1000 Markets: A Winter Outfit

DreamWoven     $290

Yesterday I wrote a post about winter wear on Etsy.  We've had a terrible cold spell here in Kentucky, so I picked woolen goodies that I could lust after.  There is nothing like wool to keep you warm when those temps hit rock bottom!  I have a store on Etsy and like to support the sellers there whenever possible.  I also have one on 1000 Markets and it didn't seem fair to do a post on Etsy without also doing on on 1000 Markets.  Actually, many of us sell in both places and several of the sellers shown have joined the fiber art/textiles network I started on Ning, The Fiber Focus Group.  Over time, those who are more active online and in social networks start bumping into each other, forming cyber friendships.

Now, to shop on 1000 Markets!  I am looking for an outfit that will keep me warm from head to toe.  Maybe it's a bit too fancy to sit at the computer as I am now, but this is the destination I have in mind.  A cold house with freezing floors.  The water pipes have burst and six inches of water have flooded the whole ground under the house.  Head to toe, I need warmth.

The place to start is the head.  Cover your head when you are cold!  And, why not do it with art for your head?  DreamWoven's hats have been a long time favorite of mine.  Someday I will own one.  "Simone", the hat above is the bestest hat in the whole wide world!  I love it, love it, love it!!!!!  All of the images are hyperlinked to the product in this post and you must click on DreamWoven's hat so that you can see it from all angles.  DreamWoven and I have been cyberfriends for quite awhile now.  We're both Rachels and we both enjoy the role of helping others find larger markets for their work.  She is on staff at 1000 Markets and has always been a great support, encouraging us all to move forward with our work. 

 

TickledPinkKnits    $98

DreamWoven's hat is open at the back, so I will need to keep my neck warm with this beautiful scarflette by Tickled Pink Knits.  The fibers are various soft wools, including alpaca, so it is sure to be luxurious!  I like the frilliness, harking back to Victorian wear mixed with enough ruggedness and texture to fit a Viking like me.

 

Coco and Juan   $45

Coco and Juan specialize in Plus Size wear which is perfect for me.  I like the lines in this top and think it will work just fine with what I've got so far.  Notice how the side panels of the blouse curve in, helping provide at least an illusion of a slender figure.  I know I need all the help I can get!  I would prefer a solid knit and it looks to me like Coco and Juan would probably work with you on your choice of fabric and color.

Modern Era Design makes these custom choices clear upfront.  The brown in these pants isn't going to really work well with what I have picked, but they have color swatches to pick from and there are several other choices that I could go with.  In fact, they will make it to your size, too.

 

Modern Era Design       $52

Comfort was what I was looking for, which I found, with the added benefit that the cotton jersey is organic.  Gotta support those green industries!

I'm thinking that those comfy pants might just not be warm enough, so I'm going to add these custom dyed leggings from Dye Diana Dye.  When I first saw her name, a long time ago now, I just thought it was the most clever play on words!  Her work is impeccable and she has many other dyed garments that are stunningly beautiful.   Keep dyeing, Diana, but live a long, long life!

 

Dye Diana Dye     $36

This photo is a little dark, but I loved these tabi socks by Twiddle Toes.  (Another great name!)  Tabi socks were originally used by the Japanese with their wooden kimono flip flops.  Now, we can also wear them and Twiddle Toes has them in a bunch of different colors!

 

twiddletoes    $32

The tabi socks will need some booties, so I picked a pair made by my friend Catherine at Bazaar Bayar, another of my cyber friends.  She has been knitting up a storm lately and you will have to go look at her other lacey slippers. I thought these slippers were very reasonably priced!

 

Bazaar Bayar   $20

Many of Catherine's knitting designs use complex color and texture patterns and some hearken to her second home, Turkey.  I decided that I really, really wanted one of her hand warmers, too.

 

Bazaar Bayar   $50

Those rusty colors are perfect for me.  I would like the thumb and finger area to be a little longer, down to the first knuckle.  Can you do that, Catherine?  My friend Diane made the one I have on now and the thumb area goes almost all the way to the thumbnail.  I really like that.  Catherine has several other pairs in her store.  Type away and keep your fingers warm!

