What We Like: A Great Primer on Textiles

Far, Far Away by Heather Ross

In artist's words: "[While] my fabric lines for Westminster are always based on a place that I have lived and loved, my lines for Kokka are more about the imaginary places where I wish I could live. They are lush meadows and small towns built from toys by children, evening dances held by squirrels. My newest line for Kokka is no different, and is in fact named for those first few words that appear at the beginning of many an imaginary tale: Far Far Away....

I must tell you that I did not intend to go so fantastical, I just couldn't stop myself. At first I was focused on the princesses, especially a certain princess and her pea, but soon found myself sketching unicorns. You heard me. Unicorns. The rest of the prints came quickly enough. My friend Amanda has been begging for a Frog Prince print for years, and I finally had a place for him.

Because my book, Weekend Sewing, has so many clothing patterns that demand more supple woven fabrics, I am having it printed on both a quilting weight cotton and a luxurious, drapey cotton double guaze, which will be perfect for dresses, skirts, and blouses. The collection comes in three colorways.

Far, Far Away fabric, $16.95/yd.

Eames

For anyone who appreciates design and its history, these coasters are a functional reminder of how much design has influenced our lives. Each coaster features one of four chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames in the mid-twentieth century; the 1948 LaChaise, the 1951 Wire Side Chair, the 1956 Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and the 1946 Molded Plywood Chair with Metal Legs. A little bit of inspiration in the everyday - and maybe even a potential ice breaker at your next dinner party. Clear and durable acrylic coasters with rubber feet. Each coaster measures 4" square.

Take a Peek at These Coasters, $16.90.

Weekend Sewing with Heather Ross

Heather's work draws upon both her own childhood, which she describes as "rural and unsupervised" and her career in fashion and textile design to bring her readers a collection of projects, recipes, resources, artwork, and essays meant to inspire and empower young women (the first generation of American women for whom, as Ross points out, Home Ec was not a requirement) to live creatively.

Weekend Sewing, Heather's first book, is a guide to integrating sewing into one's home and lifestyle in a stylish and practical way. Among its 40 projects readers will find an entire weekend wardrobe, including more than ten dress and skirt styles as well as some basic fashion design lessons about proportion, fit, and fabric. Children's clothing and home accessories projects are also included.

Heather's list of clients and commissions include ranges from large household names to small, personal projects, which she especially enjoys. Her home and studio are in New York City. Read about Heather at her website heatherrossdesigns.com.

From The Mendocino Fabric Collection"

Eclectic Modern by Joel Dewberry

This young designer's recent fabric line illustrates a great working knowledge of past design styles and nuances coupled with a strong color sense for what is visually stimulating and current.

View Joel Dewberry's Collection @ Honfleur

The Jokapoika shirt, designed by Vuokko Nurmesniemi in 1956, is Marimekko’s oldest item in continuous production. At present, there is also a women’s Joikapoika fit and, as shown, the Pikkupojanpaita for children.

Display Your Potluck

Visit the vendor's site
View details at Honfleur Home

A Stripe is not a Stripe is not a Stripe is not a Stripe

Even that Banana Republic/Old Navy/Kohl's brand horizontal stripe-on-stripe that you see on t-shirts everywhere has its origin, it's raison-d'etre.

Annika Rimala designed clothing for Marimekko from 1959 to 1982, and her Tasaraita stripe design debuted in 1968. Rimala believed in "anonymous" design: that people should be motivated to to buy something because it was comfortable and of quality, not because it was a particular season's fashion statement or because the item bore the label of a designer du-jour. Her aim was to create something that was functional, practical, and timeless, something of high quality with a fit for all sizes and ages and suitable for both genders. The Tasaraita stripe by Rimala for Marimekko. To borrow from Levi Struass & Co., it's an original.

Take This Bag & Wash It!

OK, it's not a challenge. And while we don't encourage abuse, Marimekko bags can take a beating. Need to overstuff it on occasion? The zipper won't let you down and won't buckle under the added load. Has chocolate melted or other detritus accumulated on the bottom of your bag? Do this: turn it inside out and wash on gentle cycle with like colors. Air dry. The bag keeps its form and good looks. We hope you'll then see why, in addition to its great styling, a canvas Marimekko is the bag for all time.

When Is a Product Not Just a Product?

