Living in Color! - Textiles of Chile and at Home with Our Sentimental Souvenir

Living in Color! - Textiles of Chile and at Home with Our Sentimental Souvenir 

It's fall ya'll and I'm back from a blogging hiatus. This past spring, I did a road trip adventure through a region of Chile. Of course I couldn't get enough of the textiles and art. We've started a tradition of collecting fabrics from our travels to make throw pillows for our sofa. It keeps us surrounded in our colorful memories!    

In Chile, we were on the hunt for an authentic Mapuche textile. The Mapuche are one of the most native indigenous inhabitants, and are best known for their wool textiles. Chile is home to some of the finest wool in the world and the Mapuche have long woven this wool into fine ponchos and home furnishings. 

Source: http://vidamapuche.blogspot.com/2010/

I love that this shopping instantly made us dive into the story of these native people and their craft. It gave us an appreciation for these artists and the lands they inhabit. There's a strong chance you and I have seen copies and reproductions of their work pop up in mass market chain stores without even knowing it.  

Source: http://vidamapuche.blogspot.com/2010/

We found a great market in Pucon, Chile selling Mapuche textiles. They are not cheap, but as a maker, I totally understand needing to be compensated for your work. 

So many beautiful things, I wish we could have bought them all!  

Ponchos and high quality wool everywhere! 

Color inspiration overload!

Another fun shopping stop was a cultural center and local artist collective in Licanten.



We were excited to also find an awesome coffee stop next door after being on the road all day. For a girl who enjoys a proper coffee moment, they don't really offer to-go options, hehe. You have to sit and have your coffee! They served ours in a pottery native to Chile, mostly produced in the village of Pomaire; which we later learned eating and drinking throughout our trip. 





We picked out this beautiful green Mapuche textile for our pillow.  

Floor time! I am a total floor person, so I made this pillow big and full to double as a cozy floor cushion. 



 We are loving what this tradition adds to our home. Live in color friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a lovely week!


*Check out this old post about our sentimental souvenirs :)
http://erinelsie.blogspot.com/2014/04/sentiment-and-souvenirs.html

P.S. Shop great new items in my ErinElsie online shop, created with special bits of reclaimed vintage fabrics, recycled denim, and leather remnants. Save 15% off  these totally one of a kind items by using code FALL15 at checkout or the shop link below!  

Click here to shop ErinElsie!

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A Sentimental Notion

A Sentimental Notion

***

I thought it appropriate for the first blog post of this new year to be a sentimental one. If you are new to my ErinElsie online shop or this blog, then this very much captures the core of who I am as a designer, maker, and person.  

ErinElsie items are clothes and accessories with stories. The nostalgia and sentiment paid to the items I make are also extended to the tools that I use to create them. I have tools that were my grandmother's, and I love staying connected to her memory by using them. Most are not fancy or ornate, but it keeps her alive to me. 

In the past couple of years, friends and family have often handed down materials to me; Sometimes vintage fabric found while cleaning out their mom's closet or sometimes old jeans they're ready to discard. Even better, they have started to give me tools and notions as well. These are often from their mom or grandmother. It means a lot to me to inherit such a sentimental item from someone else's family. This only adds to the joy and inspiration of creating for me. Now I have notions with stories too!

***

I rarely buy thread. My last big refill of thread was a box that my mom sent me from a neighbor. This beautiful array of thread pictured above is from my dear friend Lisa's family. 

This is a tape measurer I found in the drawer of my grandmother, Elsie's sewing machine. It's falling apart, but I tape it, mend it, and keep on using it!

How beautiful are these? Bits of antique lace, trims, and embroidery from several different friend's grandmothers. 

Scissor sisters. The pinking shears on the right were my grandmother's. Those on the left were from a friends grandmother. 

Blooming sequins...another from Lisa's family. 

Even hand sewing needles from my friend Aimee's

 grandmother. The packaging is pretty great.

More sequins! Shine on friends!

Everything from hooks, to snaps, to belt buckles, and buttons...

I'm so grateful to friends for passing along these sentimental notions and memories. Thank you!!! 

What cherished sentimental items have been passed along to you? 

Okay, back to work in the home studio for me. Hoping you all have a lovely week ahead friends!

xo,

     Erin

P.S. There are new bags in the ErinElsie online shop! Created with special bits of reclaimed vintage fabrics, recycled denim, and leather remnants, these are totally one of a kind 25% Off for my blog followers! Use code ERINELSIE25 at checkout. 

Click here to shop ErinElsie!

Follow along the journey of ErinElsie and *Textile*Repurposed*Style.* Subscribe by email in the sidebar of my blog or sign up for Bloglovin!

Other Links:

✰ Website: http://www.erinelsie.com

✰ Instagram: https://instagram.com/erinelsie_official/ 

✰ Instagram: https://instagram.com/erinblank_designer/

✰Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ErinElsie/360147150720430

✰ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinElsie_Inc