Celebration of Crafts Festival

My final thesis project/event! It twas an event to bridge gaps between Makers and Consumers, Cities and Suburbs, Folks of all kind. Craft is a form of mindfulness that stretches beyond general hobbies. Craft incorporates a meditative flow and creates space for us to be with ourselves and look inside. I believe the more we connect with our inner crafter, the closer we get to our purest state of being and the healing of our world! Here’s some rockin pictures from the event. Check out a condensed version of my thesis zine, For the Love of Crafts, under the “More” tab that was officially released during the event! I’m eternally grateful for all the attendees, vendors, and for One Art Community Center for working with me to host the event.

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Sweet Home Alabama Chanin

Way down south in Florence, Alabama resides the groundbreaking fashion brand and production facility, Alabama Chanin. Founded in 2006 by Natalie Chanin, Alabama Chanin is a clothing label that uses a slow fashion business model and focuses on preserving hand-crafts through its design techniques and education. Their building features a showroom/store, a restaurant cafe, a factory, as well as The School of Making. Last September, I had the pleasure of visiting their facility and not only got a full tour but also participated in their monthly "Third Tuesdays" event.

First off, Alabama Chanin truly embraces the beauty of organic cotton and hand sewing like no other. After a valiant, yet unsuccessful, attempt to grow their own cotton on-site, they currently source their cotton from a certified organic farm in Lubbock, Texas. Grown and ginned in Texas, the fiber then travels to North Carolina to be spun, South Carolina for knitting and dyeing, and finally to the brand's main facility in Alabama to be manufactured. It's no secret as to why their garments are some of the highest quality made entirely in the USA. Once at the facility, 25 artisans work to cut, paint, and sew every garment by hand to ensure their thoughtful designs are brought to light. Alabama Chanin has spent the last decade perfecting the combination of sustainability, fashion, DIY, and craft. 

Before arriving at the factory, I strategically planned my time in Florence so that I could attend their Third Tuesday event, which is basically a glorified sewing circle. Thirty or so magnificent and talented women gather at The School of Making once a month to catch up on life as well as collectively work on their unique hand sewing projects. At this event, they can compare techniques, fix mistakes, and inspire one another to grow as artists. I showed up with no projects to complete, however, I had an open heart and inquisitive mind. These women came from all over the tri-state area to share their stories and bond over the power of craft. It was truly a blessing to be in their presence and hear about their lives.

I already knew that Alabama Chanin was something wonderful, but I had no idea the level of warmth I would find in Florence. Everyone I met on my journey to Alabama was as welcoming as could be. I felt right at home with these women and they were eager to share their love and skills with me. They took me in for the morning and even treated me to lunch before I left to drive back to Philadelphia. Alabama Chanin and The School of Making are actively working to restore value to the clothing we wear and encourage consumers to make their own garments. They display a model of transparency so that their customers know exactly what their fiber had to go through to become a complete garment.

Clothing brands should seek inspiration from Alabama Chanin and not be afraid to connect with the customers and supply chains. By touring the factory and meeting the women who support slow fashion and Alabama Chanin's mission, I know I feel more connected to my country and the consumer marketplace as a whole. The more we, as consumers, take note of where our foods, products, and clothing come from the more we can begin to improve the lives of production workers, our planet, and our overall connection with the world!

~A.H.W

Photos Courtesy of Myself and Alabama Chanin

Want to find out more? Check out these sites:

https://alabamachanin.com/

https://alabamachanin.com/the-school-of-making

WWOOFING in Wyoming

Coming from a lifestyle that primarily revolves around the city of Philadelphia, my only rural experiences were Lancaster, PA, and the sometimes scenic drive down the shore. I had no expectations of the 2 weeks I would be spending WWOOFING (work in exchange for room and board) at SageRidge Mill & Critters, in Clearmont, Wyoming and it turned out to be better than anything I could have asked for! For the first time, I experienced hands-on what it takes to process wool and alpaca fiber. 

Farm leader, Linda Kernstock, is connected to a shearer who has gotten fiber removal down to an art. It only takes them 7 minutes of shearing per animal (and Linda has over 250 alpacas)! After their fleece has been removed, it is washed, dried, picked, carded, spun, plied, skeined, and steamed into a beautiful yarn. Linda is a truly amazing, passionate, independent woman who takes real-time to process her yarns BY HERSELF! Processing fiber is messy. It takes patience. It takes practice. It takes love. And I'm so thankful that Linda allowed me to be a part of her mill for a brief amount of time. Working with her allowed me to have a greater appreciation for all the steps it takes just to make a wool sweater. Linda's love for her work and her animals is truly contagious and something to aspire towards.

Not only was I lucky enough to help with washing, carding, and skeining alpaca fiber, I also was able to participate in her annual Fiber Arts Retreat, held on her 400+ acres of land. That weekend, I met about a dozen fantastic women who all drove for hours just to see Linda and learn new fiber crafts. Workshops I took included indigo dyeing, arm knitting, and wet felting. The women were kind enough to teach me additional skills outside of the classes, around the campfire, like tapestry weaving, rope making, and needle felting.

