Spring to Summer Stripes

Fun stripes and warm colors that will take you from spring to summer!

1 // Turkish Hammam Towels  $59

2 // Batik Marmalade Spoons  $12/each

3 // Marta Jute Indigo Clutch  $49

4 // Rope Dyed Pillow (Deep Coral)  $89

Amp Up a Neutral Home with Boho Style

 

Sometimes adding color and patterns to a neutral home can be intimidating. What if bright colors clash with your existing interiors or the mishmash of patterns don't work together? The best way to learn is through experimentation. Try different things and if you love it, then it works. Simple as that! But if you need a little bit more guidance for adding a touch of boho to your otherwise neutral home, here are some tips that might be helpful.

Layer vibrant colors with a more neutral color, but play around with patterns. In the image above, we've completely changed the look of this couch by covering it with a hot pink Moroccan pom pom blanket. Then we softened and cozied up the space with a bunch of pillows in varying shades of blue. The patterns are all different, but the blue holds it all together.

 

Colorful throws make a sitting area seem more inviting while adding life to your space. We took one of our zinc baskets and flipped it upside down for a makeshift table to hold the Yoruba Ceremonial Crown. Mixing finishes and adding detailed, tactile pieces like the beaded crown adds subtle interest while the blue indigo throw draws your eye in and adds a nice pop of color to an otherwise neutral space.

Start small and work in objects that are neutral but interesting. This architectural stone from India is a perfect accent for a stack of books. Against a soft gray wall, the altar adds warmth and dimension to a flat space.

Don't be afraid of mixing finishes and different textures. These traditional off-white arm chairs make a perfect backdrop for any pillow. To stay with a more traditional look, we chose a pair of our velvety ikat pillows from Uzbekistan. A sheepskin rug will keep your toes warm and we echoed the brown from the rug with a similar-colored throw.

Be adventurous in your decorating and keep trying new things. Share your style with us on Facebook or leave a comment and link to your blog to show us what you've done!

P.S. We added a hidden link to all of the products featured just for our blog readers. You can see it here.

Empowering Women Through Business

Celebrating gender equality and women's empowerment on International Women's Day has been observed since the early 1900s but it wasn't designated as an international holiday by the United Nations until 1975. Today, thousands of IWD events are held all over the world every year on March 8. As International Women's Day approaches, I've been reflecting on how the women I've met during my travels have impacted my life and my business. Without their strength, ingenuity and creativity, I wouldn't be able to live my dream. 

I have my parents to thank for my view point on life. Growing up internationally and having lived in a family that embraces the culture, arts and crafts from each country we lived influences much of what I do. My entire life I was surrounded by eclectic, global people, food and objects. That was a gift and it gave me an innate head start. I have been introduced to the nuances of collecting and buying for my business by so many people that to give one name of who has influenced me most would be impossible.

Over the years, however, I've partnered with a wonderfully diverse group of women throughout my travels. But in many countries, it is a matter of culture that women do not work out front. Make no mistake, they are present and integral to the art, craftsmanship and detail work that you see represented by what I've brought back, but they are often in the background.

A New Year + Our Look Book

With the start of every year, there's the clean-slate feeling that allows us to dream about doing more and being better – at work, at home, with family, friends. Each year seems to fly by in a flash because we're all so busy, busy, busy. For 2014, I'm going to slow it down and appreciate achievements from last year instead of zooming ahead to figure out what I'm doing next.

One of my proudest achievements from 2013 is the publication of my first-ever digital catalogue for The Loaded Trunk. I often received emails from designers asking for a catalogue so I put it on my to-do list. Months would go by, I'd get more emails and then it would be shelved again. Not exactly business savvy. Working with my team, I finally made it a priority and am so happy to share it with you.

Although catalogues showcase the exact same items on the website, it's helpful to see things with other things for reference to scale and just as importantly, for style inspiration. Links are active and will take you directly to the item you're browsing. You can see the catalogue in its entirety here.

Below are some of my favorite spreads from the catalogue. All photography with additional styling by Sharon Gottula.

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!

Bag It Up

Several of The Loaded Trunk textiles go through transformations before they arrive in the shop. Blankets and wall hangings turn into pillows. Throws become table runners. The fabrics are just so beautiful I hate to see them only live one life. A side result from these projects is tons of fabric scrap. With the holidays just around the corner, I decided to dust off my sewing machine and turn those scraps into drawstring bags. They're perfect for just about anything and the bag is almost a gift in itself.

Even though it's been months, maybe years, since I last touched my machine (I actually had to clean an embarrassing amount of dust off it), it did kind of feel like riding a bicycle. Frustrating until your brain starts clicking and things fall into place again. I used this tutorial as a refresher and this one is good too.

Although I know this isn't the right way to do it, I didn't really measure. Depending on the fabric scrap, I just made sure to give myself enough room for the drawstring at the top of the bag. The little one on the end I modified to create a flap since the pattern begged for it and added a snap enclosure.

The blue bag was large enough to hold two bottles (perfect for wines, vinegars, etc). It measures 9-inches wide by 16-inches high. The medium-sized bag holds one bottle and measures 5.5-inches wide by 12.5-inches high. These are both final sizes. Just add about a half inch to these measurements for the inseam. I just strung simple twine through top, but you can jazz it up with ribbon if you have it.

My favorite of the three bags is this little tiny one. It's the perfect size for a wine key and stopper or a bar of deliciously scented soap.

Stay tuned for more projects featuring these scrap fabrics!

Style to Spare

The Loaded Trunk / photography by Sharon Gottula

With the kids definitely off for college by now, that may mean a spare room in the house....for a little while at least. It's so easy to let that extra space become a cluttered storage area, isn't it? Instead of shutting the door to the madness and ignoring it, this could be the chance to turn that room into a colorful retreat! Here are some of my favorite things to do when I am rearranging the (rare) empty spaces in my own home:

via Bold, Bright & Beautiful

1. Fill a wall with books. The best and easiest way to escape is through the pages of book. No matter how many pretty pictures you can see on the internet, nothing transports you into other worlds, cultures, stories and lives like books can. Mix it up with travel magazines and photo albums too. Guests will love peeking through all of these.

The Loaded Trunk / photography by Sharon Gottula

2. Pile on the color, pattern and texture. If the rest of your home is a different style, who cares? Make this room fun to be in. Hang a beautiful rug on the wall. Layer them under foot. Surround yourself with an avalanche of pillows. Make sure there are plenty of warm throws to snuggle under. No matter what you pick, it will be perfect and cosy.

3. Add a comfy chair or couch. Because you can't be laying around in bed all day. Well, you can, but a couch gives you an alternative lounging option. :)

Elle Decor

4. Show off your collections. Sometimes all the pieces you've been picking up need a dedicated space. Grouping them makes a bold and interesting statement.

5. Try a low bed. In a lot of cultures, sleeping on or low to the ground is the norm. Give it a go, it might give you a whole new perspective to relaxing.

Have fun redecorating your spare room and good luck on keeping it all to yourself!

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.