Textile Gems TM

http://www.textilegems.com

Self-employed, together with my husband in our business Textile Gems TM, our handcrafted arts business--founded in 2002--creates jewelry and home decor items from vintage ethnic textiles.  Generally, we sell
wholesale to museum shops but we also do a few retail shows during
May and October each year, here in New York City.

We are also avid collectors of unique vintage and and antique ethnic textiles from around the globe. 

Our newest venture is Textile Gems TM Greeting Cards, and our card lines currently include 32 blank cards showcasing some of our favorite textile crops photographed from our collections.  You can see them on this page.

Artist statement:  Our mantra is:   "Celebrating the Fibers of our Multicultural Lives."

This can be literal or interpretive.  We love presenting uniquely beautiful textile crops in close-up formats which both showcase their artistry and also act as charming visual portals to learning about other cultures.

Location:  New York, New York, USA

Online shop:  textilegems
Social media:  LinkedIn
Languages spoken:  English, Spanish

Textile Gems: preserving damaged textiles in jewelry, home decor, and cards.

Tags:   ethnic textile jewelry, ethnic textile greeting cards, kimono, japanese, embroidery, asian, oriental, floral, birds, hmong

Floating Stone Silks

www.FloatingStoneSilks.com

Floating Stone is my impossible dream in action.  My name is Lynda Drury and I work with artisan enterprises in Cambodia to produce stunning contemporary silk accessories. The silks are unique pieces that embellish and style up a wardrobe. They come in spectacular luminous colours with the defining properties of hand woven, handcrafted works of art. They embody traditional artisan techniques that have jumped right out of the box! We strive towards highly marketable designer silks and a sustainable enterprise. Our designs are co-creations, using ancient Cambodian skills, their amazing fashion savvy and our design and market knowledge.

Floating Stone’s designer product line includes wraps, scarves, stoles, bags (hand bags, shoulder bags, knitting bags…), purses (evening, day, wallets, wristlets…), along with totes for everything and for specifics, like jewelry. We create everything silk, from wedding accessories to products made specifically to utilize silk scraps.

Most importantly, Floating Stone puts people before profits. We only work with those committed to a better way of life for Cambodians. We work business to business and share our lives, families, hopes and dreams. Currently, we are partnering with one of our producers in a sustainable agriculture project. The project is designed to create small vegetable gardens for food and income production as well as to develop capacity for advocacy for social justice within the community’s leadership. Our dream is to work up to producing our own silk supply, and to invite artists to travel to Cambodia to share creative embellishment techniques with our producer groups. They are hungry for new ideas and short on resources for explorations. 

We are proud to tell you that many of our products are available  through the  Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. We hope to add more galleries to this list. Floating Stone Silks are also available through a  variety of Unique Retail Outlets, including Fashion and Gift Shops, Hotels, Spas and Galleries on Vancouver Island, surrounding Islands and Lower Mainland. Email for outlets close to you.  For anyone in the Courtenay area, you are welcome to visit my studio. Email me for the address.

Mission:  People before Profit

Location:  Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada

Online shop:  Floating Stone Silks

Blog:  floatingstonesilks.com
Other social media:  Twitter

Memberships:

   World Fair Trade Organization
   Fair Trade Federation
   TransFair Canada

Languages spoken:  English

 Fairly Traded Cambodian Silk Accessories

from Floating Stone Silks

Tags:  Silk, Fair Trade, unusual scarves, shawls, Cambodia, fashion, handbags, accessories

Sturee Tribal Village

http://stureetribalvillage.blogspot.com/

Sturee Tribal Village is a retail gallery of ethnic and tribal textiles, carvings, beads, jewelry, carpets and other crafts. As the retail outlet of Afghan Tribal Arts, most of the collection comes from Afghanistan and its neighbors, but other areas of the world, especially Africa, are also represented. Located in the heart of Pendleton's historic downtown Square, it is convenient to other shops and restaurants. The gallery opened in 2008 and has quickly become a sought-after source for handmade crafts from Central Asia.

Afghan Tribal Arts has become known for its extensive collection of hand carved beads made of semi-precious stones found in Afghanistan: lapis lazuli, carnelian, jade, onyx, serpentine, fluorite and much more. Sturee Tribal Village gives testimony to other beautiful traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. We invite you to come and visit! 

