FROM ALESSANDRA.

Received from Alessandra in Italy, April the 13.

I have got a letter full of Spring, thanks to Alessandra.
Alessandra is a woman of many talents. She is a freelance stylist and journalist and have the most amazing blog; Design your life. I love following it, as the photos of her HARU is so beautiful and fragile in the same time.

If you are interested you can find Alessandra's beautiful items on her etsy shop. This is what she writes:
"This is a little place where you can find pretty and lovely things: buttons, vintage treasures, jewels, greeting cards and other handmade things. ▲ NOW ON SALE: a little selection of vintage jewelry; accessories and pincushions handmade with new, vintage and second-hand fabrics, hand crocheted jewels, vintage buttons. ▲ COMING SOON: others vintage necklaces and buttons garlands".

I have just come across the design files blog where Alessandra have been a guest blogger last year during the Milan Design Week; Walking through Milan. It is such a wonderful blogpost. Love it!

My pretty letter full of Spring.

Alessandra wrotes me the most nice letter, on a brown piece of paper. Here in Denmark we call it  "kardus papir". They way the whole letter is put together is very nice and I like this kind of old fashion way in a new way.

She likes: nordic europe - snow - dried leafs - japan - analogic photos - polaroid's - flowers and spring - handmade jewels - vintage button's - looms - origami - old typewriter's - cherry blossom - haiku - cappuccino - recycled paper - have a dinner with friends - travelling - textiles and fabrics - vintage - walk with nude feet - winter sea - sewing - chigno's - music - basic clothes - my daughter anna - my fiancè luca - design - creme fraiche - handmade bread

Old vintage buttons. On one side is mother of pearl and on the other side there is a little touch of green.

An old thimble with flowers together with two tiny button's.

My own polaroid HARU photo. So fragile.

Dear Alessandra, I want to thank you for your pretty letter. Instead of hanging something from your letter in my studio, I am going to sew your beautiful vintage button's onto a cardigan I have, as I really adore these mother of pearl button's.

FROM ANNELIES & CHRIS, OUR STRANGE NATURE.

Received from Annelies & Chris, ala Our Strange Nature in Belgium, April the 10.

I have got a new fantastic letter.
I invited Annelies & Chris, a couple from the amazing blog Our Strange Nature. Annelies have studied French and Russian and is right now studying to become a landscaping architect. Chris have a background in illustration as a graphic designer.

I really like following there blog as every post is interesting. Also they have a little collection of things they have done together like; Arts and Crafts, Projects, Trips ect. On a trip they even went to Denmark. Later this year Annelies is going to Peru, so I will send her some travel tips as I have been there several times, I even got married in Lima.

The envelop itself were a piece of art.
Annelies & Chris had made it out of fabric, so amazing and fantastic. I think they were both very happy when I received it, as it were the first time they have ever made an envelop like this.
On the backside the letter were neatly sewn together. So beautiful.

My beautiful letter.
I always find it exciting to opening a new letter.

In the buttom to the right there is a sneak peak of a postcard from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. I don't know how, but they must know that I last year went to Amsterdam too, to visit the Van Gogh Museum.

Annelies have a community garden and she likes spending almost every Sundays there for growing vegetables and flowers.
I have a little balcony where I will plant my ruculla seeds and I already look forward to all the summer salads.

Old Belgium stamps.

Some of Chris' drawings and patterns. I like them and the one to the right reminds me of all the stitching in my embroidery work.

Part of an old book and the streets of Gent.

Dear Annelies & Chris, I want to thank you for your amazing letter to me. I'm going to hang Chris' drawings in my studio.

FROM DONATELLA.

Received from Donatella in Italy, April the 7.

Donatella is a weaver like me and we have so much in common, these are the first words from Doni's delis blog: handweaving, textiles and yarns, scandinavian design. Thats us!
Donatella have send me a textile letter which is like a book, made out of fabric, full of bits and pieces from her life.

Donatella's loom and a beautiful old lamp. It looks like a Bauhaus lamp to me, lovely!!

This piece of lace is so amazing and it has belonged to Donatella's Grandmother. I am so happy that it's now mine.

Donatella started weaving in 2001 and she knew from the beginning it would become a big passion. This is a very early sample from her.

