FROM CLAUDIA.

Received from Claudia in Austria, February 4th.

I like looking at other creative peoples blogs and this is how I found Claudia, also know as Wide Eyed Tree. I invited Claudia to participate in my little projects of textile letters, and luckily for me she accepted.
Claudia makes many nice things, among others crochet rugs, pretty envelopes and so amazing hand-carved stamp or stempel. These I am really in love with. Here you can see the work from Wide Eyed.

Claudia is a graphic designer and she knew since childhood she wanted to be creative and work with her hands.

The beautiful letter from Claudia full of Spring colors. Lovely!

This envelop and card is special, it is not that big, but it is so pretty.

A card and envelop made by Claudia with tea pots. I love the two light pink colors she have used in this design. When opening the envelop the logo of Wide Eyed comes, what a wonderful detail.

Another beautiful envelop by Andy Warhol.

Inside the envelop the colorfull card with greetings from Claudia.

A piece of textile full of Spring and happiness and a black/white card. I simple love the motif.

Dear Claudia, thank you so much for your amazing letter full of treasuries. Your envelop is hanging in my studio. I am so happy I have found somebody who likes moo minicard as much as myself.

FROM HERMINE.

Received from Hermine in Belgium, January 27.

My first textile letter ever have I received from Hermine from JOURNAL DE JOURS and now she has sent me one more. Right now Hermine is part of an exhibition at Huis van Alijn.
Hermine is a textile designer and she is working with so many fantastic and amazing projects. You can see some of her photos here.
The textile letter is divided into two. First part is Hermine's Words for Strangers project which I am now part of.

There is a little color theme; BLUE like indigo, which I love.
Hermine must some how know that I like the Boucherouite rags from Morocco, as the little card with red is one of these. Thank you.

The Words for Strangers project.
Hermine have send me this little package with notes, and some of them are empty for my own words. I am going to hang them on bikes, like she do, and take photos and send them back to her.

Pretty "old" photos from Huis van Alijn. I remember these kind of photos and have seen them in my grandmothers photo albums when I were a child. The white edge with the little zig zag reminds of the old times.

The second part of the textile letter was for me so touching and in a way it also took me  back in time.
First a little sample of Hermine's weaving in blue and white.



Hermine have found a book full of old bobin lace and so sweet as she is, she thought of me and sended me these beautiful pieces. Actually they are more than beautiful, pretty and amazing. They take me into another world of happiness.

They touched me, as my grandmother taught me to do bobin lace when I were 14 years. I still remember the evenings when I sat in her living room and she learned me how to do the spiders web. Later on when she became older she could not remember how to make it, and then it was me who had to help her to make the spiders web. It is because of this; bobin lace I am fascinated by the gauze weaving.

Dear Hermine, as I know you love cats a lot (from your photos), I am sending you a little sneak peak of my wonderful cat Osvald. He loves sleeping like here and he is now 14 years old. We have shared so many good things together, and he have always been there for me even when I have been sad. He is very special to me, so therefore this photo is for you.

Thank you so much for this so amazing letter. You already know how much it means to me with the bobinlace. These I will hang in my studio, as I like beeing surrounded by beautiful things that is close to my heart.

FROM JOY.

Received from Joy in USA, January 21.

A beautiful textile letter have come to me.
Joy lives in Colorado near the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her husband Brian and two children; Ian and Cora. She have been weaving since 2006.

Joy sended me a lot of beautiful items and I have made a little selection here.
The scarf to the left is in silk and Joy have handdyed it with onion skins.

In the fall Joy visited Japan with her husband and the white ribbon flowers is from there. It almost looks like a bracelet together with the two others I wear.

A woven sample from a scarf in Tsumuguto silk by Avril made by Joy in color effect. I really like this kind of weaving.

Beautiful recycled silk yarns. The colors are so fascinating.

The letter from Joy with two small handmade flowers.

Small buttons from Mongolia. These are used to be put on there traditional clothes. When I shake them, they make a beautiful sound.

Dear Joy, thank you so much for your textile letter.

FROM MARE.

Received from Mare in Estonia, December 27.

Tuesday this week I received a very interesting textile letter from Mare Kelpman. I met Mare the first time (I think) at the ETN conference in Izmir-Turkey in 2005. My memory is not always that good when it comes to where I have met some of my designer/artist friends around the world.
What I do remember is that we met again this year at the Tech Textile Fair in Frankfurt in May. The world of textile is small.
Here you can find a little portfolio of Mare's amazing work.

Mare is a Professor, textile designer and researcher and is head of the Estonoan Art Academy textile design department in Tallin.

This inspires Mare;
Freedom. I grew up by the sea. The sea lay just beyond our garden. That unexplainable feeling of dreams and the freedom of thought produced by being near the sea has carried me throughout my life. To be creative I need freedom. I cannot work in oppressive conditions whether they be conditions of time, space or mind.
Music – I often leave the concert hall not remembering the pieces performed, but many a textile idea the richer.
Architecture, painting, fashion.
On the one hand, I am inspired by a clean, clear aesthetic – "less is more". On the other hand, abundance and luxuriousness – more and more and more.
Love, peace, my inner need to work.
Social awareness – this aspect I mostly apply when I teach.
Students.
I am happy when I see development, wonderful results, the growth of an interesting, talented and hardworking creator.
Folk art – the use of old and forgotten techniques in a new way.
Materials, innovative techniques.

The letter I have got from Mare is full of treasuries.

Her businesscard is so delicate and I am so much in love with the flower, which stands out so it becomes a little 3-D.

Two pieces of lasercut.

This is part of Mare's collection of 3-D textiles made in 2003. 

Detail of the 3-D textiles, woven in wool and felted.