Location:  Pendleton, South Carolina, USA

Online Shop:  Afghan Tribal Arts

Blog:  Sturee Tribal Village

Languages spoken: English, Pashtu, Farsi, Urdu, a bit of Uzbeki 

 Sturee Tribal Village, Pendleton, SC

Sturee Tribal Village in Pendleton, SC (USA)

Tags:  gallery, tribal textiles, cultural textiles, beads, ethnographic, ethnic textiles, Central Asian, African, carpets, vintage

kimonoboy

http://www.kimonoboy.com

My internet-only shop sells Japanese homespun indigo cotton and hemp folk textiles from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's with an emphasis on boro futon covers, noragi (peasant & farmer’s clothing) and kaya (hemp) mosquito netting.

Questions about old Japanese cotton or hemp textiles are most welcome and I will respond to them the best I can.

I’ve lived in Japan for 14 years and I am very fortunate to be married to Akiko. We live in Fukuoka (Kyushu, Western Japan)  with our very ornery wire haired fox terrier, Hanako.  Please see my site for the details about our life in Japan.

Jim Austin
Fukuoka-shi, Japan

Mission:  We wish to provide an internet presence where people from anywhere in the world can acquire exceptional early Japanese folk textiles directly from us in Japan.




Location:  Fukuoka-shi, Japan
Online shop:  kimonoboy
Languages spoken:  English, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese

 Japanese Vintage Boro Textile from kimonoboy

Tags:    Japanese folk textiles, boro, komebukuro, kaya, hemp mosquito netting,  indigo, kasuri, katazome, sakiori, indigo cotton

Dazzling Lanna

http://dazzlinglannabags.blogspot.com

Where should I start?  I am not very good at describing myself, but I am trying... I am a simple person with various interests.  I'm fond of art and interior design.  It was always my dream to be an architect but I turned out to be something else :). Indeed, my academic background and what I am doing by selling the bags are totally different. I have degrees in Chemistry and MBA from the university in my hometown, Thailand. But like many other ladies, as far as I know, I love bags. For me it's just a bit different, I love ethnic and tribal inspired ones. And that was how I started  Dazzling Lanna.  

Dazzling Lanna creates bags in small scale but we do wholesale as well. By doing that, we offer a very small initial wholesale of 10 bags to help people get started.

Besides being fond of art and interior design, I love to travel and dream that I could complete all destinations on my wish list. My travel experiences allow me to explore the world and have helped me create good ideas. One of my favorite place is India. I love it in many ways. I believe I will have a lot to share via Dazzling Lanna in the coming future.  

Last but not least, I am an amature photographer, seeing my world through the viewfinder at leelawadeephotography.

Location:  Chiang Mai, Thailand and Canton de Vaud, Switzerland.

Online shop:  dazzlinglanna

Blogs:  dazzlinglannabags,   siamlivingroom

Languages spoken: Thai, English, French (minimal)

 

 Bags made with vintage textiles from Thailand by Dazzling Lanna

Tags:   Tribal inspired bags, Ethnic, Bohemian, Hmong Baby Carrier, Miao, Afghan, Mirror Embroidery.

Fabrique Fantastique

www.fabriquefantastique.etsy.com

Jan Marriott at Market

I have always had a passion for vintage textiles.  As a child, I would scour market stalls for remnants for my dolly clothes, and I am still at it. I grew up in England (a publican's daughter) and have a textile degree from Canterbury College of Art ...many decades ago. Coming to Canada in the 60's I continued to practice as a textile artist, teaching collage locally at schools and libraries.  I exhibited as well. A wonderful job in the publishing industry came my way and textiles took a back seat for quite a few years, although I always bought more!  Since 2005 I have been buying and selling vintage textiles....anything that appeals and 'speaks' to me.  I sell at Ontario markets and online. I am still intrigued. 

Mission:  To serve my customers in a friendly and knowledgeable fashion, hoping to spread appreciation for vintage and antique textiles.

-Jan Marriott

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Online shops:

   fabriquefantastique on Etsy

   fabriquefantastique on Zibbet

Blog: fabriquefantastique

Social Media:  Twitter, Flickr

Membership: Textile Museum of Canada

Languages spoken: English

Vintage quilts and textiles by Fabrique Fantastique

Tags: vintage, quilts, fabric, textiles, markets, embroidery, weaving, antique, yardage, thrift

Miao Baby Carriers

www.miaobabycarriers.com

Miao Baby Carriers is my personal collection of over 5,000 vintage embroidered Chinese baby carriers.  These beautiful creations of the Miao (Hmong), Dong, Zhuang, and other minority cultures are available, at no cost, for study or exhibit.

Read my article, "Collection Seeks Soul Mate" for more pictorial examples of the baby carriers and for history on why I began to collect them.