I'm feeling like my top is not enough.  I shopped around and couldn't find a sweater or vest that I liked on 1,000 Markets.  I wanted something long and roomy.  If you are a knitter, know that there is very little competition with those products right now.  Might be a good niche for you!  But, I did find something else that I really liked:

Marge Rohrer Designs     $300

Isn't this a stunning piece?  Marge calls it a "fling" because you can fling one end over a shoulder.  She was inspired by the Middle Eastern marketplace and used a variety of threads, including bamboo (!!!!), to weave this piece.  Will it match my hat?  I've got a lot of different reds going on here, but I think it will all work.  I am warm and I am beautiful!  All because I shopped on 1000 Markets!  My total bill?  Only $923....  Interesting.  About the same I "spent" on Etsy.  (In my dreams!!!)

How does shopping here compare to Etsy?  Well, one thing is for sure, the search here works.  It is so easier to find things here because they are in defined categories.  The drop down menu is available on every page and is as smooth as butter.

How about the product selection?  I was disappointed to see that some categories were pretty sparse.  1000 Markets is a juried venue so each store has to be approved before it hits the marketplace.  That means that the approval process is much more laborious, but it eliminates all the junky stuff you might see elsewhere.  There is a lot of talent on 1000 Markets and I am sure that if the exact item cannot be found, someone would be willing to make it for you.

Have you visited 1000 Markets?  Shopped there?  I would love to hear of your experience, as a buyer, seller or voyeur....  Stay warm and dress well!

1000 Markets: A Winter Outfit

Vintage Weavings – to Restore or Not? by Catherine Salter Bayar

Vintage Turkish Cicim

Recently I had a great short conversation with another Fiber Focus member who mentioned she had done textile restoration for the US National Park Service. She and I agreed that vintage textiles, if repaired, should never show signs of this new work; the restorer should strive to make sure that her work is as unobtrusive as possible.

I personally love to see signs of usage in older kilims and carpets, as long as they are not in danger of completely unraveling. After all, these weavings were made to be used, not hung in a museum; wear is part of their history. But what should I do, if one of my customers disagrees with me and wants a ‘perfect’ vintage piece?

This was the case with an acquaintance who lives part of the year in our small Turkish town. I will call her G. She is an interesting, compassionate woman from a Northern European country who has been coming here to Selcuk for probably two decades now.

For the past several years, G has often visited our shop to chat when she was in town, and always purchases a piece of our handmade jewelry or a strand of beads before she left Selcuk. But each visit, she’d comment about a small old cicim I had draped over the armchair in which I sat.



“I really love that piece!” G would say, asking me about it. I knew it had been two sides of a Turkish donkey bag, though the longer ends have been unstitched. But this kilim was an interesting weaving combination I had not seen in a cicim before. Both sides use the fairly thickly spun, sturdy dyed wool typical of utilitarian cicims, but this time the weaver used the wool as the warp yarns (thick undyed cotton is more typical), then wove very thin undyed cotton through as weft yarns, creating a thin, slightly irregular ground cloth for the embroidered wool patterns worked on top.




Did the weaver just not have enough wool and opt for cheaper cotton? One end does have weft yards in the same red wool as the warp (below), but this appears to be the end where she started weaving. So maybe she was experimenting to see how this densely woven but quite thin piece would turn out.



That it is rather monochromatic is not common for a cicim either, which to me means this weaver may have had more sophisticated tastes than the usually riotously colored cicims. Or perhaps she did just not have access to more colors than this mellow red, grey, black and indigo wools and natural cotton she used. The shading variations in the ground are caused but more tightly packed sections of cotton weft yarns, an intentional play of texture I think, but we will never know her aim.


There are a few patched sections (below), though the patching is done in wool that looks exactly like the original wool yarn, making me ponder if these odd portions were also intentional and done in the original weaving? And yes, by now the edges are worn, the embroidery is a little asymmetrical and the patterns are not so well planned in spots!


In any case, I told G it was my favorite cicim and not for sale, since to me such a piece is rare and holds a special quirky charm in my eyes. Regardless, each visit she would ask me to sell it to her and each time I would decline.

This spring while I was in the US, G again came to our shop and asked my husband if she could buy the cicim. Since we happened to urgently need money that week, we decided to part with it. Abit and G agreed on a price; she gave him a deposit and took it away with her. Oh well, I thought. At least the cicim was going to someone who seemed to love it as much as I did.


