Working With Designers

Sanctuary Interior Design Build

I work with numerous designers through the The Loaded Trunk and often get to see the results of their projects. Blankets are re-imagined and re-upholstered into dining chairs. Intricately detailed, vintage skirt bottoms are turned into pillows. Everyday textiles become great pieces of art. Everything is flexible and interchangeable with a designer's vision.

Millar Key West took a bunch of our frazadas and covered dining room chairs for one of their clients. Each chair was slightly different and together, they created a stunning and colorful visual. You can see the chairs in the dining room above. 

Mud cloth is another textile that I often see covering furniture. Geometrics are still trending hot in all areas of design from interiors to fashion to textiles. Mud cloth, especially, is so versatile. While its pattern is detailed and exciting, the neutral, black and cream coloring make it an easy addition to home decor. Below are examples that I've found on Pinterest and various designer blogs. Read about the history of bòlòganfini here and see our entire collection here.

Large Bòlòganfini from The Loaded Trunk

via Design Sponge

HotMoonCollection.com via Pinterest

While I was traveling in Morocco, I had these vintage patchwork kilim rugs made especially for The Loaded Trunk. In its third (and possibly later) iteration, these scraps of patchwork turned this fairly traditional arm chair on its head. Isn't it amazing what a bit of reupholstery can do for furnishings? You can see the entire collection of patchwork kilim rugs here.

Patchwork Kilim Rug by The Loaded Trunk

In addition to all the great designer work I come across, many of my customers send pictures of how you've styled or re-interpreted items from The Loaded Trunk into your homes. I love to see your creativity in styling global home decor in your living spaces. It's anything you can imagine it to be!

A Closer Look at Bògòlanfini (Mud Cloth)

Bògòlanfini, popularly known as mud cloth, is made by the Bamana people of southwestern Mali. The Bamana are a village based society mainly consisting of farmers, though textile artists are one of many “craft castes” that one is born into. Cotton cloth woven into strips by men is decorated in symbolic geometric patterns by women by a several-stage discharge method using mud, bark and vegetable dyes. 

The many stages of dyeing and washing sets the pigment and traditionally was also seen as a way to imbue the cloth with protective power, known as nyama. The cloth was made as wrappers around five feet in length and wrapped around girls to protect them during their initiation ceremonies into adulthood. After this use, it would be presented to the girl’s elderly sponsor, who may be wrapped in at her death to contain the nyama released. Another traditional use was as tunics worn to protect hunters and warriors.

Bògòlanfini created international interest when it was introduced into the fashion design world in the early 1980s by young Malian designer Chris Seydou. Artists continue to update the tradition today, introducing more colors and larger, bolder designs for the local and international market.

I've kept some of the mud cloth as pure textiles, but have turned some into feather-filled pillows. See the entire bògòlanfini collection here.