Seeing the World in a Whole New Way
By this point in May, I'm usually packing my bags for a Memorial Day getaway, planning my itinerary for a Fourth of July vacay, and booking my flights for a Labor Day weekend trip. This year is looking a little different--trying to understand the jargon of city restrictions, checking and rechecking if once popular restaurants have reopened their doors, and asking myself "is this the right thing to do?" I wanted to see the world--and I still do, desperately--but over the past few months I've found a way that helps me to see the world from my sewing room.
When I was on my honeymoon--my last big vacation--in January of 2020, one of our tour guides in Taha'a, French Polynesia, said "I see the world through those I give tours to." This beautiful statement cut through the local Hinano beer I had been drinking all afternoon. What he meant by this was that, though he had never left his side of the world, he experienced other parts of the world by engaging with his customers--France, South Africa, two Cajuns from South Louisiana, and everywhere in between.
This idea took on a whole new meaning for me when the pandemic began two months later. Not only could I no longer see the world, I couldn't experience other cultures through celebrating holidays with my friends from Bangladesh, Guatemala, and China and eating at the hole-in-the-wall Mediterranean, Honduran, and Vietnamese restaurants I love. Now, over a year later, the idea of planning an exotic vacation--or even a not-exotic-at-all-vacation--isn't as easy as it once was. But, with that tour guide's way of thinking, I've been able to find adventure in many places, including in our fabrics.
I'm not outdoorsy, but I love nature. Our huge selection of floral patterns (personal fave: Floral Haze from the CREATIVE CATS collection) allows me to appreciate nature from the comfort of indoors. One of our newest collections, CAMP WOODLAND, takes this to a whole new level. The collection is designed to inspire the sense of nostalgia that Summer Camp brings. Or, if you're like me, the sense of nostalgia that Annie and Hallie's experience of summer camp in The Parent Trap brings.
ANDINA, another one of our newer collections, is the epitome of seeing the world through fabrics. The entire collection is influenced by the culture of those living near the Andes in South America. Incan Tools Charcoal is a geometric design reflecting the tools used by the Incan peoples. The heritage is still rich in this part of the world, mimicking the use of fishing nets and Brown Cotton that we see still used today in Acadiana. On the other hand, Andean Town illustrates the modern life that also exists in this part of the world and looks not so unlike the old houses that you can find throughout New Orleans. Every time I look at ANDINA, I learn something new about the Incan people, but I also recognize how not-so-different their culture is from my own.
While hiking in Palo Duro Canyon last summer, I realized just how true to nature TERRAKOTTA is. The muted colors of Rippling Terrain coupled with the richness of the fabric is a perfect representation of the dried up or flooded rivers and stream that exist and disappear in the canyon throughout the rainy season. Certain shapes in Artisanal Blocks are almost a near replica of The Lighthouse formation that stands above the entire state park. Being from South Louisiana, the thought of beautiful shades of red and browns coloring the earth is hard to imagine, but the hues of TERRAKOTTA remind me of parts of the world that are so unlike my own terrain.
This May, your travel plans may not be exactly as you wanted them to be. With how uncertain the world is nowadays, I've found comfort in things that I can hold on to, especially things that take me away from the moment. I've savored the momentary transportation that my fabrics have brought me over the past few months and will continue to do so. Even once the world is back to normal, I know that I can always find a little getaway in my fabric stash.