Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 2(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk)In India it comes from Antheraea mylitta. We've gone with the spelling "Tussar" but you'll also find Tussah, Tusseh, Tasar, Tussore, Tusser etc. Dr. John Feltwell in his book...
Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 1 (Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk) Assam is known to many as the world's largest tea growing region and the source of Assam tea. It could have been a pilgrimage for us, but...
It is early afternoon on the 24th of December. Here in the Maiwa Loft, the rush of our morning meetings is over and we are picking up on some of the excitement going on in the stores below. In a few hours we'll close up and leave to...
IntroductionThe nature of our work takes us far away from our Vancouver home. But we are enthusiastic travellers, taken by the pleasures of life on the road, by the very real need we feel for research and documentation, by our meetings with extraordinary artisans and cultures, and by...
If you're a regular Maiwa customer you may have a couple of theses coupons squirreled away somewhere. If so, this is the last week that you can redeem them on a piece of furniture from Maiwa East. Maiwa East is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 10 - 5....
Our reviews of the symposium events concludes with this post on the Wrap Party. Our auctions have become something of a sensation. This year in addition to complete outfits of Maiwa clothing, some great pieces of furniture, collections of dyes and supplies for the budding (or accomplished) artisan,...
Our latest video podcast just went up.Part 2 -Presentation, Question & AnswerAshoke ChatterjeeIn part two, Ashoke Chatterjee presents the remainder of his lecture and answers questions from the audience. Part one contained the visiuals and the first part of Mr. Chatterjee's presentation. Part two is audio only. Mr....
Bhole Khan - Master BlockcutterOctober 14, 1948 - November 26, 2009We are sad to relate the passing of artisan, master craftperson, and friend Bhole Khan last Thursday the 26th of November. All the blocks that we sell in the Maiwa stores come from this family. No journey to...
[Update: Loon Lake is about an hour outside of Vancouver. Directions are here.]Vancouver Guild of Fibre Arts presents the Fibres on the Forest Retreat March 29, - April 9, 2010Its an incredible setting and a great lineup of workshops and instructors. Tall trees, blue water, and peaceful surrounding...
Anyone who has lost a set of keys probably knows about the TB Vets KeyTag Service. (Add a tag to your ring and if you loose your keys and someone else finds them, they will be mailed back to you). Now the same group has issued a coupon...
We have just received a shipment at Maiwa East of over 30 DOGAG carpets. The order contains both luxurious pile carpets and incredible flat weaves. All colours on these carpets are from natural dyes and some of the carpets feature a rare violet which is obtained from cold...
Our latest video podcast just went up.Part 1 - Introduction & PresentationAshoke ChatterjeeIn part one Charllotte Kwon introduces Ashoke Chatterjee and explains the application process for a Canadian visa (Mr. Chatterjee, an Indian dignitary with flawless credentials was denied a visa to visit Canada). Ashoke presents the first...
During the 2007 symposium one of the highlights was Elizabeth Barber's lecture on the Urumchi mummies. This year we invited Elizabeth back to deliver a lecture based on her very successful book Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years. The auditorium held a capacity audience and Elizabeth was in...
Representatives from the Artisans Alliance of Jawaja were invited to Canada to participate in the 2009 Maiwa Textile Symposium. In preparation for that event the group worked with Anitha Balachandran and Siddhartha Chatterjee and India's National Institute of Design (NID) to create a presentation that would help tell...
[Update. The presentation is now available online as a PDF. It may be downloaded directly here.]On Tuesday October 27th, the Artisans Alliance of Jawaja presented their lecture. Because the artisans had been denied visa's to visit Canada the lecture was held via a web connection. For the artisans...
CRACKERJACK 2009 - one of the North Shore's premier fine craft shows, has found a new home at The Music Box and Silk Purse Studio on Bellevue Avenue in West Vancouver. This year the show will take place on Friday evening November 13, Saturday November 14 and Sunday...
On October 25th, Bappa (Bappaditya) Biswas delivered his lecture When we work with Weavers. He described his childhood growing up as the only son in a joint family with the heavy expectation that he would take over the family plantation of tea and pineapple in Bengal. Bappa kept...
Slow clothes are a journey in the making. Tonight we will showcase four compass points on that journey. Each maker that we will feature is in full stride – with one foot in the traditional territory of the past and one foot already placed in the optimistic landscape...
October 23rd was the rehearsal. The stylists were styling, the band was rehearsing, the dancers were dancing, the choreographer was guiding, the garments were adjusted ... it was a very busy place. During all this we did a quick set-up and took some photos of the dancers in...
