As we’re in late summer, I thought I’d show a luscious stack of indigo dyed hemp kaya, or traditional Japanese mosquito netting.

I won’t say much about it today; I think the photos and the hyperlinks say it all.Stay cool!

I recently had the good fortune to have been offered a fantastic collection of Rajasthani textiles.  Over the years I have seen many, and very often I felt they looked so familiar that they didn’t provoke a strong reaction from me.This group floored me.  The age, the condition and the rich, deep colors were something of a revelation.   Look at these marvelous, broodingly dark backdrops to the little shimmering drops of mirror work.They are all roughly between 40 – 70 years old and each is in mint condition: beads are all intact, mirrors are not cracked or none of the threads are loose.  But not only that, the detailed stitching is done with a kind of expertise that you have to see firsthand to really appreciate.I love the darkness of these.They are sitting on a stitched cotton prayer mat from Rajasthan’s Muslim Said community: the stitch which looks so familiar to Japanese eyes, the kaki no hana or persimmon flower, is called kambira.I have acquired more than I’m showing on this post today.  I’m looking forward to hanging them all in the showroom and making a display which will best showcase their intricate and glimmering beauty.  They look marvelous when seen together.