Selvedge — Shops
An extension of the print magazine’s tone of respect, intelligence and joy in the world of textiles, our blog is a daily contribution to the Selvedge conversation. Featuring exhibitions, people, adventures and opinion, the Selvedge blog is not only a meeting point for the Selvedge community but also an entry point into the world of textiles for those looking for an original and broadening perspective.
BON BOUTIQUE
• Artists and Designers • Shops
At Selvedge, we love independence. Often featuring independent designers and shops in our magazine, we like to support people and places that express personality and pursue creativity in a mass-produced world. This is why we are very proud that Selvedge magazine has a new stockist: Bon Boutique in Tucson, Arizona. We feature clothing by Bon in the current Endeavour issue, but the mother-daughter duo behind the shop also deserves some attention. Bonnie and Crystal Flynt have worked together for twelve years now. Although neither of them have any formal education in design, they have created a beautiful lifestyle boutique with a unique aesthetic...
Swiss Army Blankets
• Shops
‘Be prepared’, the Boy Scout motto, applies to the Swiss too. In fact, it is thanks to their famed efficiency and forward thinking that the classic Swiss Army blanket can still be found in considerable numbers. The blankets were manufactured from the end of the 1900’s until the early 60s and their intended use was keeping troops warm if the Swiss became involved in a war. Fortunately they never did and – as romance would have it – stacks of the blankets were stored in caves in the Swiss Alps for many peaceful decades. Every once in a while a...
Paul Smith & The Rug Company
• Artists and Designers • Fashion • Shops
From the artist Sam Taylor-Wood to the designer Diane von Furstenburg, The Rug Company has amassed an exclusive and extremely diverse range of collaborative relationships. What seems to link each of the company's high quality rugs is a consistently evocative colour palette and this latest range by Paul Smith couldn't be a better example. Each rug produced by the Rug Company is made from the hand processed wool of Tibetan sheep, woven using Tibetan knot it is then knotted in Nepal. The wool used is so rich in lanolin – oily to the touch – that, once carefully treated by the...
Adriana Tavares & BARBARA MACFARLANE
• Artisans • Artists and Designers • Exhibitions • Fashion • Selvedge • Shops • shows and workshops
In acknowledgement of the London Design Festival this year, Anthropologie has collaborated with the carpet designer Adriana Tavares and painter Barbara Macfarlane. Although their practices appear to be completely different, both cite drawing and colour as a crucial to their artistic processes. It feels a bit inaccurate and unfair describing Tavares' pieces as carpets, and yet that seems to be the closest one can get to what these strange, colourful and mould-like puddles are. Tavares hand tufts surfaces in order to create these bespoke re-workings of drawings. A series of workshops 'exploring drawing through the body using a variety of mixed media' are accompanying...
faux ever
A vase of beautiful flowers has the power to transform a room. They implicitly let you know that that home is filled with light, life and a certain Joie de vivre. And yet the difference between a freshly picked bouquet and slightly sad assortment of browning petals is immense. Fake flowers of course do a wonderful job of avoiding the disheartening demise of a freshly picked bundle – 'But they look so fake and they have no scent!' I hear you cry, well - have you ever seen Abigail Ahern's flowers? If you have you probably didn't realise that each and every one of...