(Or How One Woman's Perspective Informed A Culture)

Marimekko founder Armi Ratia never limited the meaning of fashion. "Clothes are but a part of the totality of fashion, which includes interiors, food, art, literature, lifestyle. " She also said that "Marimekko’s deepest being is not the products but the force of the creativity from which ideas are generated which, in turn, are expressed in the form of products." Past president Kirsti Paakkanen imparts that “The most important thing is respect for the customer. A human being always takes centre stage. Our starting point is still the one from which Armi Ratia began: we want to produce joy and light, good, high-quality products that will illuminate people’s everyday lives." To us, an ocean and many miles away, it is this company's values and foresight, and -- more importantly -- its ability to satisfy its values and "way of seeing" that informs cultures and shapes a way of life.

We Were Hipaused

As Seen In Domino Magazine, April 2008, p. 111.

Organize Your Purse
"For the one who cheerfully mixes clashing prints with solids - and isn't too cool for a cheeky status symbol, slip a do-everything palette into this bright, glossy pouch."

High on Dry

GRAY CLOUDS AND SOGGY SKIES don't have to rain on your fashion parade. With all the hip-yet-monsoon-ready trench coats, groovy umbrellas and stompingly cool boots around, bad weather might just make you look good.

Even higher-end designers (Chloe, Nanette Lepore) have gone out in the rain with way-beyond-Gorton's fisherman trenches in eye-popping hues.

Such revved-up storm styles give "folks not otherwise comfortable with unusual prints or bold, bright colors a chance to go to town," says Marni Frankel, owner of Honfleur Home.

Add a pair of wild wellies and a 'brella with attitude, which Frankel thinks "gives bounce to your step on a rainy day." That should help you jump over all those pesky puddles.

Jennifer wears a Marimekko Ruusupuu poncho ($75, HonfleurHome.com).

The Ruusupuu Poncho & Ruusupu Umbrella$39, Art by Maija Isola, 1957

The Design Museum Ghent

Exhibition
Marimekko: Textiles, Fashion, Architecture
16 December 2006 > 9 April 2007

Armi and Viljo Ratia established the company Marimekko in 1951 to brighten up post-war Finland with trendy interior textiles and groovy clothes. The company earned itself a world-wide reputation by 1960. Jackie Kennedy bought seven dresses with a label that had remained almost unknown until then. The textiles, with their big graphic patterns in bright colours, became an icon of the sixties.

In the early 1980s the company disappeared from the spotlights. Kirsti Paakkanen was asked to give Marimekko a new Èlan in 1991. And she managed to do just that. Like Armi Ratia did before her, Paakkanen attracted the best Finnish designers. The range of strong and highly recognizable prints from the sixties was extended with contemporary creations.

Honfleur Reading List: On Design & Beauty

"Timeless Beauty: In The Arts & Everyday Life", John Lane







"Timeless Simplicity: Creative Living in a Consumer Society", John Lane


"A Whole New Mind, Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future", Daniel Pink



"Textiles: A Handbook for Designers", Marypaul Gates


Design: A Very Short Introduction
by John Heskett

Publisher Comments:
Design touches virtually every aspect of our lives, imbuing the most humdrum of objects with meaning. In Toothpicks and Logos, John Heskett illuminates a subject as vast and complex as human life itself, ranging from the earliest found implements in our history--the stick, the shell, the cupped hand--to modern advertising logos, software interfaces, and even the lowly toothpick.

Here is a truly groundbreaking book, one that will transform the way we think about design, revealing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal, to the car we drive to work in, to the medical equipment used to save lives. Design, Heskett writes, is one of the most basic expressions of what it is to be human--the reshaping of the environment to meet our needs and answer our desires, capturing both utility and aesthetics. Going beyond issues of style and taste, he describes how different cultures and individuals personalize objects--even simple objects, such as a toothpick, can have their design modified to suit the specific cultural behavior in different countries. Heskett examines architecture, multimedia, computers, software, and even the role of government in influencing design trends and he offers fascinating insights into how major companies such as Nokia, Ford, and Sony approach design. Finally, we are shown an exciting vision of what design can offer us in the future and especially its role in humanizing new technology.

Review:
"In a notably lucid narrative rich in provocative examples, Heskett succinctly traces design's development from the earliest of technological breakthroughs to today's frenzied array of gadgets, graphics, and objects great and small, essential and frivolous. He goes beyond the classic duo of form and function to discuss utility and significance and to differentiate between the ephemeral and the enduring."--Booklist