-Mark Clayton

Location: Long Beach, California, USA

Memberships: 

   Textile Society of America
   American Council for Southern Asian Art
   Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles

Languages spoken: English

Miao Baby Carrier, Mark Clayton Collection

Tags: embroidery, antique, ethnic, folk, traditional, tribal, carrier, Guizhou, Yunnan, Zhijin

TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles

 www.tammachat.com

handwoven beauty ~ fairly traded

TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles is a fair trade social enterprise based in Nova Scotia, Canada. The co-founders, Ellen Agger (photo) and Alleson Kase, are passionate about handwoven, naturally dyed textiles and about supporting the women in rural Thailand and Laos who create them. These skills - passed down from mother to daughter for generations - are now at risk of being lost, especially the skills of creating hand-reeled silk yarns. We support this small-scale, village-based sericulture and the organic production of these silk yarns by accessing markets for this work in North America and beyond. Each year, we travel extensively in Thailand and Laos, meeting with women's weaving groups and development projects that work with village groups, collaborating on new designs, learning from each other. The work is rewarding, the women sericulturists, dyers and weavers are highly skilled artisans and the textiles -- truly "slow fashion" -- are beautiful.

We organize fair trade eco-textile events.
We wholesale to select shops that value fair trade and art quality, handcrafted textiles.

Mission:  TAMMACHAT’s naturally dyed silks and cottons combine contemporary styling with traditional skills to bring you timeless fashion accessories and home décor. Each piece is exquisitely handwoven in limited editions. Each purchase helps a woman artisan in rural Thailand or Laos celebrate and sustain her culture, family and community.

What's most important to us is:

• to support women artisans through fair trade (including building long-term relationships and ongoing commitments)
• to support their efforts to use sustainable practices that protect their environments and their health, and
• to help preserve these cultural traditions.

Location:  Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Online stores:    
   TAMMACHAT 
   Etsy 
   BLURB photo books 
   Ethical Ocean
   Source 4 Style  

Blog:  TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles

Other Social Media:  
   Twitter

   YouTube
   LinkedIn 
   Ethical Fashion Forum

Memberships: 

  SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)
  Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council
  BALLE-Nova Scotia (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies)
  Ethical Fashion Forum
Languages spoken: English, a little Thai, Italiano, Français

Eri silk scarf from central Thailand. Handspun silk, natural dyes.

From TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles. 

TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles on Facebook

Tags:  weaving, handwoven, naturally dyed, social enterprise, fair trade, organic, silk, cotton, Thailand, Laos

Laos Essential Artistry

www.gotlaos.com

Laos Essential Artistry is a husband and wife business. Peter is an educator in Sacramento and Bai is currently a waitress in a several Thai restaurants in Sacramento.

Mission:  Laos is our passion and we are proud to feature some of the finest in Lao silk textiles and handicrafts. All our textiles are hand-woven or hand-embroidered and reflect artisan excellence, coming from weavers, artists, and galleries where we have taken the time to establish personal, professional and principled relationships.

At Laos Essential Artistry we understand that the quality of a textile is dependent on the structure of the weave and not just the visual appearance of its fibers, and we like to think that all the weavers, artisans and galleries that we represent, “the individual yarns and varying patterns,” are woven together cohesively and meaningfully in a way that provide the opportunity for people to develop a better  understanding and appreciation of these incredibly talented weavers and artisans in Laos.

Location: Sacramento, California, USA

Online Store: Got Laos 

Brick and mortar: Our goal is to eventually open a Thai/Lao Restaurant and gallery where we will be able to exhibit our textiles. Currently if anyone wants to look at any of our textiles give us a call and we'll arrange a time for you to see the textiles. Contact information can be found on our  website.

Blog: Laos Essential Artistry

Languages spoken: Lao and English

 

Handwoven Naga scarves from Laos Essential Artistry

Tags:   Laos, Lao textiles, Hmong textiles, Mien textiles, silk texiles, handwoven, handwoven textiles, Lao paintings, natural dyes, embroidery, weaving

Fiona Wright

 www.creative-arts-safaris.com

I am an Australian artist living in rural India with my partner Praveen Nayak. Together we run Creative Arts Safaris; hands-on textile and cultural tours. In our home we house the Pukka Studio a place to experience some of India’s rich textile traditions as well as contemporary workshops. We also run a social enterprise, The Stitching Project, which helps to create work in the local area, an impoverished farming community.

Mission:   “Do and in doing, become.” One way to truly experience life is by getting involved. One way to experience another culture is through meeting people and  participating in its traditions; our work involves creating some of these opportunities and sharing them with others.

