New on THE KINDCRAFT
Meet the Quechua Woman Reviving a Sacred Peruvian Tradition
Our newest feature is an in-depth look at Peruvian weaving and textiles, featuring some absolutely gorgeous photography by Anne Laure Camilleri. Scroll through and prepare to be mesmerized!
Events — North America
Study Hall Goes to the U.N.
Slow Factory's Céline Semaan brings her Study Hall sustainability conference to the United Nations on February 1st. Registration closes on Monday, January 28th, so apply for entry now if you're interested in attending. Watch out for our exclusive interview with Céline -- coming soon on THE KINDCRAFT!
Events — Asia + Australia
Opening Soon: Arvind Indigo Museum in Ahmedabad
The Hindustan Times has the story of Ahmedabad’s highly anticipated Arvind Indigo Museum, celebrating the dye which holds a deep—and complex—place in India’s history. The Museum hosts its inaugural exhibition ('ALCHEMY') on January 25th at the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum, moving later this year to a dedicated space which will become its permanent home.
Product Spotlight
💥FLASH SALE: Brass and Fiber Jewelry — 15% OFF and FREE SHIPPING!
CLICK THIS SPECIAL LINK and get a 15% DISCOUNT + FREE U.S. SHIPPING on earrings and necklaces from the "Looped Together" collection. We're only going to let this deal run for a short time, so get yours before they're gone!
Recommended Video
"Ken Matsuzaki | The Intangible Spirit"
Goldmark Gallery released a short documentary about Ken Matsuzaki, one of Japan's most respected studio potters. Set against the backdrop of his picturesque Mashiko studio, it gives insight into Matsuzaki's creative journey and his working practice. When you're done watching, be sure to check out our own feature on Mashiko Pottery.
Culture
Stories the Fashion Media Won’t Tell
Minh-Ha T. Pham's recent piece for The Nation is especially timely: Over 50,000 garment workers in Bangladesh recently began demonstrations to demand higher wages. It's a big story by any news standard—but likely one you haven't heard in mainstream fashion media. Pham challenges editors to research how these protests fit into a larger cultural picture—and to present worker stories that transcend overly-simplistic "victim" narratives or Western-centric shame campaigns (à la the recent Spice Girl merchandise scandal).
"Disrupting Craft", Disrupted
File this one under "Good Things Screwed Up by the U.S. Government Shutdown": This interview with artist Stephanie Syjuco gives a glimpse at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery's "Disrupting Craft" exhibition — an event many of our readers would love to attend, but which (you guessed it) is closed due to the dysfunctional political situation happening literally across the street. The show is slated to run though May 5th — hopefully enough time for the museum to reopen and for you to go see it.
The Feminist Knitting Circle in India Upending Patriarchal Norms
Our very talented friend Maria de la Guardia recently visited a remote Indian mountain village for Al Jazeera and brought back this story of women who are building their own support network. (Bonus/Companion Read: This essay about the feminist power of embroidery by E. Tammy Kim.)
"Why People in Rich Countries Are Eating More Vegan Food"
This story is about the growing cultural and economic impact of “flexitarians” — people who shift back and forth between omnivorous and vegetable diets. According to Nielsen's market research, almost two Americans in five say they fit this category.
Design
FREE Downloads of Women's Political Posters!
Shepard Fairey's Studio Number One is known for projects that engage with the cultural landscape and, in sync with last weekend's Women's March, they've released a new series of downloadable posters made in collaboration with designer Camilla Lonis. ♀👍🏿👍🏽👍👍🏻♀
Double Take: Li Edelkoort
Two recent articles on the trend forecaster's prediction of a "folkloric undercurrent" in upcoming design seasons:
This one by WWD's Rosemary Feitelberg unpacks Edelkoort's thesis — and looks at the perils of designers who try to take shortcuts with the design process:
"Cautioning against cultural appropriation, Edelkoort said folklore must be studied and understood, before making adaptations and variations. “We cannot just copy anymore. We also cannot copy the clothes of our competitors, which is what we do today.”"
The companion piece is Marjolein Stormezand's wrap-up of Edelkoort at the recent Appletizer trend seminar in Amsterdam. It expands on these ideas and gives more time to the broader cultural context which is animating the trend:
"A textile ‘revival’ is on the way to counterbalance the fashion houses’ ‘speed and greed’, she announced. At the academies where Edelkoort teaches, the students can all be found at their looms. She jokingly refers to this as the Weave Wave, but meanwhile, she takes the subject extremely seriously. “People are once again craving garments with a soul.”"
