100% Organic Cotton Fabrics
For home sewers, businesses, retailers, and anyone who gives a scrap!
This picture was taken by one of my favorite artists/activists, Chris Jordan. It was not staged or altered in any way. You can see more of his pictures from the gyre on his web site. Big thanks to Laura of Meadowsweet Organics for emailing me this link.
The video for the week is another Chris Jordan moment from TED. It's 11 minutes long and, in my opinion, well worth the time. Chris is as eloquent with his words as he is with his photos. Credit and thanks for the video link goes to The Green Bag Lady, who by the way, is currently running another bag giveaway. (Deadline is midnight Wednesday so better get over there quick and get your free bag.)
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Or so they say. This picture shows one yard of our Whispering Grass 110" wide organic cotton sateen with a 45" wide (traditional quilting width) fabric in black laid on top.
I am hoping this visual helps people wrap their heads around just how much more fabric you get per yard of our wide width fabrics. The price on first glance may seem high, but once you realize what you get for your money, the price difference makes much more sense. The first person to "do the math" and post how to compare 45" width pricing to our 110" wide pricing wins a free yard of our Whispering Grass (aqua or black/white) wide width sateen. A couple of weeks ago I attended a lecture at the Gualala Arts Center given by Karma Singye Dorji titled Bhutan: Kingdom on the Cusp of Change with images by photographer and artist, Jeanne Gadol. I loved finding out that in Bhutan the most common greeting (like our hello/goodbye) is So Kuzuzangpola which means may your body and spirit by in balance. Imagine having that reminder told to you several times a day. Bhutan also monitors GNH (not GNP) which is the Gross National Happiness. Obviously the Buddhist roots in this country are strong.
I just liked that and wanted to share it with you. While I am on the topic of things I like, here's a link to a recent article in my favorite business magazine, Fast Company, about Walmart and Swedish clothing giant H&M launching pilot sustainability efforts at major textile mills in China. So Kuzuzangpola! So, my husband recently bought the Vera book for me. I am a huge Vera fan and I must admit I sat down and read the entire book cover to cover in one sitting. I find it really inspirational to read about other textile women who had a vision and brought it to life. Few have done it as gracefully and beautifully as Vera Neumann.
One of the things that struck me as I read about her life and career was... get this... "Vera distinguished herself as the first American designer to manufacture product in the People's Republic (of China) destined for U.S. sale." So there it is -- printed textiles were the first U.S. sold product to be outsourced to China! I swear, the more I learn about textiles and textile designers the more I think we are the ones to watch if you want to know where things are headed. Reminder - it was textiles that launched the industrial revolution. What will we lead the world into next? Stay tuned to find out. Note: Photo is of a Vera napkin set I inherited from my maternal grandmother (Evelyn). I love them! Tomorrow night (Sept. 14th) at 7:00pm I will be speaking to a quilt group in Santa Rosa, CA. If you are in the area and would like to join the festivities - please feel free to contact me and I will provide you with the details. (NOTE: rumor has it attendees will go home with free fat quarters!)
Big thanks to Sue Roberts for arranging the gathering. Hope to see you there! I just received the production yardage samples of 3 of our new prints. Thirty-nine looks FABULOUS! I really love this fabric. 10 Flowers is a reprint of a design we did for the amazing Martje from The Netherlands. I loved it 2 years ago when I designed if for Martje and I am super happy to finally be able to share it with you. The colors and details are fantastic! Fields of Honey PINK is really nice. The pink colors are perfect and line weight is great. The dark color is not exactly what I expected but it is growing on me. It is between the our Moonless Night Black and our Chocolate Brown but seems to work well with either. I have often said that Harmony Art is a zen practice in "letting go" and indeed Fields of Honey Pink is a good example of that. ;)
It will still be several weeks before these fabrics make it to our warehouse in South Carolina but if anyone wants a swatch, just ask! I can't wait to get your feedback. They tell me Eyes of the World and Morning Dew will be printed this week. Stay tuned! If you are like me, you try to avoid talking politics with most family and friends. However, from time to time you still receive emails of political nature. I have made it a habit of doing my own due diligence on all political emails to determine what is fact and what is fiction. There is a lot of decisive rhetoric these days and you really can't believe everything you read. In my vetting of these emails I have become a frequent visitor to a couple of very useful web sites. FactCheck.org and PolitiFact.com are two sites that do the heavy lifting (aka research) and let you know the truth behind the politics. Both sites I highly recommend. They are unbiased and focused on exposing the truth. I like that. I am especially fond of PolitiFact's truth-o-meter. If a pundit or politician is really lying they get a "pants on fire" rating. . . . sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying.
While hiking with my friend Karl recently he said, "It's never been easier to spread misinformation." I countered, "Yes, that's true, but it has also never been easier to get access to the truth." |
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Harmony Susalla
Founder of Harmony Art organic design. Archives
June 2022
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