Tribal Textiles in Zambia

I recently returned from Zambia. While there, I took the opportunity to visit Tribal Textiles, near Mfuwe.
Driving along a bumpy country road lined with trees, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there is a signpost for Tribal Textiles. Turning off the main road, you are greeted by white-washed buildings, lush greenery overhanging wooden benches and stone courtyards. The air is cool and fresh under the shade. We stretched our legs, cramped from the long road-trip and walked through the shop and workshops.

Colors pop off of pillow cases and aprons. Bold geometric shapes and traditional patterns cover everything from bedsheets and curtains, to table runners and other home accessories. Everything is made with 100% cotton, designed and painted individually. I first thought the designs were created using Batik, like in Indonesia. But the designs are made using a starch paste that is sun-dried and then hand-painted. Baking the fabric makes it durable in countless washes. We arrived during the mid-day meal break so we missed out seeing the process, but there's a great little video (by Will Benson) that explains the How To part.

Enjoy!

Mama Olifant

Here's the elephant pillow I designed for Mother's Day. I was a wee bit late and only printed it the day before so it wasn't much use to my mom, or any other moms for that matter. Happily, it has been pointed out to me that it can also work quite well as a Baby Shower gift  (which can happen at all times of the year)! 

In short, the back is made up of an elephant stencil I cut out, while the front is screen printed using screen filler. I'm enjoying sewing pillow cases as they look very complete and finished at the end, and in reality it's just a bunch of straight lines! Print, print, zoom, zoom, cut here, cut there, and you're done! Voila!

Just for the fun of it, here are some of my other favorite elephants:

and to pull on the heart strings, here's a scene from Dumbo:

 Now, go call your mom and let her know how much you love her.

Into the Wild...really wild

A trip to Kenya got me all into the wild. The one week safari started immediately upon arrival in Nairobi. There was no time to lose. We arrived to the Masai Mara jet-lagged, tired, and feeling achy after 10 hours of driving on Kenyan potholes, I mean roads. Kenya is an amazing country, rich with culture, fantastic wildlife, smiling faces and, potholes. With some common sense, safety precautions and a good guide book, Kenya is a traveler's paradise.

 Most tourists consider it a "goal" to see the Big Five: Lions, Buffalo, Elephant, Rhinos and Leopards. It is a humbling experience and one that is not forgotten. For the purpose of my t-shirt prints I decided on my own Big Five, the Big Four: an elephant, a buffalo, a zebra (no picture) and a giraffe (because where else in nature do you find such great patterns than on a giraffe?).

These prints were made by cutting out a transparency with an exacto knife. I wanted each animal to appear like a stamp, simple edges and visible from afar. Knowing what I know now about screen printing I would like to revisit the Kenya wildlife theme. I am certain that I can do the giraffe more justice, taking advantage of the aforementioned fantastic natural patterns on its body.