Native Agent from Aotearoa

Tags

Bedding, Blankets, culture, Cushions, Interior design, Madeleine Albright, Maori, Māori language, Native Agent, New Zealand, Russell Crowe, Shopping, Surface Design, Textile Design

Cushions by Native Agent
(Image from Native Agent)

God bless America. God save the Queen. God defend New Zealand and thank Christ for Australia. (Russell Crowe)

For a wee blogger who originates from the land of the long white cloud, I really don’t feature nearly enough New Zealand artisans. And, there is so much talent to choose from.

Given the Olympics are currently on, and I’m feeling just a touch patriotic, I thought it might be appropriate to introduce you to the beautiful textiles from Native Agent that are so very Kiwi.

I’ve never been to New Zealand before. But one of my role models, Xena, the warrior princess, comes from there. (Madeleine Albright)

Dan Mace Intaglio Etching
35 x 25cm, edition of 10
NZ$125 unframed
(Image from Native Agent)

In 2004, artist Rona Ngahuia Osborne, graphic designer Dan Mace, and business manager extraordinaire Lindsay Mace joined forces and launched the Native Agent brand.

During 2010 Lindsay became very ill and the trio closed the doors on their Kingsland store to focus on her care. They continued to sell Native Agent products through selected retail partners, and began to develop the online side of the business. Sadly, in 2011 Lindsay passed away but the Native Agent brand continues.

Rona’s creative handiwork is central to the Native Agent aesthetic. Inspired by the meeting of Māori and Pakeha cultures in New Zealand’s colonial past, she creates woolen blankets (my favourites), cushions, linen and clothing that have earned a place in many hearts, and many homes.

In 19th century New Zealand, Native Agents were representatives of the crown. They were fluent in the Māori language and therefore able to advocate for, and assist Māori, with land transactions and other matters of law. Dan is a descendant of a Native Agent, so this title seemed an appropriate name for their venture, an agency where the best ‘native’ New Zealand design could be showcased to the world.

Rona’s work is rich in symbolism, weaving together stories that reflect her family’s history, stories of the blending of blood lines and the coming together of people and culture. Woolen blankets were common items of trade between European settlers and Māori, so it is fitting that they form the foundation for many of her works. She adorns them with layers of shape, colour and iconography representative of New Zealand’s cultural history and symbols of the natural world.

Many of the defining themes in the work that Rona creates as Native Agent make historical references to land struggles that led to conflict and war, the trading of muskets and blankets for land, and the extinction of native flora and fauna. These struggles are as relevant today as they were at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Pair of Native Agent ‘Aroha’ Pillowslips
Aroha is the Māori word for love
NZ$115.00 p/pair
(Image from Native Agent)

Native Agent Aotearoa Tiki Trade Cushion
Aotearoa is the Māori word for New Zealand (Land of the long white cloud)
Standard size 40x 40cm
Made from new wool, with hemp wool or cotton applique and embroidery. The images depicted in this collection are icons from Aotearoa’s colonial and tribal history, our natural history and treasures.
NZ$190.00
(Image from Native Agent)

Native Agent Whare Taonga Blanket – ‘Te Ringa’
Whare Taonga is Māori for treasure-house
Created for ‘Whare Taonga’ at the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui. This show is on display until the end of June – Available for delivery after the exhibition comes down.
Made from recycled woollen blankets and new wool, machine embroidery, and hand applique using silk, cotton and wool. Backed with a hard wearing black cotton canvas.
NZ$1,200.00
(Image from Native Agent)

The Native Agent website is lovely – go check it out (here) even if you don’t want to purchase.

Ronel Jordaan’s Felt Feels Fabulous…

Tags

Africa, Art and Craft, craft, Felt, Felting, Fibre Art, Johannesburg, Jordaan, Ronel Jordaan, Social Responsibility, South Africa, Textile Design, Wool

Ronel Jordaan’s Wool Rock Pillows
(Image from here)

Can you imagine making these incredible lifelike AND seamless rock pillows from felt?

Ronel Jordaan is an internationally recognised award-winning felt artist who lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.

After 26 years as a textile designer, Jordaan began exploring the possibilities of using felt as a creative medium. Entirely self-taught and following her own creative instincts, she began to turn fine gossamer thread into robust felted forms. By patiently rubbing and coaxing threads of pure wool into shapes in nature, she found her direction and started a small home industry. She merely created her own product and went with it… That’s not so hard, is it?

