Inspiration: Maria Ikonomopoulou

I'm not sure 'inspiration' covers it here... I am in love and in awe of the magnificent work of Maria Ikonomopoulou. The exquisite stitches on black + white photography, the irony and subtext in each composition. It's clever and witty and just plain gorgeous! :)

See more on her website.

We're off on school holidays for a week or so... and I could think of no better images to leave on my front page for a while :) 

So excited about the holidays... I'll be doing some reading, crocheting and maybe some embroidery too. I'll be teaching my big girl about taking black + white photography with a fully manual SLR (old school). Next holidays I'll teach her how to develop her B+W films. If you're on holidays too, hope you have a fun time :)

Ceramic lace + organic skirts

I've just received some yummy crafty post :) I'm a hopeless case when it comes to resisting a beautiful brooch. These lovelies are the latest creations of talented ceramicist Kim Wallace here in Brisbane. Had to have them and how could I possibly choose between them? Kim is also the driving force behind the creative e-shop Udessi... have a stroll around and see all the fabulous goodies she has on offer.

I had coffee with the lovely Mady yesterday and she hand-delivered one of her divine pieces... I'm totally in love with this skirt :) Mady creates these pieces from organic cottons and hemp which she dyes herself. You can see her shop here and she has two fabulous blogs, Abundance and Mady Dooijes, as well as a gorgeous Tumblr site.

the first little pig made his lamp out of...

I'm so in the mood for a dollop of humour and fun today and coming across this fabulous lampshade Gulp by Tim Fishlock did make me smile. Don't you just love people's inventiveness? Gulp is made from 3000 translucent drinking straws that have been woven into a dense sphere for use as a lampshade. But the best bit is... all the straws are connected together, so *technically* you could drink through it if your powers of suction are up to it ;) Each one takes a massive seven days to construct and the finished product is 80cms in diameter. You can find out more on Tim Fishlock's website here.

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Textiles: Becky Earley

And so we come to one of my all-time favourite textile designers... time to worship at the altar of the incredible Becky Earley. I first discovered Becky's work when I became interested in fabric cyanotype printing also known as photograms where you use the sunlight to print indigo blue images on fabric or paper. It totally captivated me and I intend to spend time this year creating photogram fabric designs. The amazing Earley is my inspiration.

Just about every article you read about Becky Earley cites that she's "not as famous as she ought to be". She's had thousands of photographs of her work in major fashion magazines and yet very few people have heard of her. Currently the Associate Director of the Textile Futures Research Group at the Chelsea College of Art and Design, she is a pioneering innovator in a myriad of new fabric technology and, more recently, is forging fresh directions for old and recycled fibres. She is a complete legend.

Below is an image of a Becky Earley "Pins" photogram piece worn by Bjork.

Earley has been lauded for her commitment to sustainable textiles. She was one of the first designers to print onto light-absorbing fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, and she broke fresh ground by developing eco-friendly printing processes and even came up with a new paradigm of garment recycling. Her latest group venture, Ever and Again, was an exhibition on experimental recycled textiles last year.

Visit her amazing website to see more.

Textiles: Clare Tough

Apologies for the late posting today... not sure if there's been a big April Fool's joke on the internet but ours has been down all morning. So, the next installment in Textiles Week... constructed textiles and in particular the amazing work of Clare Tough...

British designer Clare Tough was a knitting superstar even before she finished her MA degree at Central Saint Martin's College of Art & Design, London, in 2004. Her reputation as a visionary in constructed textiles has only grown since then with her keenly juxtaposed combinations of oversized, extravagant shapes and streamlined, thought-provoking details in her silhouettes. Her winning combination of traditional techniques used in a modern application provide at once the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of the new. I guess this is all a very formal way of saying that she's an experimenter and a bit of an outlaw and I love that :) I wish I could post all the images I found of her concoctions - yarn mixed with silver thread, metal chains, divinely-edgy embroidery.

"For me, knitwear gets interesting when you find something unusual in it. The contrast of a soft structure and a piece of metal is unexpected, so it's fun to wear." (Clare Tough)

What I love most about her work is that her textiles are the outfits... the construction of the textile is integral to the construction of the design of the clothes. That's more than just a bit cool I think :) Find out more about this innovative textile designer at her website here.

Textiles: Japanese Boro

I realise there have been many posts about the amazing art of Boro, but I couldn't let my textiles week go by without a mention. Aren't they exquisite? Boro textiles were made in the late 19th century and early 20th century in Japan from recycled indigo-dyed rags that have been handed down through each generation. I love this idea of family provenance - a visual piecing together of family history. You can see in the examples above how they were added to piece-by-piece with patches as they became available. The reverence with which they are now regarded is unsurprising as they have become objects of history yet also as collages that document the soul of a family. I find myself very much fueled with inspiration for patchwork by looking at these. I think it's the chaotic nature of them that appeals. If you'd like to see more you can find them here.

Textiles: Nendo

Next up in my textile odyssey is another amazing innovation, this time from Japanese designers Nendo. Blown Fabric was launched last year for the development of new lamp shapes. Made of a thermoplastic non-woven polyester fibre, they use a process similar to that of glass-blowing to construct these light hollow forms. Obviously I'm biased, but I keep seeing these as gorgeous floating frock creations :) Can you imagine this textile in a multitude of light-as-air frills in a dress? The fibre apparently catches the light, as well as being rip-proof. What I love most about it though is that it is impossible to totally control the moulding of the forms, so each piece is an absolutely unique shape... Are we approaching the full circle from the Industrial Revolution where man-made now seeks to resemble nature rather than merely replace it? You can read more about the amazing Blown Fabric here.

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Textiles: Elisa Strozyk

I'm having a textile love affair at the moment and thought I'd indulge in a week of fabric love. First off the block, German based designer, Elisa Strozyk and her wooden textiles. Surely the ultimate in innovation and imagination, this fabric utilises wood veneer off-cuts and re-purposes them via laser cut technology to create a more fluid fabric of strength and flexibility. I love the interplay between our perception of what is hard and soft. You can visit her website to find out more here.

Photos by Sebastian Neeb

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V&A Quilt lovin'

One of my favourite places in the world, and one of my favourite sites in the blogisphere, is the V&A. I love this place. That I used to work there (in the National Art Library) adds an extra thrill to the feeling of this being 'my place', if you know what I mean? I receive their monthly subscriber emails with updates of their exhibitions and what's in the shop etc. This month's update was a wonderful treat... the new exhibition is called Quilts 1700 - 2010 and, as always, they have an abundance of support merchandise in the V&A Shop which definitely comes under the 'covetable' banner :) They have books about quilting, how-to books and stationery, but best of all, the V&A have teamed up with Liberty Art Fabrics to offer a broad range of divine textiles for sale in either fat quarter, half meter or meterage lengths. Here are my favourites...

If you're lucky enough to be heading over to London in the next couple of months, the exhibition runs from 20th March till 4th July 2010. Find out more about the exhibition here.

Sorry if this reads like an ad for the V&A - my intention is only to share this wonderful site and show you some crafty things you might be interested in. Have a lovely weekend :)