Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World by Victoria Finlay I’m so engrossed in Victoria Finlay’s new book, Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World, that I’m wondering, will she get firsthand knowledge about barkcloth without the benefit of fifteen bodyguards and a helicopter? I don’t notice my bumpy flight until water slops …
Read More »
The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives by Barbara Burman & Ariane Fennetaux I finished this book while having to pack a carry-on bag for a weekend away, and wished I had the sartorial accessories of pockets, as discussed in this book. They would have been very handy for holding my book, headphones, knitting …
Read More »
Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser Organized by fiber type, Worn is absolutely a history of clothing, but to be more precise, a history of its manufacture, and the labor therein. These intersections allow Thanhauser to explore firsthand this attribute of being human—our need for clothing and what it means for those …
Read More »
The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver by Tommye McClure Scanlin In his artist statement in the 1988 World Tapestry Today exhibition catalog, Archie Brennan wrote that tapestry is a frequently boring 20th century activity (1). Author and tapestry artist Tommye McClure Scanlin concedes the point. She notes it can be boring when …
Read More »
Resilient Stitch: Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Arts by Claire Wellesley-Smith What great fortune to encounter a book aimed at resilience in my field (hand crafting) at this very moment! I resisted reading this book quickly. I also chose not to read it over multiple days, preferring to find one good stretch of time and …
Read More »
Collaboration Through Craft edited by Amanda Ravetz, Alice Kettle, and Helen Felcey One thing that signals success in a work (or collection of works, as this is) is the degree to which it sends me to its footnotes and source materials. In other words, does it excite me to look further? This collection of sixteen essays, …
Read More »
Enchanted Worlds: The Visionary Collages and Art Couture of Amy Zerner by Monte Farber I’m a little freaked out. I’m staring at page 103, at a King of Wings/The Professional Tarot card that makes me think of Shakespeare. It’s from The Enchanted Love Tarot, one of the many collaborative projects created by Amy Zerner and …
Read More »
This month’s addition to the SDA Book Club comes to us from SDA’s Advertising and Outreach Manager, Katie Taylor. The Draught Book by Jeremiah Fielding, 1775 (edited by Pat Foster, Janey Dunbar and Lynne Harper) The Draught Book by Jeremiah Fielding takes the reader on a trip back in time to explore a variety of …
Read More »
Our first entry for 2022 into SDA’s Book Club is Fashionopolis, reviewed by Faith Hagenhofer! Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas If a person is adept at seeing the Big Picture we say they are cosmopolitan. When someone has a ubiquitous knowledge of their city we may …
Read More »
This year, we were so lucky to have a wide range of books reviewed for SDA’s Book Club by contributing authors, Faith Hagenhofer, Vivien Zepf, and D Wood. Here’s a combined list of all the reviews, as well as where to purchase each book. A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color …
Read More »