* This was originally written sometime in November orDecember of 2009.
I had forgotten to publish it.
Lately my mind has been quite blank - therefore the silence.
I had forgotten to publish it.
Lately my mind has been quite blank - therefore the silence.
I need to concentrate on a new collection but I am not able to.
I have always been passionate about woven fabric and we have such a magnificent tradition.
Our craftsmanship is also top notch.
But to run a business I am having to compromise big time.
Mill made material is just not appealing to me, no matter how good the quality.
To me they have no life.
That thought is so absolutely wrong.
People make a living out of the production of these fabrics.
Even then.
I personally can never wear them.
Ideally I would only use hand spun and hand woven textile. But although we do have some production of hand spun yarn, it is too expensive to produce commercial volumes. I know. I have tried. And lost money.
Hand woven still works, but not if the quality is how I wish it to be. I want the traditional beauty. And then it becomes too expensive for most people who have the taste.
Unfortunately most of those who have the money to patronise such beauty, would rather have the ostentation of easy, loud glamour. And that is not in the nature of hand woven fabric.
I agree. But you might want to start small. Find a village where this work can be sourced from. help them to form a collective. Look for sponsors.
ReplyDeleteI did exactly that. Based on old textiles, I slowly trained some weavers to produce the kind of fabric I wanted. But the production of such beautiful cloth, just in terms of production costs is high.
ReplyDeleteVery few people appreciate that such textiles are priceless as they often can be woven just by one or two people.
The gold thread I used had a very high percentage of that metal. The silk was the best of its kind, and there was no compromise on the finesse.
But, I am grateful that even 'though I lost a lot of money, I was able to experience so much beauty.
Thank you for your suggestion and feedback.