One new thing I learned today: Stephanie Odegard is now selling carpets made from brightly colored strips of felt sewn together with a strong contrasting thread. There are lots of custom possibilities, from the range and combination of colors to the thickness of the felt. — It all has a very soft modern / contemporary organic feel.
You won’t find good pictures on their website but Odegard showrooms will be able to tell you more. And if you’re in Dallas, they’re having a big sale this weekend.
Click here for a very interesting New York Times article about a textile made entirely from “the spinnerets of the golden orb spider of Madagascar”.
Judith, thanks for pointing this one out!
Quilts are in the air these days: today it’s an inspirational look at the talents of Becky Oldfield as seen in Elle Decor’s October story on Keith Johnson’s New York City home. Oldfield designed the bed spread above, one that combines the British flag with what appears to be a sari-like brocade border. The entire piece is detailed with seed stitching in white thread. (Hard to see in this picture but the full-page view is on page 173 of the magazine if you can snag a copy). More of Oldfield’s work can be found on her website, Lost and Found.
Pausing for another moment on the topic of antique quilts, I’m ogling over the selection for sale via French72 at Ruby Lane. The countless hours that went into each one of these pieces is mind-bending from the perspective of mass-consumption and these hours are not at all reflected in assigned prices (though the actual makers are at this point dead, or likely many times removed from the sale). A graphic quilt like the one above (1920’s, $595) could transform a room, contemporary or traditional. You’d have a hard time finding a new coverlet or duvet with as much impact and lasting value.
– A striking silk quilt from the 1870’s, up for auction at Christie’s on September 29th. Further proof the nineteenth century is full of surprises.
The New York City carpet gallery Double Knot has an interesting assortment of long-haired tribal carpets on their website — a la the detail shown above. This type of carpet has been on the periphery of my awareness for awhile but this is the first time I’ve actually taken a few moments to look for some history and definitions. For starters, the carpet shown above is referenced as a “Tulu” carpet and other web references link the word “Tulu” to Turkey in particular and to the function of the carpet as a sleeping mat. Complicating things, however, is another name for a similar long-haired type, the Konya “Yatak”. Konya is a region of Turkey, but I guess the carpets produced in this subset are called Yataks, not Tulus… I’m going to stop here since this is basically all hearsay at the moment. I’ll work on firmer definitions but in the meantime the carpets are worth admiring, whatever their title.
…Another wonderful textile designer to add to my ever-growing list. I also happen to have first-hand knowledge that Rosemary is not only exceedingly talented, she’s also wonderful to work with! Plus, her company’s dedication to social and environmental responsibility and philanthropy is both inspirational and educational.
Above, a view of her Glaze Dhurrie design.
Claudy Jongstra is using far-out materials to make far-out felt and she’s getting commissions, exhibitions and artistic acclaim in the process. Here’s a well-worded summary of her work written by Lisa White (for Interview Magazine); it’s included in the Our Vision section of Jongstr’as website:
Partly primitive, partly animal, part magic, the felt fabrics of Claudy Jongstra are unique in their rough sophistication. Some seem to come straight from the back of the beast, others are worked with a finesse that makes them a statement in raw elegance. For Jongstra uses only raw materials – raw silk, raw linen, raw camelhair, raw cashmere and especially raw wool – which she treats with original techniques that result in some of the most creative felts ever seen. Felt is her instinctive fabric, one she never tires of reinventing.
