Textiles in the News: Spider Silk –

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!

August Recess –

I’m heading off to a land of wild roses and sleepy roads and will be back on-line in about ten days!

Les Toiles Du Soleil –

A new stateside source for stripes, stripes and more stripes: the 150 year old company Les Toiles Du Soleil just opened in NYC.

Via Cool Hunting.

Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors –

I feel as though I’m breaking my own rules just a little with this post, but one of the highlights of my NY visit came yesterday with a visit to the Metropolitan Museum exhibition Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors. He’s been one of my favorite artists since seeing a MOMA show of his work back in 1998 and the current Met show (tomorrow is the last day) definitely deepened my affection.

So, how am I justifying a post on painting? It’s all the textiles seen in his compositions — the table cloths, shawls and carpets…

New House Textiles –

I’m generally not a huge fan of “retro Scandinavian chic” (as New House dubs it) but the company has opened my heart to the category just a little with their Homewares Collection, featuring simple designs like Herring (above) as well as Sweet Heart and Red Fox.

FilzFelt –

From “Fashioning Felt” ten days ago to to FilzFelt today, I’m making up for a previous dearth of felt related posts. And really, there’s something very appropriate – even comforting – about felt (or at least the idea of it) in these recessionary times. As honest a fiber as you’ll find. And with FilzFelt, you can get it in great colors. For those of us who may be confused about what felt actually is, check out FilzFelt’s excellent about felt page.

L’Aviva Home –

I met Laura Aviva in the blogosphere this week and am excited to explore her website for the first time. I love her concept of an on-line trunk show — both because it has a very personal feeling to it and because it sidesteps some of the usual expectations and constraints of a standard on-line store. Her current show is titled “Textile and Object.”

Obama’s Day, Our Day –

And a lot of homespun Obama mania. (Via The New York Times.)

Tikoli –

I discovered Maja Brogos’ Tikoli tea towel collection this evening after a madcap free-association search for something beautiful and new to post. I love her designs as well as her advocacy of everyday objects:

“Yes, they are just kitchen towels,” she says. ” but I’ve always found something profound in the mundane. That coffee mug or spoon at breakfast is a part of our life each day, a personal effect. From the standpoint of anthropology, the objects we surround ourselves with, the things that make us comfortable, say much more about who we are as a culture than what can be found in a museum. The Tikoli product line is really just about injecting a little bit of wonder and beauty into the everyday.”

From “Dirge Without Music” –

The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,

They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled

Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.

More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

This blog is closed until the New Year.