I found my experience at SageRidge Mill & Critters to be extremely uplifting and empowering. Powering through the world of sustainable fashion, it is easy to feel discouraged when I am not in contact with others who are equally passionate about quality-made garments. People like Linda are the backbone of the ethical fashion movement in America. Unfortunately, they are also often the forgotten part. Farmers and their ways of living should be taken into equal consideration when design decisions are made. Every garment worker, no matter where on the production line, is equally as capable and deserving of respect as the last. Living in a city, we sometimes forget about farmers like Linda who work hard day after day to make sure that their animals are treated fairly and that their fiber is processed with care.

Not only is it challenging to shear and care for an army of alpacas, but being a single woman in a male-dominated agricultural industry does not come without backlash. She shared with me how some farmers look down on her for not having a man around to do the more laborious tasks and she's been labeled "llama lady" by those who think her passion for alpaca fiber is silly. (They're the silly ones who don't know the difference between a llama and an alpaca, PSH!) Despite all this, Linda remains a powerful beam of light! The fashion world truly needs more people like her who aren't afraid to break boundaries and get a little dirty.

My time on her magnificent farm made me realize that we mustn't underestimate or judge each other for our ambitions and passions. We must appreciate every unique skill that we have to offer this world because no one has the exact same set of skills as you! Whether you're a felt-loving farmer in Wyoming or a Prada-wearing designer in New York; you are valueable.

~A.H.W.

 

Álafoss and Iceland's Golden Wool

Iceland! A fancy land full of progressive politics, beautiful landscapes, and home to one of my favorite fibers. Icelandic sheep and their wool are unlike any other in the world. As a result of having to endure such extreme climates and weather patterns over the past 1100+ years, Icelandic sheep have evolved to produce a unique type of fiber that is not only warm but also water-repellent and light-weight. I was fortunate enough to attend an educational walking tour led by The Icelandic Culture & Craft Workshop, which gave an in-depth look at the country’s wool industry; from fiber to manufacturer.

Our tour guide, Ragnheiður Jóhannsdóttir, explained to us exactly why this fiber is so outstanding and deserves to be cherished; starting with its varying layers. Icelandic wool includes an outer layer, which produces a long, glossy, waterproof thread; as well as an inner layer, which yields short, thin, yet extremely warm thread. Because Icelandic sheep have been isolated for centuries and have not experienced human breeding or any other types of climate, they exclusively produce strong, soft, durable wool. Our tour guide explained to us how well the fiber-producing sheep are treated; another explanation as to why their wool is so luscious. Every summer, the sheep are allowed to roam free on the grassy mountains of Iceland and eat as many plants as they please. This freedom and happiness they feel while exploring their natural environment make the sheep’s summer wool extremely high quality and more valuable than their denser wool produced in the winter. After learning all this information about such an amazingly unique fiber, I was surprised to hear how Iceland’s wool industry was once a dying one.

Iceland’s wool industry began about 120 years ago with the wool company, Álafoss. The Culture and Craft Workshop walking tour took us to Álafoss’s original factory and historical housing section, located in Mosfellsbær. Our tour guide led us to Álafoss’s main retail store; which happens to also be the original factory building and is home to vintage knitting machines and photographs from early production. While exploring the factory town, Ragnheiður shared how Álafoss was at its peak during the 1970s and 80s. After the Soviet Union, one of Iceland’s main trading partners collapsed in 1991, Álafoss went bankrupt and took the country's wool industry down with it. Fortunately, the few remaining wool manufacturers helped to revitalize the industry and maintain the traditional knitwear craft. Álafoss may never carry out production as it did nearly 50 years ago, however, its successful comeback exemplifies the country's irrepressible spirit and dedication to its resources.

So what does this all mean in terms of sustainability in the global fashion marketplace? Iceland's unforgiving climate has become a source of inspiration for its people and is treated with deserved respect. Its sheep and wool are as resilient as its people, who are devoted to maintaining the countries beauty. Iceland's wool industry and Álafoss's story of ups and downs can act as a model for fashion industries around the world. The modern fashion industry has absolutely no concern for the environment and treats clothing as disposable goods. Approximately 13.1 million tons of textile waste are trashed in the US alone each year. Icelandic wool sweaters are hand-knit investment pieces that deserve to be cherished. All garments deserve to be valued and loved as much as these traditional sweaters. The wool textile's natural composition means that it is able to decompose once it is no longer wearable. The increase in the popularity of synthetic fibers and blends means that the majority of those 13.1 million tons of textile waste will never break down. For the sake of our planet, our landfills, those in other countries who live in our textile waste, those whose work is not valued as it should be because our cheap t-shirts are worth more than them feeding their children; it is time to put value back into the clothing we wear. We must respect the land, animals, and people who work together to make our garments. We must be willing to spend more money on individual garments by treating them as investments rather than temporary goods. Just as Álafoss did not give up on Iceland's wool industry, the western world mustn't give up on the idea that clothes are valuable. They are, after all, our skin of choice.

~A.H.W.