wool

Arhuaca mochila bags of Colombia

April 13, 2014

Arhuaca mochila bags of Colombia

I first noticed these cylindrical handwoven bags on a couple of delegates at the UN World Urban Forum in Medellín, Colombia. They looked unusually sturdy, very finely handwoven in wool, and all had unique and beautiful geometric patterns.

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Berber rugs from the Beni Ouarain region

June 27, 2011

Berber rugs from the Beni Ouarain region

The impulse in Berber rug-making to both interrupt and also loosely maintain a pattern seems unique in traditional textiles. If not unique, then it’s hard to name a tradition that equals Berber mastery of this particular tension.

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High school student hybridizes her own indigo woad

October 6, 2010

High school student hybridizes her own indigo woad

British Columbia student Sarah Dalziel, who regularly wins medals in Canadian science fairs, is working on hybridizing the woad plant for maximum yield in harsh climates. Woad, which as you probably know was used by Boadicea to paint herself blue in early Celtic times, is an important source of indigo dye.

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The Cowichan sweater of Vancouver Island

December 21, 2009

The Cowichan sweater of Vancouver Island

The late Amelia Charlie, prominent designer and promoter of the Cowichan sweater

Above is an example of the Cowichan sweater (photo courtesy Cowichan Tribes).

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New York loft with stripes

April 15, 2009

New York loft with stripes

Probably everyone and his/her dog has seen this NYC loft apartment by now, and possibly also blogged about it, but this is one of those places that is so hypnotizing I can’t stop looking at it.

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Categories: design, Uncategorised

Army blanket pillows, swords into ploughshares.

January 10, 2009

Army blanket pillows, swords into ploughshares.

This post is a personal addendum to our earlier post about a discussion amongst readers of another design blog about whether one designer had copied or “borrowed” another designer’s idea.

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