It’s so easy to sometimes get caught up in the challenges and troubles life throws our way and wallow in self pity rather than pick yourself up, throw a smile on your face and march on. I, for one, have never really been drawn to ‘easy’ and I am definitely not the type to crawl into a hole and feel sorry for myself. I would much rather focus on the many blessings…

A few things I am thankful for every day:

Waking up every day to see and feel LIFE, living near the salty sea, my beautiful family and the most loyal and caring friends any one could ask for, work that I love and believe in with all of my heart, my health, the food that I eat, my spirituality, a heart full of love and the desire to share it, and my greatest blessing – our son, Avel.

Remember this Thanksgiving to count your blessings and be filled with gratitude.

Love to you and yours on this Thanksgiving holiday,

Magaly

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Malala Yousafzai

Shouldn’t every human being have the right to an education? In my mind, the answer is clear and unshakeable but unfortunately, in many parts of the world there is debate about this and education is in fact withheld from millions, especially girls.

From an article I wrote for Eco Fashion World in 2010 titled, The Power of a Girl’s Education –

According to studies by The World Bank discussed on Global Issues:

*Almost half the world (over 3 billion people) lives on less than $2.50 a day.
*At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.
*The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.
*1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
*Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
*Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
*Based on enrollment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls. And these are regarded as optimistic numbers.

Studies show that providing education for young women in the developing world is key in societal progress with a reduction in fertility rates, a decrease in infant and child mortality rates, protection against diseases, more women in the labor force, educated women encouraging their children to pursue an education, a decline in youth violence, a decline in domestic abuse and a decline in human trafficking. With results like that, why wouldn’t everyone in the world, who has the means to invest in any small way, invest in education?

The green movement is about more than just using sustainable materials and developing innovative ways to live without damaging the environment. It is about creating a better world, especially for the large part of the global population who struggle daily to survive.

Human rights to education, a fair working wage, fair treatment, safe living and working conditions, clean water, healthy meals, medical care – staple things necessary for a healthy life – these are the focus for Blog Action Day and every day. To stop tragedies like the shooting of Malala for speaking out in support of human rights to an education. To stop tragedies like the factory fires in Bangladesh.

After all, we are all intrinsically connected, our lives and actions interwoven to create the fabric of all life.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “No one is free, until everyone is free!”

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The group of artisans is led by an American anthropologist with a heart of gold who is dedicated to helping them survive and beyond that, thrive, using dyeing and weaving skills native to where they live that have been passed down for many generations. Some of these techniques are in danger of extinction.

I first emailed the anthropologist simply asking if they would be open to talking to me about doing custom work for a project I was working on. Little did I know, that from that first message I sent on October 6, 2011, would blossom a beautiful exchange of knowledge based on technique and history related to silk weaving and dyeing and many, many conversations about tradition and style and a true love for the art of working with silks in this region. I truly learned so much and am eternally grateful for the attention, dedication and professionalism I have experienced in working with this group to create the first group of Pashen Collection ikat silk scarves.

With the anthropologist as our intermediary, acting as a director/manager on their behalf and translating back and forth, the artisans and I worked together and the result is a group of gorgeous silk scarves.

I wanted to work with natural dyes that would result in varying shades of blue and gold.

The gold/bronze color was achieved by using jack fruit.

The blue and blue/grey shades were achieved by using indigo.

The shapes I wanted to incorporate in the motifs were diamonds, hearts, arrows, and the naga serpent. I gave them direction but I also wanted them to add a bit of their own magic to each piece and they did just that.

The dyeing technique for the gold/bronze silk scarves is ikat + float weave.  The dyeing technique for the indigo pieces is ikat. Some pieces are similar but because they are hand-dyed and crafted, no two pieces are exactly alike.

The indigo silk scarves measure approximately 36 x 36 inches and can be worn as head scarves, cowled around the neck, wrapped around the waist or even wrapped around the bust (like a crop top). The gold/bronze scarves are approximately 80 x 30 inches and can be worn many different ways as well. Each and every scarf is a very special, handcrafted piece of art.

Phat spinning

Nok doing ikat

A close-up of ikat tying

Dyeing

More dyeing

Saat weaving

Indigo blue ikat scarf

Indigo blue and grey ikat scarves

Bronze/Gold ikat scarf

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My very first in-class art school project on my very first day of art school consisted of selecting a favorite artist (I chose Picasso), selecting a visual art style used by this artist (I chose cubism), and picking up a pencil (pencil only) and drawing a self-portrait.  The assignment was given in that order and we didn’t know we would be drawing a self portrait until we had given the teacher our selections of artist and style.

AIFL self portrait

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From the time you are a small child, people ask “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I think most people struggle with this question at one point or another.  Sometimes people have a hard time finding that thing that makes them crazy in a good way; that thing that makes them feel alive and they can’t picture their lives without.

Fashion is that thing for me.  It’s about so much more than clothes for me.  Art, research, creating things, the business and marketing aspects of it…all of the different areas I have been lucky enough to have worked in throughout my career – they all mean something so special to me and I love every single bit of it.  Ethical and sustainable fashion has added yet another spoke to my “fashion-love” wheel.  With all of the challenges and new things to learn, the opportunities to make good things happen for people and the earth, and the excitement surrounding all of it, I know it is where I am meant to be.

Recently, I had to answer a questionnaire for a very large corporation I do some freelance work for.  One of the questions was “If you were speaking to a group of future business leaders and were asked what single piece of advice you would like to offer, what would it be?”

My response:  Push boundaries, use your imagination, do what you love, love what you do!

I can’t stress it enough – DO WHAT YOU LOVE!!!

Thank you, universe, for affording me the opportunity to do what I love every day…

Illustration for in-class project - Art Institute, 1997

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lush landscapes, maori tradition, delicious food and wine, geysers, mountains, ocean, lots of sheep, the smell of sulfur, mud baths, hundreds of baby seals playing at the bottom of a waterfall, warm welcomes, and more…

We traveled to New Zealand for our honeymoon in May (how time flies) and it left quite an impression on us (we have talked about getting a time share there in the future).  Recently, I had the opportunity to write an article for Ethical Fashion Forum’s SOURCE Intelligence Magazine about New Zealand’s ethical fashion scene.  It was a story I pitched while we were there.  The project prompted me to think back on all of the fun adventures of our trip and gave me another reason to do more research on a country we both fell in love with.

We went for 3 weeks and traveled through both islands by car, plane, and ferry.  We couldn’t stop taking pictures.  Of all the places I’ve been, it’s the one place that I think anyone, from my hippie backpacking friends to my more fancy pants 5-star travel friends, would appreciate.

Looking back at photos makes me want to go again right now – even with the almost 24 hours of travel time it takes to get there.

Happy Love Day!!

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This project has been a long time coming and to see finished garments in my hands that were created based on the images in my head and scribbled in my notebooks, is absolutely amazing.

It was just the first round and there are some corrections to be made but I believe hard work pays off and I am looking forward to sharing my hard work with the world.

A few snippets from the package:

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I asked my mom for her wedding photos the other day.  I was looking at samples of lace fabric and some swatches of different types of knitted lace and remembered I used to look through her wedding photos all the time when I was little.  She looks ethereal with her long brown hair, big brown eyes, and formal multi-layer lace ball gown.  I scanned a bunch of the album pages so I could keep copies of my own.  Now, I can look at them whenever I want.  Just beautiful…

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The hotel is situated from the middle to the top of a steep hill, cleverly tucked up and away from a curvy busy highway.  Today, this is my perfect spot to sit, observe and think.

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