Meet the Artisans
Textile
Abdullah Khatri | Scarf
I belong to a community of tie-dyers. I started working in 1992 & wanted to create something that revives a lost technique, forgotten traditional Bandhani patterns, is production friendly, can present the craft in a new contemporary way to the world & can create some value to the craft of Bandhani. The focus is on design innovation, quality of tying, and freshness in colors. Our textiles help in creating employment for more than 250 women across villages of Kutch.
IG:@abdullahkatrisidrcraft
Aidai Asangulova | Scarf
I am a fusion artist. My work combines fibre fusion, cross-cultural fusion and the fusion of past and present. As a fashion designer in Kyrgyzstan, fusion is my creative response to this transition period in Central Asia. I grew up in a small village on the shore of Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. My grandmother was a respected maker of wool felt rugs and my father is a yurt maker. At University I invented the fusion techniques I use today. I opened my own studio in 2004.
IG:@vista360
Anhad Bhullar Malhotra | Textile
I was born into an entrepreneurial design family and I always wished to create a brand that would make home and fashion goods that embody the true spirit of Indian artisanal textiles and weaves. I specialised in Luxury and lifestyle for my postgraduate degree, and it was then that I started working on the concept of Hindee, it took me a few years to channelize my ideas and create a slow fashion and sustainable foundation for my brand.
IG:@houseofhindee
Alexandra Forby | Textile
My name is Alex. I was raised in the melting pot of New Orleans and then studied Painting at SCAD. I met my husband in Savannah and still live here. Later, I started weaving as a hobby, teaching myself on a small Rigid Heddle Loom. I grew to love the process and started my first business, Daughter Handwovens 5 years ago graduating to larger looms. I then started Abode Studios about 18 months ago because of my love for our maker community and a desire to create a space for growth and outreach.
IG : @daughter_handwovens
Claudia Santiz Lopez | Textile
Claudia is an artisan from Huellas Que Transcienden, who learnt weaving from her mother. After joining Huellas Que Transcienden she started getting fair prices for her products. The sales of her prooducts is what inspires to work and weave. She lives in the Oxchuc Community with her husband and three children. Her priority is to support her family.
IG: @huellasqt
Daw Sein Phyu Khine | Textile
Daw Sein Phyu Khine is a 48-year old Mro Chin lady from Ma Tin Mann Chaung village in Northern Rakhine, in the west of Myanmar. Northern Rakhine has been in a state of conflict for years now and Daw Sein Phyu fled the region early 2019. She now lives in a displaced persons camp outside Yangon where she creates woven pieces inspired by her heritage traditions. She is determined to keep the rich and ancient textiles traditions of her community alive, and pass these on to the next generation.
IG:@turquoisemountainmyanmar
Ellen Rikken | Textile
I am Ellen, from the Netherlands and I live in Brazil. I have lived in different countries for the past 35 years. Getting to know simple rice farmers in the Dominican Republic to coffee farmers in Indonesia. Experiencing untouched tropical forests from Colombia to Nicaragua. Wildlife on the savanna’s of Kenya to the incredible biodiversity of the Brazilian Cerrado; nature has always inspired me to create ‘green’ products . And I love the eco print technique I‚ am working with leaves.
IG:@Ellenrikken
Irene La Manna | Shawls
My name is Irene La Manna, I am 28 years old and I am a weaver. I grew up in Italy and I live in Vienna, Austria. It is in Vienna that I learned the art of weaving. Now all my productions take place in my atelier, where I work daily. I fell in love with weaving when I saw a loom the first time. The more I weave, the more what I make becomes part of my essence and generates the energy that allows me to believe in what I do despite the uncertainties of life.
IG:@irenelamannahandweaving
Kelzang Wangmu | Textile
Kelzang Wangmo, who owns Kelzang Handicraft is a weaver and a designer based in Thimphu, Bhutan. Kelzang handicraft was one of the first handicraft shops in Thimphu.She is from Khoma village in in Eastern Bhutan which is famed for the exquisite \'Kishutharas\'. She was only eight when she started weaving. She has won won several awards for their designs from the Royal Textile Academy. She has women weaving for her in her village as well as in other parts of Bhutan
IG @kelzanghandicraft
Lorenza Perez | Shawls
I am 32 years old, I‚am married, and I have two children. I live in a community of Zinacantan, in the state of Chiapas. My husband supports my decision to be part of Huellas Que Trascienden. I started weaving when I was 12 years old. I am a very lively and motivated person that likes learning new things and having new experiences. I’d like to travel, even though I’ve never left my community. I wear the traditional clothing of my community and I only speak the Tzotzil tongue.