Have to say: Lauren founded THE KINDCRAFT several years ago with these same things in mind and it's incredibly gratifying to see someone of Edelkoort's stature challenge the design community to embrace these principles.
Living Coral is the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year
And speaking of reasons why I think Lauren is basically an oracle who can divine the future: Read this article about Pantone's forecast for the most important color of 2019 and then check out the color of the block prints she designed over a year ago to be ready for market now...[PLAYS SPOOKY MUSIC]✨
Norwegian Crafts: "Duodji as part of Philosophy and Cosmology"
Don't worry—duodji is not some new Scandinavian trend making hygge obselete but, rather, a traditional Nordic style which some designers are redefining for the 21st century.
Recommended Resources
CFDA + Helvetas
If you work in apparel design and have been trying to figure our how to nudge your company into adopting better environmental practices, this was a pretty stellar week for you: The Council of Fashion Designers of America released a number of resources (explained here by Fashionista's Whitney Bauck) such as this PDF guide to help develop sustainability strategies along with this companion toolkit. The CFDA is also offering access to an online sustainable materials library... just an incredible amount of free information and tools! 👏
And If that wasn't enough, the Swiss development group Helvetas released its own guide to sourcing organic cotton for your products this past week.
Traditional Arts
The reinvention of the handloom saree
Deutsche Welle takes a look at Indian designers who've stepped in to save the handloom weaving integral to making iconic Banarasi silk sarees.
Rethinking Khadi
If you're interested in how contemporary Indian designers are channeling the country's cultural heritage in their work, then you should look in on IMG's "The Voice of Fashion" website. Launched less than a year ago, it's already a solid source for engaging design writing -- like this essay by Mayank Mansingh Kaul about redefining the role of traditional khadi cloth.
Business + Entrepreneurship
In case you missed these articles...
"The Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie, Very Litigious Bikini" has the twists and turns of a tall tale—and it's all true! Masterful storytelling by Katherine Rosman here... grab a mug of your favorite hot beverage and savor this one!
I was moved by this interview with Jo Malone, who talks candidly about starting over after selling her namesake brand.
Funny timing: I saw an article called "Everlane joins the list of fashion brands that want you to spend more than you have" on the same day Lauren received an order from them (she assures me we're fine...). Elizabeth Segran makes a sensible case for just buying less instead of consuming more on the installment plan, but I can't help wondering: Might this model ease the path for customers who want to buy ethically-made products, but feel prices are out of their reach? What do you think?
What Exactly Is Fair Trade, And Why Should We Care? — This quote from Nest's Rebecca Van Bergen is one good answer: “Craft based work is the second largest employer of women in developing economies after only agriculture.”
Sustainability + Labor
Our Round Up of Notable Stories
The New York Times debunks the whole "fashion is the second-most polluting industry" trope — and it's very good to see Alden Wicker get some credit for leading the charge to dispel sloppy statistics from our conversations about sustainability. 👏
When I saw Smithsonian Magazine's headline "Was History Fair to the Triangle Waist Factory Owners?", I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. The Smithsonian's editors must've felt the angry mob approaching, as they soon changed it to read "Why the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Makes for a Complicated History" and asked the author to add additional text that might "expand on his thinking". 🤷🏻♀️
Garment worker pay continues to be a massive global issue. Two places where it's reached fever pitch are Bangladesh and Cambodia (currently teetering on the brink of a trade status downgrade by the European Union). For every report that shows some progress towards living wages for workers, I see another where workers fear retaliation for demanding better pay. It's good to remember that corporate culture is a primary driver of the pay problem. The apparel industry has long rationalized "chasing the cheap needle" from country to country as a necessary evil to compete in global markets. But the verdict is in: Businesses which require cheap goods made by cheap labor to make a profit will—almost ineluctably—hurt workers over the long haul. And whether it's in Bangladesh or right here in the USA. we'll continue to see the same sad stories until we incentivize a different kind of business model.
The growing movement to reduce plastic usage continues to make news: Journalist Lucy Siegle, author of a new book about the subject (and previously interviewed by us here) brings her message to HuffPo readers with 'Our Plastic Addiction Has Reached A New Crisis Level', while Fast Company details the $3 billion race among startups trying to address consumer demand for less plastic. Established brands are making news as well, with Adidas announcing it will only use recycled plastics by 2024.
Some good news — Stella McCartney to launch a UN charter for sustainable fashion.
Finally, The Guardian's Tamsin Blanchard looks back on sustainability in 2018 with "Bright future? Fashion's watershed year as it moves from waste to woke".
Wrapping Up / Looking Ahead
I like people who read things all the way to the end!
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