All of Jordaan’s felt pieces are made with an eye to environmental and social responsibility. The wool is treated by hand, the soap used is biodegradable, the dyes are lead free, and the grey wastewater is used to grow a vegetable garden. Job creation is at the forefront of the company’s planning. At present, 40 previously unemployed women have been trained under Jordaan and are now felters of international standing. A small group of men in Sebokeng, outside Johannesburg are supplying her with wire sculptures which form the sculptural support for the exotic felted lamps.

Ronel Jordaan’s Wool Rock Pillows
(Image from here)

Ronel Jordaan’s Wool Rock Stones
(Image from here)

Jordaan’s felt cushions are completely hand-made, hand-dyed, hand-carded, made out of felt, and have no stitches. They are not several pieces of textile put together and made to look like a rock. It has a complete feel. The inners are a choice of polyester or 100% wool. All rocks can be treated for outdoor use.

Ronel Jordaan Felt Bedroom
(Image from here)

Ronel Jordaan Pebble Mat
(Image from here)

In Sydney, Emily Ziz has a comprehensive catalogue (available here) of the extensive Ronel Jordaan range. It’s amazing!

My Infinite Home by Hanemaai

Tags

Accessories, craft, culture, Interior design, Living Simply, Luggage, Maya Angelou, Minimalism, Netherlands, Shopping, Suitcase, T.S. Eliot, Textile Design, Travel, Wood

My Infinite Home by Jolien Hanemaaijer
(Image © Hanemaai)

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. (Maya Angelou)

How brilliant is this concept by Hanemaai? Seriously? A choice of two portable objects for storage that have the double function of a suitcase and a personal ‘show ‘n’ tell’. You carry them with you or put them down as personal shelving. Best of all, they transport what you need, and show what you have chosen to take with you. In these days of accumulating less stuff (which I have yet to master), and living more simply and sustainably, this gorgeous design by Jolien Hanemaaijer has got to take the cake.

This project started from Jolien’s personal experience with extensive traveling and having to live out of one suitcase. She had to make choices about what to bring and what to leave behind. While making these choices was hard, it also allowed her to get rid of unnecessary things. In Jolien’s words, “the important and good items that you decide to bring are the objects that define your identity.” What would you choose?

The suitcases are made from bended beech, leather and metal. The objects kept in place by elastic bands that are pulled through small holes in the wooden frame. If you want to bring a lot of luggage, you simply adjust the elastics.

Home is where one starts from. (T.S. Eliot)

My Infinite Home by Jolien Hanemaaijer
(All images © Hanemaai)

Jolien Hanemaaijer Traveling With Her Infinite Home
(Image © Hanemaai)

Jolien Hanemaaijer currently lives in the Netherlands. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Art (The Hague) with a degree in Textile Design, she started her own design company called Hanemaai. If you’d like to learn more about here fab’ designs (this is not the only one!), you can access her site here. She is definitely a designer to watch, I reckon!

(I am off taking a wee sojourn to sunny Queensland over the next few days which means my response times to your comments may be a little slower than usual. I do love hearing from you, so please don’t stop! – It may just take me a little longer to get back to you. Cheers!)

The Very Graphic Style of Thomas Paul

Tags

Accessories, Animal print, Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, Colour, cotton voile, Design, DKNY, Fashion, fashion institute of technology, Homewares, Interior design, Neckwear, New York, New York City, Scarf, style, Textile Design, Thomas Paul

Have you met the oh-so-talented Thomas Paul yet?  If not, go pop your head in to his gorgeous emporium of pillows, bedding, kitchen & dining accessories, and – my favourite, which will come as no surprise to those who know me – scarves.

I’m seriously lusting after one of Mr Paul’s animal print numbers.  Which one would you choose…?

There are these divine cotton voile scarves (with dimensions of 20″ X 75″):

or, there are these more monochromatic numbers (with a more generous 40″ X 80″ size):

Thomas Paul is a born ‘n’ bred New Yorker. He kicked off his fashion career in the mid-nineties after graduating from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in Textile Design. He started as an intern at DKNY. Then, while working as a colorist and designer for a silk mill specialising in neckwear and scarves, he worked on neckwear collections for designers like Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, and DKNY. This eventually led to the creation of his own neckwear collection, digities, in the late 90′s. All of this created the foundation for his current range of home accessories.

He continues to expand his ideas, so I can’t wait to see what he comes out with next…

You can check out more of Thomas Paul’s designs here.

(All images sourced from here).