But a week later, she came back to our shop and told Abit it was not worth the price they had agreed upon. She’d taken it to one of the local repair shops, and the man there had pointed out every frayed selvage, every worn spot and uneven hem, convincing her that it needed massive costly repairs. Worst of all, “He said it’s mostly cotton!” However, kilims commonly have cotton warps which don’t necessarily lessen their value. I’m positive the repairer was trying to make a big profit from a foreign customer. But she agreed with him that the cicim had to be restored completely and asked us to sell it to her for a fraction of the reasonable price Abit had asked, since it was so ‘damaged’.

As much as we needed the money, I immediately gave her deposit back to reclaim the cicim. I was horrified to think that the piece would undergo unnecessary major “surgery”. Perhaps the restorer would have done a good job on those unraveled selvages, but I was incensed that G had admired the piece for so many years, but then was so easily persuaded to find it lacking. To me, her need to have a ‘perfect’ kilim made her not worthy to have it. I’m afraid I take my kilims and carpets personally; they do become like members of the family to me.

What do you think, fiber artists and textile lovers? Should we have given in to our customers request for a cheaper price? Should older weavings be restored or left as they are? As a designer more than a business woman, I’d rather keep such an imperfect piece than make a sale.


And now we enjoy it daily, since the cicim has been retired to our garden dining table. No worries – we promise not to spill our meals on it!

For cicims I will allow you to buy, please visit www.bazaarbayar.etsy.com.



Catherine Salter Bayar lives with her husband Abit in Selcuk, near Ephesus, Turkey, where they own a vintage textile shop and a water pipe & wine bar. A regular contributor of this blog, Catherine is also a member of our Fiber Focus group. She is currently working on a book on Turkish textiles. Visit Catherine and Abit at www.bazaarbayar.com or www.bazaarbayar.etsy.com.

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Vintage Weavings – to Restore or Not? by Catherine Salter Bayar

Prayer Rugs, Kilims & Suzanis, A Few of My Favorite Things by Catherine Salter Bayar

When I was a very young girl, my mom took my brother and me to the movie theater to see “The Sound of Music”. We loved it so much that we left the theater, drove over to pick my dad up from work, and went right back to see it a second time. The best part of the story was Julie Andrews cheering up unhappy children by singing, “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…” I learned then that remembering the little things I most loved was a great way to lift my spirits out of the doldrums. Perhaps that’s why I collect vintage textiles – they remind me of the best things in life.

Turkish Prayer Rug

Like this small prayer rug, probably woven by a girl not a lot older than I was when I saw that movie. Turkish village girls would start learning to weave practically as soon as they could walk and talk, so that by the time they were old enough to marry, their dowries would be complete.

Prayer Rug Tree of Life Medallion

Prayer rugs were not only good training for larger carpets; they were something every person in the home would need for their prayers five times a day. This central medallion is full of Tree of Life symbolism, to remind those who saw it to appreciate their connectedness to all those relatives in the village who nurtured their roots in life.


Hearts, floral vines and zigzags of fresh water were other reminders, along with the waxing and waning moons over the mountains as a sign of how fast time flies.

Long Kurdish Kilim Runner

Near Mount Ararat in Eastern Anatolia, Kurdish tribes would weave pairs of animals into their colorful wool kilims to recall the story of how Noah was commanded by God to collect two of every animal on the earth and take them along in the Ark.

Animals Depicted in the Kilim,
Important in the Weaver's Life

Chickens and ducks must have been an important part of this weaver’s daily life, though all sorts of farm animals are depicted here.

Woven Flowers, Representing Beauty and Abundance

And of course, flowers were almost always woven in, as a sign of appreciation for abundance and beauty. But my favorites are suzanis, especially this one:

40 Yr Old Suzani

Embroidered in Central Asia more than 40 years ago, it is a veritable Garden of Eden. Comprised entirely of flowers, leaves and tendrils in hot pinks, oranges and pungent greens, just looking at it makes me smile.


The embroiderer who drew the pattern was ambitious in the amount of detail she added. She and the friends who must have helped her did not complete stitching all the curling bits and pieces, so ink marks are still evident.

Ink marks still evident on this Suzani from the 1960's.

What fiber artist can’t relate to starting such a large project and never getting it all done?

