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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

fabric find. john robshaw textiles.

"after he earned a fine arts degree at pratt and studied traditional block printing in china, john "i-caught-the-asia-bug" robshaw journeyed to india to find natural indigo dye for his paintings. instead, he fell in love with the local artisans fabric-making traditions. the hands-on immediacy and vitality of textiles dyed, printed, woven, stitched, and worn piqued what was to become a lifelong fascination."












flip through a variety of beautifully covered journals.



"now john works with various workshops in india, where he travels several months out of the year to oversee production, experiment with new dyeing and printing techniques, and to work alongside the artisans creating the fabrics. he takes care to cultivate and preserve their traditional techniques, but not only in india. as a consultant for aid to artisans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating economic opportunities for craftspeople in developing nations, john has traveled to vietnam, cambodia, zimbabwe, and most recently, bolivia, in support of the textile artisans there.

by producing my textiles abroad, i get to become a minor character in the lives of the people i work with, and I can take inspiration from what i see and do there. i go to their weddings, celebrate their festivals, i get sick with them, i develop relationships with the people who are teaching me. when you look at my textiles, its like you've been on the world tour along with me."

enjoy this wonderful new fabric find that follows after an interesting man and company. i love stories like this. happy tuesday!