IG: @huellasqt
Maki Fo | Shawl
I am a Japanese housewife living in the UK. I have been enjoying handweaving for 3 years. First as a hobby but now I am hoping to earn some extra money through doing something I really love. I only select natural and soft materials that I would be happy to wear myself. Now I am also experimenting with natural dyeing techniques and creating handspun yarns.
IG:@nakata_weaving
Michelle Mischkulnig | Shawls/Scarf
I am an Australian textile artist who adores the use colour and texture to express joy. All my artworks are created from a passion of the heart using hand-dyed silks and fibres I catch these layers with free-motion machine stitching. The movement of the fabric under the needle is like a dance a partnership between myself and the needle of my machine it is a rhythm that breathes life into each artwork. I have been a textile artist forever and am privileged to live this life of creativity.
IG:@chelletextiles
Mufid Sururi | Scarf
I'm a daluang maker. Daluang is the Indonesian name for traditional beaten bark paper/cloth made from paper mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera). I was introduced to daluang in 2006. Ever since then I decided to be daluang maker, which is very rare in Indonesia. Later on, I know that daluang making is an old Indonesian tradition that was dying and almost forgotten. I want to bring back this tradition alive. for this Agaati project I team up with Ratna Pribadi, a plant dyer.
IG:@toekangsaeh_journey
Oliwia Dawidowska | Textile
I am 41 and got 3 kids. Since childhood I was drawing or painting. I used to paint watercolors, pastels and even murals as a hobby. I used to work in the corporation for 10 years. A year ago I started painting on silk and I fall in love with it. It makes me happy and fulfilled person. It is my real passion and I want to develop it and improve myself in this matter. I want to create painted clothes like dresses and blouses in the future and also the hand painted silk lampshades.
IG: @oliwiasilkasrts
Padmini Govind | Textile
Founded the studio in 1977, and we are one of the last heritage block print studios left in Bangalore. Since its inception, our goal is to create ethically made, organic and sustainable handcrafted textiles. We are a fair-wage studio, and our artisans have been associated with us for several decades! The dyes and colours we use are all organic certified. We aspire to be very low-waste and assess each resource we use carefully. Also vital to Tharangini is inclusivity and positive social impact
IG:@tharanginistudio
Rita Obeleviciene | Textile
My name is Rita silk painter from Lithuania. I started silk painting on my maternity leave (I was working as a manager in sports garments company till then). Now my son goes to his first class and I am full time silk painter :)
IG: @silk_intuition
Raquel Eliserio | Textile
I am the 5th generation of our family who practices Pineapple fiber weaving, a cultural master hailed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, proud member of HABI The Philippine Textile Council, a weaving trainer to students for the school of living traditions and nearby communities to enhance their cultural knowledge and skills and provide a livelihood to communities living in far-flung areas. I am also a culture based entrepreneur that produces hand-woven textiles for Philippine garment
IG:@raquelspinacloth
Robyn Chamberlain | Textile
Robyn is an independent craftsperson and specializes in sustainably crafted jewelry and hand-woven textiles. Her weaving line is focused on the creation of stunning scarves that have been hand-woven on a second-hand loom that she has set up in her store. Each piece is meticulously woven with high-end organic yarns. She used GOTS certified cotton, linen, and wool.
IG: @craftpigeon
Silvia Marinas | Textile
I fell in love with weaving at the Uni, my grandmother was a weaver and my grandfather a loom engineer, the first time I smelt the combination of oil and metal I felt extremely moved and somehow I connected with something else, deeper and meaningful. I studied mindfulness and I love to approach my work in such a conscious way, my creations are for life respecting the earth we live on. I am now a passionate weaver that loves to share knowledge and to see happy people with my creations.
Sergey Tishkin | Textile/Scarf
We are a textile studio from Chiang Mai, Thailand specializing in handcrafted indigo-dyed interior goods, fashion accessories and unique naturally dyed textiles. Each of our works is individually hand-dyed using botanical colors, natural fibers and a blend of contemporary and traditional dyeing techniques.
