is imprinted in her memories:
their ancient decorative tradition
and the brightly coloured costumes worn by the local women.
these recollections all naturally belong
to her cultural background.
Afte, she started a long series of passionate trips
and long stays discovering the ways of life and lifestyles
of villages and cities in the various regions of india.
since then, lisa has carried out an in-depth search
on the wide range of fabrics and patterns
in various areas of india,
creatively transforming her designs,
materials and colours in an infinite number
of objects and articles
intended as house decorations and furnishings.
nowaday she's the owner of many shops over the world.
one is just closed to my house:
lisa corti emporium - via lecco 2 - milano.

ann wood, art crafter from brooklyn, ny.

ann lives in brooklyn, new york
near beautiful prospect park.
some of her favorite things are:
ships and shipwrecks, paper mache,
books about exploration, dioramas, swamps,
the out of doors in general, magazines, libraries,
felt, flea markets, horses, dogs, cats,
things that are victorian and things that are small.
she makes things, paint,
and draw for her life and livelihood.

she works with mostly found, and salvaged materials,
many of them vintage or antique garments.
there is a kind of affection and tenderness in the re-use
and re-purposing of things that were once personal
and perhaps treasured possessions.
much of her inspiration comes from these materials
as well as from many of the ideas
she has been infatuated with her whole life:
smallness, intricacies, miniaturization,
collections, repetition;
lost or abandoned things discovered and rescued;
the idea of haunted and enchanted places,
things and creatures; the setting of a tiny stage.

nina chakrabarti, a doodle artist from india... to uk.

nina was born and spent her early life in calcutta, india.

she moved to the uk in her teens carrying her stamp collection
under her arm and little else.
she studied illustration at central st. martins,
and many years later, at the royal college of art.

her work is often concerned with collections
and the composition of objects.
she works using rotring pens, felt tips, biros, pencils, inks and...her mac.
she enjoys using different technologies
and mediums and collaborating
with others when the opportunity arises.

RHLS, a modern way to create handmade clothes. from brooklin.

they specialize in super quality, handmade apparel, made by the designers r.mackswell sherman, and sarah jones in redhook, brooklyn. their studio sits sea side, complete with a glimmering view of the statue of liberty, right across the water providing them with hope.

theye like to keep it small, ethical and homegrown. no outsourcing their labor overseas or even out of state (its all done under one roof). they use salvaged materials, dead stock from manufacturers, or vintage sweatshirts, and vintage cotton products as their source fabric.

they are part of a wonderful business model called parachute, (a new project by the founder of etsy.com). theye are exploring ways to help cottage industry pioneers take their business to the next level and compete with mainstream fashion/production industry by providing subsidies and educational opportunities. by supporting RHLS your are supporting the future of handmade industry.

to buy their own stuff, go on etsy, of course!

elen eusdin, photographer from paris.

when a photographer meets fabrics.

elene@hartlandvilla.com

ELENE USDIN
77, rue de Charonne
75011 Paris

+ 33 6 09 52 36 94

dritto e rovescio, a 'textile design art' exibition in milan.

at triennale design museum, milan,

from 24/02 up to 29/03
there’s such an interesting exibition called DRITTO e ROVESCIO.

the weave of the fabric is the metaphor that lends itself
to expressing relations in narrative art, music, logic, in societies, science.
DRITTO e ROVESCIO links separate areas
like art, design, science and the work of individuals
around a table in a bar or at home in front of the television.

performance, photographs, installations and videos
from around 30 artists from all over the word.

paula sanz caballero a textile design, from spain.

when you first see photographs of work by paula sanz caballero
it's hard to see why it would be categorised as craft,
they look like normal illustrations.
but take a closer look and you'll see that the glamorous people
featured in her pieces have been made
using swatches of fabric and embroidery.
it's like the tiffany diamond of applique.

paula is a fabric artist based in spain,

but she started out as a painter,
until the late 90s when she started experimenting
with fabrics and embroidery.

this medium eventually took over her work
and now she produces pieces for high profile clients
such as bloomingdales and harper collins.
she's also appeared in top end fashion publications
such as vogue and elle.
her characters are high society types
with stick insect bodies dripping in jewellery,
nd the images are dark and ironic.
the attention to detail on the faces
and outfits is incredible. very inspirational.

shabby chic style, from...the past.

the essence of shabby chic style
is vintage and antique furniture painted white
-or another soft pastel color-
and distressed at the corners by sanding.
pink, mint green, and soft aqua are also popular colors
seen in accessories and fabrics.
the style started in great britain and evokes the type of decoration
foundin large country houses where there are
worn and faded old sofas and curtains,
old paintwork and unassuming 'good' taste.
the end result of shabby chic is to achieve an elegant overall effect,
as opposed to the sentimentally cute pop-victorian.
recycling old furniture and fabrics is an important aspect of the look.
rachel ashwell is the shubby chic shops and website's owner.

BusyB's are in the net.

check on:
http://www.busybs.etsy.com

hasenpfeffer style, crafting from usa.

daniela and chris live in a cottage-style a-frame on camano island,
a little dot in what kurt cobain
so quaintly called the "disease-covered puget sound."
they share their pad with five rabbits and the rabbits' pet cat, andre.
you can find them on etsy.