I began to look for New York fiber farms online in 2013. In 5 years, my database has grown to over 470 sheep, alpaca, and goat farms, and I am sure there are many more. I looked at several mapping platforms to visually communicate my fiber farm research including ArcGIS, QGIS BatchGeo, CartoDB, Google Earth,…
Tag: culture
Season for Fibers – Fingerlakes Fiber Festival!
The Fingerlakes Fiber Festival was my first festival of the fiber season. I got to see a lot of familiar faces and I stocked up on a variety of wools from unique sheep breeds including Hog Island Sheep, Icelandic Sheep, and Blue Face Leicester Sheep. Thanks Fingerlakes Woolen Mill, Trinity Farm, and High Bid Farm! I am…
Part II: New York Fiberscape Clothing & Textiles
An update about the NY Fiberscape Dress that I wrote about earlier in the summer. I knitted some swatches with stockinette and cable stitches to figure out the knitting gauge. I liked how they both turned out, so I decided to make the dress in stockinette stitches, and create the cables in a knitted cowl made of…
Solace project
Earlier this year I wrote about India Flint’s Solace project that promotes international peace. It welcomed everyone to send a flag with a message for a “collective impromptu poem recorded on cloth to sing in the winds.” I sent a fiber flag made of wool, alpaca, and mohair fibers. Today received the postcard, and also…
Exploring New York Fiber Farms @ Washington County Fiber Tour 2015
Visiting the sheep, alpaca, and goat fiber farms during the Washington County Fiber Tour in New York was the highlight of my year so far! Each farm had a unique narrative with fiber animals ranging from Merino sheep to Huacaya alpacas and Cashmere goats. This reflects the wide breadth of fibers available in New York. During the Fiber…
Momentum towards Fashion Revolution Day 2015
These are some fashion revolution photos posted in the past week (March 30-April 5). Posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have expanded our reach to international Fashion Revolution Campaigns in Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and Bangladesh. The next step is writing to brands to increase transparency in…
Fashion Revolution Month Launches @ithaca New York
Fashion Revolution Day was first initiated on April 24, 2014 by global fashion leaders. Fashion Revolution Day invites farmers, mill dyers, seamstresses, knitters, weavers, brands, retailers, and consumers to participate. The purpose of this campaign is two-folded. The first reason is to raise awareness about the places where our clothing is made. We as consumers can…
“Fibershed” as Social Entrepreneurship
“Social entrepreneurship” involves social change, continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning. The Northern California non-profit “Fibershed” embodies the definition of “social entrepreneurship.” Initially, the founder of Fibershed, Rebecca Burgess, collaborated with local fiber producers and artisans to make an “150-mile wardrobe.” The success of the “150-mile wardrobe” project steered the development of the non-profit Fibershed that promotes a local clothing and…
Fiber Arts & Fibersheds – A Call to Dismantle the “Bystander” Effect
Fiber arts can provide powerful social commentaries. I visited the Craft & Folk Art Museum‘s New Directions Exhibit in Los Angeles, and was astounded by the work of June Lee in the group exhibit that was juried by the Textile Society of America. June Lee’s “Bystander” sculptures address the social “bystander effect” issue. Lee explains that the term “Bystander Effect” was developed…
How the Northern California Fibershed Fosters a Local Culture of Clothing & Textiles
The Fibershed Symposium of 2014 provided great insight into the knowledge of sheep farmers and the diversity of wool in California. The work of fiber artisans was displayed beautifully during the symposium, which further highlighted the wide breadth of fiber types and textile techniques, which included spinning, knitting, weaving, and felting. The range of panel presentations,…
Injustice for Potential Refugees reaching the Mexican-American Border
My heart goes out to the thousands of minors and families coming to the U.S. from Central America in search of safer livelihoods. My parents escaped the turmoil and violence of El Salvador during the horrific Civil War in the 1980s. Today, they comment that the violence in El Salvador with the influx of MS-13 gang members deported…
Establishment of “Latino Cultural District” SF California
Recently San Francisco’s Mission District was named a “Latino Cultural District” based on the Latino/a melting pot that has historically welcomed people from diverse countries. A SHORT HISTORY Immigration to the Mission District began during the 19th century Gold Rush. The end of the Mexican-American War and Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo forced Mexican residents to leave, and spurred entry of…
Personality Characteristics of Hand-Knit Sweaters
I was excited to make this word cloud that represents personality descriptions of hand-knit sweaters (cashmere, alpaca, wool). It is based on responses from 200 women in New York. It is great to consider the different words people use to describe a sweater as it if were a real human being with a personality. It’s not something we usually consider…
Fashion Academia
In the midst of finishing my Master’s thesis and keeping up with coursework, I have been looking at Academic positions currently available in the field of Apparel/ Fashion/ Textiles. This is a snapshot of the positions currently available and posted in the International Textile and Apparel Association website: Compared to other fields, this is a long…
Lucy’s Appeal
Seeing Lucille Ball show off her acting, dancing, and singing talents makes “The Diet” one of my favorite episodes. She radiates confidence in her sassy performance. Most of the episode focuses on Lucy’s weight concerns, and her efforts to lose 12 pounds in 4 days. I’m glad the show represents her efforts to exercise and…
HELEN TREJO 