IG:@slowstitchstudio
Sufiyan Ismail Khatri | Shawls/Scarf
Sufiyan Ismail Khatri is a 10th generation Ajrakh block-print artisan whose family has been involved in the art of Ajrakh printing since the 15th century. The craft of Ajrakh hand-block printing & natural dyeing, is more than 4000 years old and is practiced by the Khatri community of Kutch and Sindh. Sufiyan’s textiles are distinguished by jewel-like colors and geometric, floral and architectural patterns. His work is recognized globally for the innovation and the level of detail he brings to his craft.
IG:@sufiyankhatri
Sukanya Suttisrisung | Textile/Scarf
My background works in marine science. But with a passion for fashion, life has turned to work in this field. I decided to take a fashion design course in an institute and am studying now. I can find myself at this institute. And I realize that I am more passionate about being a fabric maker than being a designer. I like tie-dye, handwoven fabrics and my favorite is Eco-Printing with plant
IG @manandgrove
Sydney Sogol | Textile/Scarf
Sydney Sogol is a fiber artist who grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is a handweaver, creating unique, one-of-a-kind luxury wearable art and woven paintings. She draws inspiration from her years of studying art, ornithology, and marine biology. Sogol obtained her BA in Art focused on weaving and minor in Biology. She then went on to get an MFA in textile design focused on weaving. She now practices as a professional weaver based out of her home in Durham, North Carolina.
IG:@Sydsthread
Accessory
Andras Csilla | Bead Art
My name is Andras Csilla I'm from Romania and beading is part of my life since I was a teenager. I started when i was 13, with learning originally american peyote beading, I became a real fan of the technique but i got bored really fast of patterns made by others so I started to make my own patterns . In the first few years i worked after simple bead patterns in 2 dimensions and after i got bored of them i started to design my own imaginary 3D flowers, animals and other forms.
Corina Leca | Hats
I have founded DeCorina Hats in 2018 in Bucharest, Romania, trying to blend slow fashion and design, millinery craftsmanship from Luton England with an equestrian and events heritage. Each hat I make carries forward the energy of its creator and offers the wearer a way to express one’s personality. In the last three years, I have launched several major collections in New York and Bucharest (Warriors 2018, Bucket List 2020, Infinite Solution 2019, Martisor 2020, Plie 2019, Wedding 2020, etc.
IG: @decorina_hats
Dóra Szirtes and Éva Nagy | Jewelry
We are Hungarian artisans Dóra Szirtes and Éva Nagy, a jeweler and a mosaicist, who after many years of honing our individual craft in different countries met in Pécs, Hungary, and found a common vision to create unique, luxurious jewelry in an earth-friendly manner — fearlessly. We are building a network of women in our home country, sharing resources, buying raw materials from one another, inspiring and supporting one another.
IG: @dorenart2020
Elleen Akbaraly | Hats
I am a child of a multicultural background (Italian, Indian, French and Malagasy) who grew up in Madagascar, which is paradoxically considered the last “Eden” of the world in terms of biodiversity and yet is one of the poorest countries in the world. This environment developed in me a passion for sustainability and humanitarian actions, which has been the drive in all my personal, entrepreneurial and professional experiences, combined with my interest in fashion, design and artisanship.
Fermin Beguerisse H. | Hats
We are a non-profit initiative, created by Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya and Taller Maya, developed in partnership with México Territorio Creativo, Design Week México, Caralarga and Estafeta. With the advice of Igeneris and the United Nations Development Program in Mexico (UNDP). It was created with the aim of promoting the productive activity of artisans in Mexico who have been affected by the uncertainty caused by social distancing measures due to the pandemic, through formal value chains
IG: ensambleartesano
Fong Sin Lam | Jewelry
I am a Hong Kong designer and artisan who launched my own jewellery brand Sinnis design in 2018, in the hope to bring positive energy to the audience. Influenced by my father, a craftsman in the 80’s, I was immersed in an artistic atmosphere during my childhood. I believe “Nature is the real luxury.” I make good use of the natural materials and upcycled wood and applied them in my designs.
IG: @sunnisdesign
Francoise Bergaglia | Jewelry
I'm a French woman living in Paris, France. Professional ceramist passionate by my material oriented to interior design and jewellery. \'Fanberg Paris\' is my brand of jewellery.