I marvel that the backs of suzanis look nearly as good as the fronts:

The backs of Suzani embroideries are almost as solid as the fronts.

The edges are bound in a contrasting color cotton and machine stitched, but in controlled wavy patterns that would not be so easy to do.


The embroiderers did manage to stitch outlines around the border leaves. My favorite details are the chain stitched bands that enclose the border, so precisely executed they look knitted.

Scorch marks from an iron add history and character to this suzani.

Alas, someone once took a too-hot iron to the heavy sateen that I think is silk, though it may well be cotton…I’ve never snipped a piece to burn and find out. Much of the pale background is covered with scorch marks, and there are occasional stains that show that I’m not the first woman to love this suzani. Though disparaged in today’s world in which everything and everyone must be without flaw, to me, this suzani’s imperfections give it an extra layer of character on top of the beautiful embroidery. Like my favorite things in life, I’ll take the bitter with the sweet.

These three treasures can be found in my Etsy shop, along with lots of other vintage fiber art finds. Click on their names to visit the listing:

Prayer Rug

Ararat Kilim Runner

Suzani

Catherine Salter Bayar lives with her husband Abit in Selcuk, near Ephesus, Turkey, where they own a vintage textile shop and a water pipe & wine bar. A regular contributor of this blog, Catherine is also a member of our Fiber Focus group. She is currently working on a book on Turkish textiles. Visit Catherine and Abit at www.bazaarbayar.com or www.bazaarbayar.etsy.com.




Visit us: Ataturk Mahallesi, Siegburg Caddesi, 3 Selcuk 35920 Izmir Turkey
Phone: 90.232.892.6508

Prayer Rugs, Kilims & Suzanis, A Few of My Favorite Things by Catherine Salter Bayar

Baby Fiber Artists

Rachel Biel Taibi, AKA Rayela Art
Campinas, Brazil, 1962

These photos were taken of me when my parents first arrived in Brazil, still unpacking. I think they are my favorite baby photos, partially because they combine three of my great interests: travel, clothing and fabric. A baby is a clean slate. Any doting mother might look at their child and wonder with awe and great trepidation, "Oh, Lord! What will become of this little one?"

"Please! Listen to my prayer!

Anything but an artist!!!!"

Said in jest, but with a grain of truth... Several years ago my mother asked me not to give her anymore art. She would rather get nothing for Christmas than something I made. This comes out of a practical frustration of not having enough room to display all that she already has. And, the cleaning and dusting and clutter effects...

Looking back, I wish that I had a "real" trade, or one that provided a secure income. Some artists are able to make a living from their work, but most of us struggle along, facing poverty or living on the edge. That's fine in your twenties but becomes more difficult with age. Looking back once again, I know that this has been my road, unavoidable and rich in texture. My parents played their part in this, encouraging me at a young age to learn everything that interested me. They paid for painting classes, embroidery tutoring, piano lessons, and gave me an allowance to spend on paints, threads, and other art supplies. I learned how to carve, work with clay, draw, paint, refinish furniture, and finally settled in the fiber arts.


My mother read to us every night, up into my teens. Her voice trained my ear to later indulge in NPR and audio books. Love and care was the signature of my childhood. Creativity, laughter, and tactile experience abounded. These fibers wove themselves into a tapestry of wonder.

I invited members from our Fiber Focus group to submit images of themselves as a baby along with some text. Such tenderness!

Charmaine Manley

"Here's a photo of my mother holding me when I was tiny. I've dabbled in quilting and embroidering, and a little bit of sewing. Mainly, I oggle. I'm very good at appreciating the work of other fiber artists!"

http://charmainemanleydesign.com/
http://etsyhighdesertdiva.blogspot.com/

Catherine Salter Bayar

"November 1961 - Nomad in Training: I'm 9 months old and have just been peeled out of the backseat of our mauve colored, tail-finned Imperial automobile of massive proportions by my Aunt Martha, in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. I've ridden all the way from California with my parents and my grandmother, who apparently complained the entire time. This was the first road trip of many I've taken over decades now - for pleasure, for work, with family, friends or by myself.

