Natural Dyeing in Rwanda

various Rwandan dye plants

I stole this link off my friend Joni's facebook page. She must read a thousand blogs and always has interesting stuff to share. This one in particular talks about contemporary textiles in Rwanda, and the introduction of natural dye traditions where there previously were none. Interesting to note that a lot of the brightly coloured "african" cloth is actually imported to Rwanda, and not produced there traditionally.

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/15119/atelier-rwanda-natural-dye-in-rwanda.html

September Shop

I've recently been invited by a group of local designers to join them for the month of September at a pop-up shop project at 10th and Kingsway. The space is owned by Rize Alliance, a Vancouver-based development company that is currently donating the shop space to a variety of juried artists and community groups throughout 2011. There are a number of awesome events to check out at the Pop Up Retail Store, including the Cheaper Show on June 25th. September Shop will be a collaboration of jewelery, clothing and textile art, personal accessories, and housewares. I plan to add some new pieces by then, including two styles of dresses, a tunic-styled blouse, and wrap skirts. Stay tuned for pics of the work as it progresses.