 Fiona Wright

Location: Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Websites: Fiona Wright, Creative Arts Safari, Pukka Studio, The Stitching Project
Web store: Our Pukka Place
Brick and mortar: Our Pukka Place, Helloj Rd,  
     Behind Shyama Hospital 
     Pushkar, Rajasthan, India, 305022
Blog: Of Daydreams and Memories
Languages spoken: English, slow French, some Hindi

 

The Stitching Project

 

Creative Arts Safaris on Facebook

Tags: tours, textile workshop teacher, India, teacher, fair trade/ social enterprise, felt, textile artist.

Nazmiyal Collection

http://nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/

"I have been in business of acquiring and selling antique rugs for twenty-five years. Antique rugs are my passion, and my tastes are eclectic, ranging from early, classical pieces to Art Deco and Modernist rugs. What matters to me primarily is the beauty and quality of a piece. I buy with my eye and with my heart. Living in New York, the Mecca of the rug world, and traveling extensively, I have the opportunity to search constantly for the best pieces that are available. My wide experience and contacts in the antique rug world enable me to buy competitively, acquiring quality pieces for the best value, and to pass this value along to our customers. My goal at Nazmiyal is to give our clients the finest rugs with greatest range of choices at the best value."

-Jason Nazmiyal, Founder

The Nazmiyal Collection is a New York-based antique rug dealer established in 1980. We are one of the largest wholesalers of fine and decorative antique pieces in the US. Our website's advanced search engine allows users to easily and efficiently browse our extensive inventory by size, color, design, and origin. In addition to our optimized search engine, the site contains a plethora of information about antique rugs from weaving history to buying tips.

Our customer base extends from the United States to Hong Kong, Italy, South America, Spain, Scotland, England and many other places. Our rugs range from Persian, Turkish, and Caucasian rugs to Chinese Art Deco, French Aubusson, and English Needlepoint.

Antique Sultanabad Persian Rug 2909, Nazmiyal Collection

Location: New York City, New York, USA
Online Store:  
   website
   Etsy
Brick and mortar presence:
     31 East 32nd St. New York, NY 10016
Blog: Nazmiyal
Languages spoken:  English, Farsi, Hebrew

Tags: antique rugs, antique carpets, antique oriental rugs, antique oriental carpets, antique tapestries, antique Persian rugs, antique Persian carpets, antique textiles, Nazmiyal, antique rug gallery

Sri

www.srithreads.com

Boro Yogi (Sleeping Kimono)

ca. late nineteenth century, indigo dyed cottons

Sri, Brooklyn, NY

Sri is a by-appointment textile gallery specializing in antique Japanese folk textiles, highlighting the indigo-dyed cotton utilitarian fabrics and boro--or patched and mended--textiles of old Japan as well as a wide selection of rural Japan's hand-plied bast fiber textiles.  We also stock limited collections of Indian folk textiles and Korean pojagi.

Location:  Brooklyn, New York, USA 
Online store: Sri Threads  
Brick and mortar presence:   
     18 Eckford Street, #8, Brooklyn, NY 11222  
Blog:  Sri Threads  
Languages spoken:  English, Spanish

Girl's Silk Under-Kimono (Juban)
ca. late nineteenth century 
itajime/kyokechi and shibori dyed silks
Sri, Brooklyn, NY

 Sri, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Tags: Japanese folk textiles, boro, shibori, Mingei, indigo, kasuri, katazome, kimono, tsutsugaki, sakiori

HeART of Healing Gallery

 

www.heartofhealinggallery.com

 

HeART of Healing Gallery is the art component of the Integrative Medicine of Kentucky, owned by fiber artist and healer, Dr. Christi Bonds Garrett. Christi has a special interest (and huge collection!) of Kuna molas and vintage kimono.  She is especially drawn to fiber art and textiles that make reference to the healing arts, thus many of her molas depict images of curative plants, medicine men and women, and scenes where patients are being healed.

Mission: to incorporate the arts into the healing process.

Christi is a member of the Paducah Fiber Artists.  Her quilts often make reference to Chinese or Native American medicine.

Location: Paducah, Kentucky (USA)
Online Stores: Etsy
Brick and Mortar: booth at 212 Broadway in Paducah
Blogs: HeART of Healing Gallery
Languages: English

Mola: Medicine Men Playing Flutes

Tags: kuna mola, kimono, applique, hilltribe, art quilt, miao, native american, chinese, herbs, shaman