2011 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop
Charllotte Kwon
(Maiwa East - 1310 Odlum Dr.)
$395 (Includes $100 Lab Fee)    Four full days - Class Limit 16
What magic does the dyer use to coax colour from nature? Throughout the world this knowledge was guarded carefully, and learning the art often involved elaborate ceremonies and traditions. To this day, natural dyeing retains the same air of mystery and exotic intrigue that has compelled artists and craftspeople for centuries.

$195 (Includes $30 Lab Fee)    Two full days - Class Limit 14 

2011 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop
Michael Brennand-Wood
(Maiwa Loft - Net Loft Granville Is.)

2011 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop
Michael Brennand-Wood
(Maiwa Loft - Net Loft Granville Is.)
$250 (Includes $30 Lab Fee)    Two full days - Class Limit 12  

We will post the full descriptions, dates, and price here on the Maiwa Blog.

Once they are posted here they will also appear on the website.

Our printed calendar should be in the mail at the end of May.

We are very excited about 2011 and hope to see you

at a workshop, event, or lecture.

We've been working with Jan and Laxmi on Banjara embroidery. Our work of the day complete, we drove the short distance to one of the temple sites that have made Hampi a protected UNESCO site. As we pulled up, the fierce sun of the day was gone and in it's place was a gathering dusk. It brought a sense of calm and quiet that was only matched by our wonder at the marvel of the temples.

MAIWA ON THE ROAD

Thursday April 14 at 7:30 pm

In the Net Loft on Granville Island

Come to a Maiwa slideshow.

Compelling documentary photography of craft techniques, travel, and peoples.
With a discussion of our travels and working with artisans.

The main Maiwa Store will be open 

with a special discount of 20% off everything in the store. 

100% of all sales will go to the Maiwa Foundation.

No charge, but space is very limited.

Please RSVP to Maiwa

to hold a space.

604 669 3939

Net Loft, Granville Island

6-1666 Johnston Street, Granville Island,

Vancouver, BC Canada V6H 3S2

MAIWA ON THE ROAD

Thursday April 7 at 7:30 pm

In the Net Loft on Granville Island

Come to a Maiwa slideshow.

Compelling documentary photography of 

craft techniques, travel, and peoples. 

With a discussion of our travel route and itinerary.

There will be food and refreshments.

The main Maiwa Store will be open 

with a special discount of 20% off everything in the store. 

100% of all sales will go to the Maiwa Foundation.

No charge, but space is very limited.

Please RSVP to Maiwa

to hold a space.

604 669 3939

Net Loft, Granville Island

6-1666 Johnston Street, Granville Island,

Vancouver, BC Canada V6H 3S2

Always check the ropes.

Two posts back we talked about Banjara Embroidery. We are picking up that thread again here.

It was already dark when we landed in Hubli, the closest airport to Hampi and Surya's Garden. We spent some time tying our luggage to the roof (some of it dislodged en-route, but never hit the ground, hanging, as it was, by the ropes). And we are off for a quick four or five-hour drive.

For those of you in the United Kingdom, the BBC has just broadcast (and enabled for on-line viewing until March 18th) an hour-long feature on the textiles of the Kutch Desert in Gujarat, India. Hosted by Griff Rhys Jones, it is very well done, beautifully filmed, and has many of recognizable names from our podcasts.

Maiwa and the Maiwa Foundation have been trying to work with traditional Banjara embroidery for a number of years now. We've had a long and successful relationship with KMVS in the Kutch desert of Gujarat, and we've hoped to implement that model to the exquisite and bold Banjara embroidery.

Banjara community visited in 2004.

The Banjara (sometimes called Lambani or Lambada) are a semi-nomadic people who reside mostly in Southern and Middle India. They share a common ancestry with the Roma. who migrated through the mountains of Afghanistan and settled in the deserts of Rajasthan. Since the 12th century, the Banjaras have gradually traveled down to the south and large numbers worked for the Moghuls transporting provisions and trading goods. They traveled with herds of thousands of pack bullocks, buying and selling sugar, salt, and grain. Their habit of living in isolated groups away from others, which was a characteristic of their nomadic days, still persists.

In this post we feature two of the artisans from the Aranya Natural Dye Unit. The Maiwa team touched down in Munnar (in state of Kerala located in the southern tip of India) after our visits to artisans east of Hyderabad, we scheduled some time with Victoria Vijayakumar and Aranya.

The works being made at Aranya are impressive by any standard, but there is an added element of wonder when one realizes that the artisans at Aranya are physically challenged and so unable to work in the area's largest industry - the tea plantations. In an effort to provide suitable employment for these individuals Tata Tea runs the Aranya Natural Dye Unit, a jam factory, and a paper making facility.

Kalamkari - printed with natural dyes.

As our car gets closer and closer to the ocean our main goal has been to connect with artisans who produce kalamkari blockprints. “Kalam” means “pen” and “kari” means “work.” – so the kalamkari is traditionally a form of decoration done with a stylus. Kalamkari have figures outlined in thin black lines.