The Dress Diary: Secrets from a Woman’s Wardrobe by Kate Strasdin Fashion historian Kate Strasdin was given a book, which appeared to be someone’s scrapbook (literally). It’s an old album of fabric swatches from the very middle of the 19th century—from 1838-1890—which the giver found at a flea market in 1960. Historians are drawn to collections. …
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Intelligent Hands: why making is a skill for life by Charlotte Abrahams & Katy Bevan This examination into numerous places where craft and hand work is alive, well and serving people of all kinds is strictly British—beginning with a discussion of tacit knowledge as well as the purpose of practice and repetition of tasks in …
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Radical Fiber: Threads Connecting Art and Science edited by Rebecca McNamara Imagine you’re holding a knitted mass of colorful yarns. As you turn it over in your hands, the genius of this anatomical model called Knitted Brain #2 begins to reveal itself. Tightly coiled fibers represent sections of the brain with greater cellular density, while …
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Dressing With Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia edited by Carrie Hertz The full cover of Dressing With Purpose is a photo of what appears to be a celebratory procession, prominently featuring flags of Norway and Sápmi, the Sámi people’s land. All the participants appear to be wearing culturally significant clothing. This image begs questions: …
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The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the right Thing to Black Panther by Ruth E. Carter It seems to me that the debate of form versus function might be an eternal struggle for a costume designer. One might love the look of a costume, but will it …
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Wild Textiles: Grown, Foraged, Found by Alice Fox You would be forgiven in assuming Wild Textiles to be a “how to/field guide,” were you simply perusing. It is both more and less than that. Minimal instruction or directions are given, with the exception of a lengthy discussion on nettles. Wild Textiles is, however, a powerful …
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We had another lovely year of reviews to add to our ever-growing collection for the SDA Book Club. 2023’s reviews included recurring authors Faith Hagenhofer and Vivien Zepf, with the addition of Zia Gipson, who joined us in the summer and will be reviewing more books to come in 2024. Here’s a combined list of …
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Spirituality of Rust: A Sacred Language of Iron Through Art by Rio Wrenn Depending on who you talk to, you can get some pretty heated or positive thoughts on rust. To some, it shows unsightly wear and tear and needs to be removed. To others, like author Rio Wrenn, it is a conduit for creative …
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100 Amulets by Susan Ball Faeder Omamori are pocket-sized good luck charms sold in Japanese shrines and temples that convey wishes and protection. In 2019, Susan Ball Faeder created her own collection of omamori–inspired amulets as part of The 100 Day Project. Her time as high school exchange student in a small Japanese village had set …
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Unraveling: What I learned about life while shearing sheep, dyeing wool, and making the world’s ugliest sweater by Peggy Orenstein Fortunately for SDA review readers and writers, the book topics we encounter are familiar: Review readers of Surface Design Journal have immense curiosity and some knowledge—passing as well as deep—about all things textiles. So talk …
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