I went through my personal clutch bags and picked apart the favorite features of each. I then drew out the size of the clutch bag I wanted on a sketch pad.  I traced this same shape out a few times then started drawing and coloring designs onto the basic shape.  Through this, I came up with 3 clutch bags: 1 neutral combo with a geometric print, 1 bright and fun multicolor style with a repetitive allover zig zag pattern, and a third in black/white with an abstract emphasis on something that I really love – peacock feathers.

Next, I started pounding the ‘internet pavement’, contacting suppliers, manufacturers, artisan groups, and online wholesalers, until I came across a group in Peru that specializes in working with handbags on a small scale.  They were excited to take on the project and sent me samples and images of past work.  It seemed like a perfect fit.

They created samples based on the specs I sent them, and with just a few minor tweaks to the designs after reviewing that first round of samples, voilà… the first 3 styles of Pashen Collection clutch bags were born.

First the artisans make the design for the loom based on my specs, then embroider the loom, then they have to make the mold of each of the clutch bags and finally produce the bags.

One artisan was assigned to each step of the project. The artisans who worked on the final hand-production of the clutch bags, worked from home, enabling them to be available to their families while still earning a living.

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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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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!!

The post Inspiration: Memories of our trip to New Zealand appeared first on Pashen.

1. I have always admired beautifully crocheted items and been interested in learning the techniques.

2. I am incorporating crochet in my designs and I want to be more than a designer who draws something and asks someone to make it. I don’t expect to master any technique but I want to know more about the work that goes into it and feel that this will only help things go a little more smoothly through the design process and in communicating with the artisans I am working with.

Wall of Blues and Greens

I arrived a little early and wandered around the shop. I have never seen a place of that size, full from wall top to wall bottom, with so many kinds and colors of yarn. A yarn lover’s paradise with shelves of binders containing pattern ideas, samples of finished projects displayed beautifully, and a wall dedicated to any tool you may need to complete your dream knitting or crochet project.

Varying textures

The class was so much fun – myself and four other ladies fighting with yarn overs and trying our hands at samples using a variety of stitches inclduding the most basic chain stitch, the treble crochet stitch and others. I sat there wondering how someone first came up with these methods forever ago, how so many gorgeous things have been made using these techniques, and how it continues to be passed on. There is something really special about creating things with your hands. I enjoyed the class so much that I have already signed up for the next level. More pictures to come after the next class; and let this be a reminder to try things you have always wanted to try!

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