Atelier Les Quatres

Atelier les quatres is a studio/shop consisting of four young, talented textile designers creating fun and funky prints, designs and illustrations for pillows, napkins, dishtowels as well as t-shirts, baby clothes, canvas bags and one-off ideas like masks and found ceramics. The studio includes Eve-Marie Bousquet, Rachel Pelquin, elsako, and Hélène Georget, and on Saturdays they open their doors to the public to see what they are making and of course, to shop. They all work independently but a couple of them collaborate on other projects including Duette Design, and A Wolf at My Door. Most of the work is made in a limited edition and all of it by hand. It is ambitious yet fresh and fun- it seems they work hard but don't take things too seriously. Bright colors, birds and other animals, sunglasses are silkscreened onto their respective objects giving them a new life and attitude. 36, rue du fer à moulin, 5eme.

Textiles and Tunisia

Check out these beautiful fabrics handmade in Tunisia, found at Le Comptoir de Tunise, 30 rue de Richelieu. The colors are fantastic-bright pinks and oranges mixed with soft greens and blues. There was just something different. Also-gorgeous hand blown glass jars and bowls. This lovely boutique just opened a small cafe upstairs which looked worth a future visit.

Monday

Gray Monday. Back in Paris now for over a week and getting readjusted to it
all. It's not been as easy as I thought. I am also trying to tone down my recent obsession with the political campaign and reading for hours on the web. So let's talk about my favorite subject of textiles to soothe the soul. Back on myroad trip, we stopped at an amazing weaving and textile cooperative in Northern New Mexico called Tierra Wools. Located in Los Ojos, NM, near Chama and about 2 hours from Taos
, this locally run operation has created jobs and helped maintain local
sheep farming since the early 1980s. Women in the community can train
at the studio--techniques of treating and dyeing the wool and weaving
on a loom. The yarns are all produced using environmentally friendly
methods and the results of their work is amazing. Check out the website
www.handweavers.com

Sophie Mallebranche

Sophie Mallebranche, http:sophiemallebranche.free.fr,
is a textile designer based in Paris, who makes beautifully woven
pieces by combining the use of metallic , silver, copper based threads
with linen, silk and cotton. Her works are mostly high-end commercial
or private residence. These textile/tapestry works are amazing as room dividers, curtains or just for decoration. Paris clients have include the restaurant Marcel and the Plaza Athenee.

Discovered: Ptolemy Mann

Thanks to the wonderful blog www.fibercopia.wordpress.com, I learned about the beautiful work of Ptolemy Mann, a textile/fiber artist based in London. Mann studied at the Central Saint Martins school in the mid-1990s and has been working on commissions and projects steadily since. As her statement reads, all pieces are hand-dyed and woven on a loom called a Dobby Loom, then removed and stretched onto wood frames to give the work a three-dimensional/sculptural quality. An image of one work is like a Donald Judd wrapped in eye popping woven threads. Her approach with this medium, like Shelia Hicks, is taking it to the next level. It's a seamless blend between art/craft/weaving/sculpture/painting. It's inpiring and original. Great discovery. She also runs a color consultancy business. Take a look: www.ptolemymann.com

Khadi + Co

Khadi + Co is a lovely boutique in the Marais which is run by Danish textile designer, Bess Nielsen. Khadi refers to a type of cotton (but can also be silk or wool) that is a traditional Indian cotton, locally harvested and handspun. It appears to have begun in 1918 and served as a symbol during India's struggle for independence, representing village industries and possibilites for the country and Ghandi himself is known for having promted and worn the Khadi cotton.(source for this info from www.khadicotton.com

Nielsen has been working with a cooperative in India to produce her elegant, classic designs which she sells at the boutique, 37, rue Debelleyme. Through the 21st of March is a special presentation of Indigo fabrics and clothing, titled "Vivre en Indigo." Scarfs, tunics, blouses, skirts and linens are available in this gorgeous blue, or patterns of indigo and white. She is constantly creating new designs and travelling to India, and so it is almost essential to make the store a regular visit to see what is the latest addition. There wasn't much available online about Nielsen nor the store, so I will try to get some further information to share. www. khadiandco.com, khadiandco@hotmail.com

Textiles

Calling all textile fanatics… Two women with a passion make a blog and a website:

www.fibercopia.wordpress.com -- A blog started in the fall of 2007 by an interior designer who has a clear passion for textiles. She states that she started this blog as a way to document the textiles that inspire her and that the world of textiles is what best captures her love for art, craft, history and culture. (And we are the lucky recipients of that love). Much of her information comes from magazines and websites that she sources for her own design work. After only 4 months of cataloging she has produced a solid amount of entries which are classified by point of origin or genre. Among these include contemporary textile designers such as Elisa Markes Young, (whose work was an amazing find for me), early 20th century artists and designers, Sonia Delanuay and Alexander Girard, as well as Indian textile collaboratives, African, Middle Eastern and more.

If you are more of a shopper then reader, check out, www.volksfaden.de, an online shop that specializes in all cotton, contemporary, bright, bold and fun printed fabrics, all of which, the website states, are imported from Japan and the USA. They are hand selected by Linda Gaylord, a former dancer and choreographer with a love of crafts and creation, who is based in Berlin, Germany. You can buy the fabrics by the meter and there is also a small selection of pillows, quilts, and most recently, a collaboration with a children’s wear company. This site is geared towards the sewer or quilter, with many links and resources for the crafty, creative type in all of us. If you like to feel the texture of a fabric beforehand, she will send you samples. The design of the site is funky, using old black and white photos and scanning slices of the fabrics onto the images. It’s a user-friendly, with good quality images and information.