Threads, threads, threads…

My friend, Janet, recently sent me the link to THREADBARE, «an evolving collaboration between two clotheshorse academics to discuss the politics, aesthetics, histories, theories, cultures and subcultures that go by the names “fashion” and “beauty”».

Related:  pop-up clinic + Shirtwaists and the Price of Fashion +
MAKESHIFT: Jessamyn Hatcher + Recycled Clothing: Good for the Environment, Good for the World.

Worn Stories is a collection of stories about clothing and memory + Sentimental Value, clothing stories from EBAy + MAKESHIFT: THE FUSION OF DIY, MUSIC, CRAFT AND HUMMING + EXHIBITING FASHION, Exploring fashion and textile exhibitions, museums and collections + MakeShift Brings Down Home DIY Chops to Design Week.

THREADBARE links to OF ANOTHER FASHION, AN ALTERNATIVE ARCHIVE OF THE NOT-QUITE-HIDDEN BUT TOO OFTEN IGNORED FASHION HISTORIES OF U.S. WOMEN OF COLOR: very interesting tumblR blog that began «To expand this narrow view of American fashion, in June 2010 I began collecting home and professional photographs, magazine articles and advertisements, retail packaging, and garments and accessories of, by, and about women of color from various archives, rare and out-of-print books and magazines, and – most importantly – from the public for an exhibition called “Of Another Fashion».

They also accept submissions.

Maybe the most stylish librarian ever – check out that fascinator! Lucille Baldwin Brown was the first Black public county librarian in Tallahassee, Florida. This photograph is part of the collection at the State Library and Archives of Florida.

It’s 1956 in San Francisco and this is my grandmother, Encar Villanueva. She’s standing next my grandfather’s cadillac. Today, my grandmother or lola (in Tagalog) lives in a nursing home in San Francisco in the late stages of Alzheimer’s. But when this photo was taken, her personality was very strong.

THREADBARE also organizes fashion pop-up clinics. For more about this initiative, see Human-Textile Wellness Initiative, ~ An action research lab that documents people’s relationships to their clothing.

Cuff bracelets have become very fashionable and one of my favorite cuff makers is Loukia Richards.

Loukia Richards’ ’17th Century Embroidery Interpretation ‘ cuffs, silk, cotton, pearls

Loukia describes her work: «My work is inspired by old-fashioned activities such as sewing and embroidering. I admire how children transform ordinary materials into valuable assets and try to pay tribute to their game. I use natural materials – silk, wool, cotton, semiprecious stones. I produce small quantities because I work on my own. Every piece is unique and tells a story: of a couple meeting, a flower garland, and happy home. I search for vintage materials – buttons, textiles, stones. I want my jewellery to be funny but also detail orientated. I often use old garments, buttons and stones just to show that every material can carry a memory and still have a second life».

brooch by Loukia Richards

“Prostitute” by Loukia Richards

Loukia stitching in Antwerp

If, like me, you just want to see more and more of Loukia’s works, here are some links you maybe interested in: her BLOG.
MAKER OF THE WEEK  LOUKIA RICHARDS + Loukia RICHARDS Textile Jewelry from Greece + Loukia Richards: Micro-embroideries at the Fulbright Alumni Art Series 2011 + A Tiara Of Smileys (For The Foreign Minister of the US) + Alles heeft een betekenis, in Dutch but great fotos.

And, via Textile Forum Magazine , here are some new finds for me:

Issue 2, 2012: The Textile Forum’s review of  the 4th International Triennial of Miniature Textiles (Szombathley) introduced me to the works of Sara Richter, Agnes Kecskes and Judith Szekely.

a page from The Textile Forum Magazine….go here if you are interested in ordering a copy

Issue 3, 2012 includes a review of ARTAPESTRY3

Ulrikka Mokdad working on a tapestry

p.s.  HACKING-Couture + à l’allure garçonniere  fashion critique blog + FASHION PROJECTS.