Another 3-D textile in black and white, my favorite colors.
Front and back, also woven in wool and felted. This one is so soft.

A beautiful card.

Mare was awarded in 2003 with Textile Artist of the Year from Aasta Tekstiilikunstik.

Origami paper with Mare's pattern on. Pretty.

It makes me want to start folding paper again.

Necklace in lasercut lace. It is so delicate and fragile. I am in love with it and is going to wear it tomorrow for New Years evening.
Mare calls it the HULA HULA collection.

Little tag of the HULA HULA collection.

The beautiful letter, all together.
Dear Mare, I want to thank you for this amazing textile letter you send me.

FROM STEPHANIE.

Received from Stephanie in Japan, December 19.

I love sitting and looking at blogs and items on etsy and this is how I met Stephanie. She has this unique shop full of Japanese vintage and antique treasures, called FurugiStar and I love it.
Just now I have been sitting and going through her etsy page and I am so much in love with this peasant coat.
If you want to read more about FurugiStar, Stephanie have a fantastic blog and her beautiful photos can be seen here.

Stephanie says this about her passion:
"My shop, FurugiStar, specialises in Japanese antiques and vintage items found in and around Tokyo.
I love spending time in antique shops and markets here in Japan and my Etsy page gives me a great excuse to buy the lovely things I find.
I am interested in boro and antique noragi (collectible Japanese farming wear)."

When oppening my mailbox today I found this amazing and lovely textile letter, all the way from Tokyo to me.

Stephanie told me that my invitation to participate into my textile letters inspired her to create a photobook. She has combined light, colors and textures of autumn scenes with textiles. Autumn is "Aki" in Japanese.

She choose the Ginko leaf "tenugui" as a theme. I don't know how, but Stephanie must be able to read my mind, eventhough we have never met in person.
Ginko is one of my favorite leafs. Before moving to Copenhagen to study textile design at the Danish Design School I worked 1½ year for Jette Nevers, a textile designer here in Denmark. At the time she were doing some new developments for Georg Jensen Damask and she had made a drawing of the Ginko leaf. This one she asked me to work with.

Two pages in the photobook by FurugiStar with the beautiful Ginko leafes turning yellow together with an antique textile.

Here, a page of boro textiles from an exhibition together with Ginko leafes. I really love boro, as I see it as a result of a whole life putted into one piece of textiles.
I myself is the happy owner of a sashiko back and also a Saki-ori.

This is a "omiage", a gift with the beautiful Ginko leaf "tunugui".

Stephanie also included four antique, vintage woven textiles into the letter. I am so happy for these, especially because they are in indigo and white, beautiful colors together.
The one in blue-green to the left is in silk, at first glance it looks like a plain weave, but when looking closer you can see a twill, it is so beautiful. Stephanie says it reminds her of seaweed and 1950's upholstery. It is probably from the mid-century, Showa era. A beautiful piece.
The kasuri piece to the right is machine woven. I so much love double kasuri like this piece. It dates back to early Showa era.

Detail of the above.

Two white in white samples.
The one to the left is in cotton for a obi linning, which is found inside a Meiji era obi (over 100 years old). Fantastic. I love the texture of the thread.
The one to the left is in silk called "Mawata tsumugi"; homespun raw silk and handwoven. It was intended for a high quality kimono.

Here you can see the fluffy cotton on the back. It is so rustic and raw.
All of the textiles is avaiable in the FurugiStar shop at etsy.

Stephanie also send me four photos. She writes she lives in an area of Tokyo with antique, vintage clothes shops together with tiny "antique" cinemas.
One of her favorite things to do, at the end of a busy day, is to go to one of these war-era theaters.

The seats are old and creaky.
I come from a little town and perhaps 15 years ago the local cinema change all of there seats and the old one, probably from the 1950 were put for sale. My parents bought some and I have had these in my appartment. One day I will have them fixed.

Stephanie's beautiful card.

Dear Stephanie, I want to thank you for your lovely textile letter and letting me get to know a little bit of you and your life. As you know I love Japan and I hope to be back for a visit one day again. Perhaps we will meet.

FROM CECA.

Received from Ceca in Bulgaria, December 12.

I met Ceca in Graz, Austria in 2006 where we both were invited by Renate Maak, to represent ouer country as exhibitors and speakers at the International Tapestry Symposium.
Ceca is represented at the wellknown browngrotta arts gallery.
You can purchase Ceca's beautiful bracelets at etsy and follow her process and work at her blog.

Ceca says this about her work;
"Working with natural materials not only brings me joy but also much wisdom. In even the smallest piece of grass there is incorporated history, meaning and purpous. I constantly marvel nature. I admire and learn from her genius "installation" of design, color, smell and light ...
It is a great challenge to enter in her laboratory and to be able to add my own thing."

I am now the happy owner of a unique bracelet made from Ceca. This is just one of the amazing things she sended me in her textile letter. 

It is made of cotton cord embroidered and putted together with oak acorn. Absolutely amazing.

The datails is stunning.

Even the packing were one of a kind. It was wrapped inside the letter with Ceca's handwriting on.

I always get so excited when receiving a textile letter, that I often forget to take a first picture of the envelop before opening.
Inside the letter was three small papers put together; photos of "The Garden -installation".  

Made out of pressed petals and leafs, a kind of room dividers were made. The light have many possibilities for playing.

Another project is "Textile in Nature" eco-art symposium founded by Ceca Georgieva in 1994. This land art is beautiful.

Dear Ceca, I want to thank you for this amazing presents. When I open the package at the postoffice I got so happy.
I look forward to wear it on Christmas evening and afterwards I will have it at my studio, so I can treasure it every day.