I used to travel the world to design and weave textiles for big manufacturers; now I travel Turkey for our handwoven textile shop. I knit, felt and weave...though not as well as those nomad women of years gone by."

http://www.bazaarbayar.etsy.com/
http://www.bazaarbayar.com/

DreamWoven

http://dreamwoven.com/
http://dreamwoven.1000markets.com/
http://dreamwoven.etsy.com/
http://dreamwoven.blogspot.com/
http://thisandthatandtheothertoo.blogspot.com/


Is there a common denominator that grows a baby into a fiber artist? Nature vs. nurture? In my family, my Dad's side is loaded with talented hands, mostly woodworkers and painters. My Mom's side has sprouted literary minds. The four of us here as babies all seem to have had plenty on the nurture side. I am sure that we are the lucky ones and that there are many fiber artists with less fortune in terms of being a happy baby.

In times past, many fiber art traditions came from moms, grandmothers and aunts who made quilts, knitted socks, and sewed curtains, clothing and other functional items. Many of us now have no role models within the family, but look for knowledge through books, the internet and peers. We sometimes embrace function, but often push beyond the scope of what our ancestors would have considered appropriate.

Baby fiber artists! Yarn, straw, felt, fabric, thread, raffia, grass, reeds, wool, silk, and yes, even polyester... Imagine the world without us... Wouldn't that make you feel sad and cold?

Rachel Biel Taibi, Brazil, 1962

Would you like to add your baby face to this post? Use the Contact Me link in the third column of the blog and send a photo (attached as a jpeg), your text and links and I'll add you on!

Baby Fiber Artists

Selcuk: An Aegean Home to Art, by Catherine Salter Bayar

A western view of Ayasuluk Hill, from the Basilica of St John.

The historical valley on Turkey’s West Coast where we live has more than its share of diverse cultural attractions – from centuries of wonders at Ephesus, a city founded by a mythical tribe of women warriors known as Amazons, embellished by King Croesus, liberated by Alexander the Great and nearly as important as Rome, to the tomb of Jesus’ favorite disciple and last home of the Virgin Mary, both sites of Christian pilgrimage, as well as a charming Ottoman village best known for its traditional pleasures of homemade wines and handmade lace.

Colorful neckpieces of silk, oya lace and embroidery.

Nestled amid olive and pine tree-covered mountains, mandarin orange and peach groves, the roughly 12 square-mile Selçuk area’s vast offerings are completed by a wide sandy beach along the blue Aegean Sea. Named for the pre-Ottoman Turks and pronounced “Sel-chuk”, through millennia this region has been home to the Hittites, Carians, Lydians, Persians, as well as the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Turks. Each culture has left its mark on the people who live here now, though the handcrafts of the past are quickly becoming only marketing tools to attract tourists, as modern generations have few opportunities to make a living though the arts.

Today, travelers visit the ruins of Ephesus, the best preserved Greco-Roman city in the Eastern Mediterranean:

Or, they visit the last standing column and a half of the ancient Seven Wonder Temple of Artemis, built to honor the Artemis of Ephesus, the goddess combination of the Greek Artemis, goddess of the moon, the hunt and fertility, and the Anatolian mother goddess Kybele.


This ancient temple, four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens, stood on the southwestern slope of Ayasuluk Hill. The Temple served as both religious institution and marketplace, visited by pilgrims, tourists and merchants from the far reaches of the known world, as long ago as 550BC. Ayasuluk Hill is also home to a Byzantine fortress, the 14th C Isa Bey Mosque, and the 6th C Basilica of St John, all above.

Travelers can also brandish replicas of gladiator’s weapons at the Selçuk Ephesus Museum, sip cold mountain spring water from the well at the Virgin Mary’s chapel, and wander the stony lanes in the hillside village of Sirince or our larger town of Selçuk, to mix with the locals and experience how people live here now.


Selçuk is inhabited year-round by a pleasant mix of farmers and business people, tourists and travelers, and a growing expatriate community. The town is easily accessible by bus, train or car from big city Izmir’s airport 37 miles north, or from the Aegean port town Kusadasi 12 miles south. All sites of interest are within walking distance from the town center or a short minibus ride away. Visitors stay in hospitable family-run hotels of antique-filled, traditional-style stone, or modern accommodations with sweeping roof terrace views.

Restaurants serve savory home-cooked Turkish food and a farmer’s market every Saturday abounds in fresh, locally grown produce.


