Every day, until Christmas Eve, at a light-filled showroom in New York’s East Village, Shane Powers is showing his collection of gorgeous accessories for the home and to wear—most of them designed by him in Nepal, some others the designs of friends.  All of them exquisite.

Pipalbot Outpost Market is located at 604 East 11th Street and is open daily from 11 – 6 through 24 December and by appointment from       28-31 December.  718-594-2324 if you have questions.

Shane uses an alchemist’s magic to transform traditional Nepalese brass hand craft into stunning, modern, table accessories.

And of course there’s cashmere…and more.

It’s all one-of-a-kind and quantities are limited— and you won’t be able to walk away without finding something you didn’t know you couldn’t live without.

My taste in kasuri, or Japanese ikat weaving, is quite narrow, and I tend not to collect many pieces.  I could not help myself when I found this piece, the subject of today’s posting.

I had seen this on a previous trip to Japan and was really intrigued by the rustic beauty of this very simple, resist dyed pattern.  I didn’t buy this piece when I first saw it, but when I returned six months later and saw it again, my mind was made up.

I absolutely love that the pattern is not regular, that the large, white blocks are not perfectly formed and that they have some “skids” of stray indigo dye within them.

I also love the pared-down design, and how it is not reaching to be complex or sophisticated in any way.  In its beautiful, “flawed” simplicity, the appeal of this kasuri futon cover is almost “tribal”, if you get what I mean.

I am not sure if this futon cover was dyed and woven in Kurume (on Kyushu Island) or in Iyo (Matsuyama City on Shikoko Island), however I think this piece probably comes from Kurume. Most definitely the cotton yarn is home spun and the piece is hand woven.  And it is spectacularly beautiful, to my eye, at least.