Textile Art Alliance Boutique – A wonderful day!

Textile Art Alliance is one of the most amazing days of my year as an artist. As a silk dyer I relish the opportunity to show and sell my scarves to an audience of people that understand processes, and value the work and skills involved.  I am just amazed each year as the doors open, and the crowd wanders into the rooms.  So much to take in – amazing alpaca garments, beautifully tailored clothing, one of a kind finds all handcrafted.  And the patrons each come wearing unique and handcrafted items… there is a deep sense of appreciation filling the air.

And to you, the attendees of Textile Art Alliance, Thank you.  I enjoyed chatting with each and every one of you… and thank you for appreciating the work i do.  I was so surprised that the wire crochet work was so popular… I went home with only 3 bracelets left, and 2 pins.  So today my fingers will be flying with the crochet hook to make more goodies.  You gave such wonderful feedback.  Thank you.

A big complement to TAA on the amazing artists I met yesterday.  Some old friends I only see here, and others were new friends I just met yesterday. Each person shows a deep committment to making the best things they can, showing pride in craftsmanship, and a flare for the whimsical.  Such a pleasure to be around creative people who take their handcrafting work so seriously.

The photo above was a view of my table before the doors opened up.  I brought my mannequin out to display the large cape like scarf (48″ x 48″) that i dyed in the “autumn rose” pattern.  It is a lush deep pink to magenta rose on a field of dusty gray green and deep browns.  The details are embellished with copper metallic resist. ( i should photograph the details of the center… amazing outcome.)

I also tried a different display technique at TAA – framing up the color inspiration sketches for several of my scarf color choices.  Using panatone for the official fashion week colors for fall I featured three scarves dyed to the color palate.  Here are the sketches I took from the fashion week website to dye scarves.

While I do not claim to be a fashionista, I do try to keep up with the trends of the fashion industry, and the color palate that is ever changing.  I am pleased to say that the three scarves dyed to panatone fall palate sold, and i had inquiries about the fashion sketched in the frames… If only I was talented at sewing and design….

One of the run away hits of the show was the wire crochet pieces.  Between bracelets and magnetic pin back wire crochet pins they were almost all gone by mid-day. (the picture above was from a previous event this summer.) Perhaps it is because there is no one else doing the dense bead embroidery over wire crochet frames, or perhaps it is because the work resembles bead weaving. (Bead weaving uses a filament rather than wire, and the beads are strung in such a way as to create specific patterns…which involve returning through already strung beads. Beautiful work, but i prefer my copper wire.) As an aside, bead weavers are charging alot more for their work. All of the pins are gone except the one which the magnet got yanked off in error.  So I have pulled the box of wire, beads and crochet hooks out, and i am working on some sketches of designs… not sure what i will come up with, but i have to get going….