This is a piece of fabric from a special time in Donatella's life, when she were studied handwoven textile design in Bradford in the UK.
It's a sample for a double weaving project used as inspiration. She used the painter Hundertwasser as inspiration.

Here is a piece of fabric which is from Naj Oleari, a famous brand in Italy in the 1980's. When Donatella were a girl it was used as a skirt. Now, much faded, but still beautiful -it's a laundry bag that she takes with her wherever she go.
I like the idea of re-designing and this woven piece is so amazing, both in colors but also the way it has been woven, a little bit like a double cloth.

When Donatella get leftovers from thick handwovens, she likes to felt them into small shapes like leaves, hearts, flowers and then she uses them as decoration. What a nice idea.

Dear Donatella, I want to thank you for your lovely textile book you have made for me. The woven sample from Naj Oleari will I put on my studio wall.

FROM OLGA.

Received from Olga in Russia, March the 29.

My textile letter from Olga is so amazing.
Eventhough I don't really know Olga in person face-to-face, there is something about her letter to me and her blog which reminds me of each other, and this is why I think I have got to know Olga even more than a face-to-face meeting.
Olga's blog and her letterwriting is so fragile and I'm so happy to get to know her.

My letter from Olga.

Olga have a White Room, where you can purchase her fantastic jewellry and her prints of watercolor work. Here is an iris and I have putted it together with a perlehyacint, thats what we called in Danish. I think they goes nicely together.

In Danish this little bird is called a Gulspurv. Also a print of a watercolor from Olga's shop. I think the details in the watercolor is so beautiful and it's like I can touch the little bird.

A pretty little blockprint.

Solid colors are so beautiful light.

This blue indigo and white cotton fabric is usually used as towels in the trains of Russia. Simpel, but still so classic!

A little note from Olga to me!!

Olga have been collecting tapes for a long time, and here is a little collection.

These two are my favorites. Especially the simpel white one with the black stripe in a 3-d effect would look nice on a dress.

Full of Spring and happiness. These tapes are so amazing.

Dear Olga, thank you for your fragile textile letter to me, your little bird will soon be hanging at my studio.

FROM LISA.

Received from Lisa in Belgium, March the 24.

I have got a new fantastic letter from Lisa, who is a graphic designer. I invited Lisa to take part of my projects of textile letters.
If Lisa were a textile designer she would like to create very bright colored and geometric patterns.

My letter from Lisa. I love the different kinds of envelopes with tape or a little dot on it.

Lisa send me this little drawing on a card of a birds wing. Really lovely.

In the letter there were alle these pretty buttoms in plastic and I truly love them. I collect buttoms, so this was a very nice gift. Thank you!

I like the way old buttons have been sewn onto, often, a brown piece of hard paper. The details of this one is outstanding.

In the letter from Lisa she included two postcards of textile designs.
To the left it's Lieke van Opstal and to the right Elise Broekaert. They textiles are both woven and the textile to the left are pleats. I like the idea.

Lisa's card. She writes on a little ps note, that when she was a kid and grew up, she were living in the Prinses Charlottestraat, same street as me today.

Dear Lisa, thank you so much for your lovely letter.

FROM AMANDA.

Received from Amanda in Canada, March the 24.

I have just got this oh so fine letter from Amanda. She wrote to me, wanting to be part of my textile letter exchange.

Part of the letter from Amanda.

The card merges that Amanda went to school for photography. The card is made with an old doily. Amanda have used the cyanotype process, a technique from the 1830's that creates a blue image using 2 liquids (chemicals) that become light-sensitive when, mixed together. The doily, in this case acted as a "negative".

This is such an amazing present. Thank you!

There is so many fantastic details in the letter from Amanda. This is one of them. On the card she have printed / stamped 18 MAR 2012. I would love to be able to find these stamps myself.

I love this idea. Fabric ends!!
Just like Amanda, I too like the circles with the different colors of inkdye.

Here is a polaroid of the first dress Amanda have ever sewed. She still wears it. The fabric end of "Fresh paint by Michele Dámore for Marcus" is the textile Amanda have sewn the dress from.

On the envelope "textile letter inside" were written. Such a beautiful detail. I'm in love with it.

Dear Amanda, I want to thank you for your delicate letter to me. I will put the fabric ends and your beautiful handmade card up in studio.