Tribal Art From Vietnam

There are 53 ethnic minority groups in Vietnam. During my recent visit there I put together a special group of my favorite paper masks from the shamans, new prints from old wood blocks, textile patches from the back of Dao women's coats and handwritten and illustrated book pages from Taoist shaman. They are all rich examples of a few of the tribal groups in Vietnam, showing their traditions have changed little in a century (as documented by comparing photographs taken a century apart) and in most cases many centuries....Here is a favorite spot I go to find these disappearing gems.

Shaman paper masks

Pages from Taoist Shaman book

Contemporary print from a Shaman's Buddhist stamp

Textile patches from the back of Dao women's coats

A journey through time...

Sea Envy

This photo of graffiti was taken by my daughter while walking in Brooklyn today. I would love to have this as a framed piece on my wall. How great is it that anyone can see it though! 

As I have been photographing some of my new things and the weather warms I think of the sea and it's color palate: the blues and greens of the water and the beige and browns of the shells and sand. Living in the middle of the USA, a girl can get sea envy. 

Etching by Thai artist representing water...look for his work later this month 

Wonderful new colors and inspiring designs...Mexican Coverlets 

oh my... new boho bangles...soon

Not your typical day at the beach...India last year

Bragging Rights

Hard work and a little help from your friends!  Three years ago no one would have been able to convince me that owning my own business would be more challenging then being a single parent working full time. When I left my job in the wine business to launch The Loaded Trunk website, I had this pie in the sky idea that I had all the grit it would take to do this, no problem. Fast forward...The Loaded Trunk will be 2 years old in July and employing moi! I do have the grit, but when your freinds warn you how steep the mountain is you are about to climb, listen!

So it is with pride that I get to grin and blow on my knuckles and brush them against my chest in an old fashion "oh yeah" way: Here are what some of my peers are saying about The Loaded Trunk...

The favorite Crocodile stapler

Thai dishes recalling the Sukhothai period

Pretty + functional best selling Bali Baskets

The Age Old Art of Recycling Textiles

"The green or up-cycled trend isn’t a twenty-first century and politically correct development. In fact, throughout time and across cultures people have reconfigured threadbare or worn fabric because of their value and they were reused often for practical, aesthetic and even symbolic purposes. This month and until January 2012, The Textile Museum in Washington, DC explores and presents diverse examples of re-purposed textiles in "Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of Recycling Textiles." I am quoting a recent article from HandEye Magazine written by Rebeca Schiller. It references one of my favorite and more intimate settings for exhibiting textiles and validates what we textile junkies who travel the globe or those who are armchair travelers and collectors already know. During these tumultuous times, too many of these places have become difficult to travel to. Each time I travel I hear from locals how rare old pieces are to find.

Check out these new textile finds from my last trip that might call out to you! You know who you are.

Border from Laos tube skirt
(frame it or use is at a do it yourself project for pillows!)

Hmong Pillow, Northern Thailand

Wonderful Coverlets pieced together with Hmong weaving + batik+applique work

Vintage textiles from Vietnam + Hemp pillows

These fabulous extra large bags are all one of a kind with indigo batik + vintage Hmong embroidery
(pictures by the loaded trunk)