Tall stone Byzantine aqueducts bisect the town, supporting massive stork nests for the revered migratory birds, and propping up my favorite old Ottoman house, which in my ten years here has perpetually been on the verge of falling down. All centered on cobbled walking streets, making Selçuk the perfect travel base and a peaceful respite from the congested Aegean coastal towns.

If this all sounds like a tourism pitch, I suppose it is. For you see, I have a dream for the future of sustainable tourism here, a dream that is shared by a few other small business owners - all women - who also work with local artisans.

A Turkish wish tree – tie a piece of fabric,
make a wish, and your dream will come true…

Our dream is reclaim our valley in the name of handcrafts. Yes, we have ‘carpet villages’, places where women demonstrate the art of weaving to busloads of captive tourists. But how about staying in a small hillside neighborhood of winding lanes and old houses, with workshops where visitors spend a week learning how to shear a sheep, card wool, spin yarn, pick berries, roots and other materials to dye it, and develop the skill of tying a Turkish double knot?

The Isa Bey Mosque, built in 1375 by the Anatolian Selçuk Turks
from remnants of Ephesus and Basilica stone,
is an asymmetrical mix of Selçuk and Ottoman architecture,
with excellent carved decorations, a peaceful courtyard and
lovely old prayer carpets for inspiration.

Or, how about lace making classes? Plenty of Turkish women still make oya, the crocheted lace that traditionally edges headscarves and speaks a floral language that only other women of the same village can understand.

Other regions of the world offer knitting tours – why not learn to make these colorful multi-patterned socks? Or the art of feltmaking, more of a southeastern Turkish art, but a practical one that uses every last fiber of wool after spinning and carpet weaving is done.

Other arts abound as well. Our local spoon carver loves to show visitors how he whittles wood into a kitchen utensil that could last a lifetime:

There is always the ancient art of mosaics:

The sidewalks in Ephesus, where terraced courtyard houses were once occupied by the wealthy, are still complete with intricate mosaic floors and frescoed walls. Nowhere other than Pompeii do today’s visitors have such an excellent chance to experience life in the ancient world.

Selçuk surrounds Ayasuluk Hill, site of the first city of Ephesus, where artifacts dating to the Bronze Age of 6,000 BC have been uncovered. This is also the hill where we live, in a 70 year old stone house, just visible to the right with the red tile roof. With the wealth of antiquities here, few people live in houses as old of ours, a fact which I find ironic and also sad. The past is preserved only for tourists to visit, but why can’t we live there as well? Why not recreate this ancient hill, now home to immigrants from the east and gentrifying big city Turks and foreigners? Let us reclaim these old houses and fill the lanes with artisans’ workshops, creating jobs, training future generations and giving visitors hands-on experience in the ways things used to be made!

Saint John the Evangelist, favorite of Jesus and only disciple to attend his crucifixion, with his important role in disseminating Christianity and writing the Book of Revelation, is buried on Ayasuluk Hill, according to several early Christian writers. In the 6th century AD, Emperor Justinian built an enormous Basilica over an earlier 4th C church. Many of the stone walls, strikingly contrasted by horizontal rows of red brick, still stand. From the terrace, there is a wonderful view of Selçuk, the Ephesian Plain and the Aegean, especially at sunset.

Throughout the year, Selçuk holds festivals celebrating local culture. In January, camel wrestling is held near the beach. The traditional and colorful competition sports large beasts decorated in their finest kilims and tassels. While thousands of people come from all over to watch these beasts wrangle necks and kick up dust, it’s far more fascinating for me to see what the camels will be wearing.

May and September host art, music, dance and handicraft festivals which are gaining more interest each year. But someday soon perhaps we shop owners of Selcuk will come together and request that Ayasuluk Hill be made an artists’ district. Visitors could then come out from behind the glass windows of their big tourist buses and interact directly with the artisans – the carpet weavers, lace makers, copper workers, wood carvers, mosaic setters – and feel truly a part of the past here for a time, not just looking in as observers.

Catherine Salter Bayar lives with her husband Abit in Selcuk, near Ephesus, Turkey, where they own a vintage textile shop and a water pipe & wine bar. Catherine is currently working on a book on Turkish textiles. Visit them at www.bazaarbayar.com or www.bazaarbayar.etsy.com.

Selcuk: An Aegean Home to Art, by Catherine Salter Bayar