IG: @fanbergparis
Juliet Somuah | Bags
My name is Juliet Nana Agyeman Somuah. I am a civil servant meaning I work 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. I combine my day job with my passion for creativity. This led to the Bobo Bag collection. I am is the Curator and Creative Lead in the Production of Bobo Bags. I handle the design creation of each Bobo bag and personally goes to the Market to shop for each African print Fabric needed to create beautiful Bobo Bags. I have also immersed myself in the Art of Cane Weaving and hope to expand the Production of Bobo bags in the near future, by teaching young girls in need of a job, this art of cane weaving, so they may learn a trade and also make a living and become self-sufficient, while also aiding to expand the Production of Bobo bags.
Mr. Williams Des Bordes is the 2nd member of the Bobo bag Team, and a local Artisan I engaged, to assist in the Production of Cane bags. He makes sure that, the cane acquired from the rural areas is in good condition.
IG: @My_bobo_bag
Kate Wilson | Jewelry
Growing up in England, I never dreamed of one day moving to the Zambian bush. But it became my home for over 12 years. Inspired by the rugged beauty of the South Luangwa, the untamed grace of its wildlife, and the gentle strength of its people, I started creating jewelry with a purpose. And Mulberry Mongoose was born.
IG: @mulberrymongoose
Karoliina Savi | Jewelry
I am 31 years old mother of two baby boys and a Design textile artisan from Finland. I have a tiny textile company called Liinala (IÄ'm the owner and only worker). I love art, crafts and nature. I started to learn macrame 3 years ago. And that changed my life.
IG: @karoliinasavi
Melina Marelja | Bags
Melina Marelja, a designer, graduated in 2004 from the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb, Croatia, with a degree of Baccalaureus, Design of clothes. Variety of experience in fashion, costume design, styling and journalism. Since establishing my own brand in 2012, a design studio Kon2re Studio, I work solely to create unique, handmade and sustainable products with the purpose of creating a product with cultural and emotional connection.
IG: @kon2restudio
Natalija Antunović-Djapo | Jewelry
I am self taught artist and I make copper jewellery with natural stones, wood and glass. I work in wire wrapping technique Each of my works are made entirely by hand, patinated and handly polished to obtain beauty of details and bring up copper shine. All works are my own design.
IG: @thanit_tahua
Rachel Henry | Hats
Rachel Henry is a Melbourne-based milliner specializing in one of kind pieces that are either re-purposed or sustainably sourced. Her work offers a unique sense of personality and the wearer is left feeling confident in her own way. 'My work brings an extra flavor to your wardrobe'.
IG: @rhmillinery
Rahi Kachole | Hats
I am Rahi, an educator and an artist. I don’t restrict myself to one specific medium, instead, I let the idea guide my choice of medium, so that the idea can come to life without compromising on its form, shape, or essence.
IG: @rahi_kachole
Ruby Quinn | Bags
I 'm Ruby Evangelista Quinn, a natural born Artist. I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts, major in Advertising from University of Santo Tomas in 1990. I worked briefly in advertising and design agencies as Junior Artist and by 1992, By June 1992, i moved to Kuwait and worked there as a Flight Attendant for 11 years. By 2015, my family and I moved to Philippines for good and by 2017, that was when I started hand Painting these Pandan Bag.
IG: @HandpaintedbyRubyQuinn
Silvia Lanfranco | Jewelry
HELLO! I'm Silvia, an Italian designer and artisan of contemporary jewels in love with sustainability since I was a child. I learnt crocheting when I was six years old thanks to my aunt, who used to baby-sit me almost everyday. After artistic studies and 10 years working as a designer in a big fashion industry, I left this world in favor of smaller, sartorial entities where I could unleash my manual attitude and take care of my sustainable project called 'Peekaboo!', born in 2014.
IG: @peekaboo.jewels
Selvanaki- Industree Foundation | Bags
Selvanaki, 39 is a master trainer in the Madurai banana basketry unit. She joined the unit as a weaver and over the course of time has now become a master trainer through the handholding and training curriculums. Dhanalakshmi, 37 is a production supervisor in the Madurai Unit of Industree. She has worked on a variety of designs in the course of time and has grown from a weaver to a production supervisor.
IG: @industreefoundation
Verde Alfieri | Jewelry
Born in Venice, daughter of the well-known art publisher Bruno Alfieri, today she lives and works in Milan. After graphic design studies, since 1990 she has mainly dealt with graphics and communication working for various publishers, and for the family publishing company. Fond of contemporary art and with a rich cultural background, Verde finally approached studio jewellery in 2013 experimenting with materials, then introducing a more physical and sculptural aspect using papers.
IG: @alfierijeweldesign
