Fields of Denim

Field of Jeans, Catalytic Clothing at Chelsea College of Art. Image credit: Jon Daughtry

What would you say if I tell you that your pair of jeans can purify the air?

That we can walk around and purify the air that we breathe just with the help of our very own clothing… sounds like science fiction, right?

Well not any more…

Artist and designer professor Helen Storey and scientist professor Tony Ryan have been collaborating on this amazing project that explores how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify air.

The scientific key is adding Titanium dioxide to the fabric (best used on denim), that, when exposed to lite and air – it reacts and naturalizes harmful pollutants around it.

The idea is that virtually anyone will be able to use this formula on the clothes they wear, by using a laundry additive that is now in development in our own laundry machine, that way we will soon be cleaning the air around us as we walk…

Helen Storey and Trish Belford making 'Herself'. Image credit: Aoife Ludlow

 you are more then welcome to read more at Helen Storey Foundation web site  http://www.helenstoreyfoundation.org

I think it is so interesting that in some places around the globe, artists and designers are collaborating with science to improve their abilities and collections, in an effort of bettering the environment and the atmosphere around us.

So I guess I was right about textile being the key to saving the world after all… 

Patina Handmade Jewelry

As a textile designer by profession, I am always looking for ways to apply textile patterns and techniques on metal.

For example when I was working in collaboration with fashion designer Adva bruner for duende for the TLV fashion week runway show, we looked for a way to make tie -dye textile colors over metal jewelry parts. That's how I discover the patina, an antique Greek handmade coloring technique that actually resembles the tie- dye technique in textile design, Adva was looking for ways to create waves in knitting and I was searching for the look and feel of treasures drawn from the ocean. 

This lead to the patina collection, in Sparkling blue and natural green colors like treasures lurking at the dark.

The role of color in sculpture and decorative arts was significant from the very beginning.

In ancient times, metals that were most resistant to the changes resulting from heat and the surrounding atmosphere, were actually considered nobler, and were used for the more important artifacts, 

however, the inheritors of those traditions had a revived interest in the artifacts of earlier periods that had the natural patination, produced mostly from long burial. These objects were collected and studied.

The growing interest in classicism such as in renaissance Italy and the Chin dynasty in china, resulted in the desire to imitate the natural patination that was associated with a prized artifact, this led to artificial patination being a finishing process in its own right used on contemporary work.

Most of the basic processes of metal work involve the use of heat, which results in changing the metal surface into oxides. With just the touch of heat, air, oxygen or any other chemical materials, even from our own kitchen supplies can be used into making a beautiful color to wear. 

For instance, putting metal next to vinegar fumes in a closed box for 24 hours will result in a green patina layer,or bury them in a plastic bag next to a rotten egg.

Color might be considered less important in the making of sculpture or craft, as it is a separate process applied to the object after its making, but in many cases it's actually a key factor in the visual coherence of the object, and there for it is of great importance.

It is also  interesting to think of color not as an added layer, but as a surface and a material on its own, with growing life and emerging colors that keep evolving and changing and growing on the surface.

Me wearing my Woodland leaf necklace

you can find it here:

http://www.inbarshahak.com/shop

Kiff Slemmons & Arte Papel Oaxaca

I've met Kiff Slemmons at the Norton Art Museum in West Palm Beach Florida last month,

And I am the proud owner of her book: "Kiff Slemmons & Arte Papel Oaxaca" 

That I would love to share with you.

The book, just as meeting Kiff in real life doesn’t begin to explain how great an Artist she is… Kiff herself is the most generous, quiet and modest artist that I've ever had the honor of meeting.

From the book:

Kiff Slemmons Joined the "arte papel oaxaea" a project founded by the artist Francisco Toledo.

It is a facility for making paper, located in the mountain village of Vista Hermosa in Mexico.

The idea of this project was to revive past technologies and provide work for the local people.

The project was based on a dependable local resource of water which were crucial to the process and renewable fiber of local plants grown in the area.

Artist invited by Toledo, worked with the artisans to create both traditional and innovative uses for the handmade paper.

Kiff Slemmons was invited to contribute her knowledge of jewelry.

She took on the challenge of designing in paper rather than metal, and came to work with the local artisans to create paper jewelry that they can reproduce. Focusing on solid production that could provide income for 

the artisans.

After having a small local exhibition in the institute of graphic arts in Oaxaca,introducing the activity of the workshop to the community, Kiff kept returning for 2-3 weeks a year, creating a strong working relationship with the woman, built on trust, mutual respect and the true pleasure and pride in the making of beautiful and unusual jewelry .

Their combined efforts and skills enabled such innovation in unusual circumstances and limited resources

.

I was more than proud standing next to artists like Kiff in the "BIJOUX" exhibition at Norton art museum, as a textile designer I am fascinated with the fact that we can use our design skills to help to improve other 

people life.  

And here are some photos of her Wonderful book:

 

Create your own journey

The Journey collection is all about each wearer’s personal internal journey.

It’s about exploring, growing and cherishing the people and the places

along the way that make your journey unique, powerful and meaningful.

When you carry your box of experience, you are more prepared to face

new challenges.

When you carry your beloved ones along the way, you are stronger to face

a new reality.

The designer’s signature unique weaving technique is fashioned into

patterned boxes, each hand colored with a rustic patina touch and sealed

with wax. Each attached piece of cord represents a piece of your journey,

be it a person, experience or place .

The journey collection is designed to give a real place to keep your own

personal journey note close where ever you go

Click here to see our SS14 collection online at our web shop

Photograph by: Michael Topyol

Makeup artist: Nathalie arnautoff

Modeling: May Zonshain for MC2

There are all my sons…

I am my designs, the bigger, the smaller, the commercial and the artistic ones…

I love them all, insulted for them when they are called "last collection"…"we are still beautiful, aren't we?

Exited for the arrival of the new ones…"those are the ones that no one has ever seen before

"…I whisper to everyone around…

When I first started my business, fresh young fashion designer, I thought "who am I to travel in hot Tel Aviv, trying to sell my jewelries from door to door"…

back then it made much more sense to buy a flight ticket and a small booth at "who's Next" show in Romantic Paris the city of lights…

Standing in the hot crowd in Tel Aviv or eating A croissant in the rain…easy question right?...

This was how my export business journey really started, crazy young girl with bigger dreams then her suitcase,trying to speak Spanish (or spanglish)  in a french crowd.

All the people that I've met, every country with their culture, language, colors and style.

Parisian ladies love their black small dress, leaving them much room for tribal, colorful statement necklace to stand out with.

In England and Spain they mostly care about my Victorian lace silver collection, in a magical world where the past is the present and the future. Trust me, coming over from Israel with Celtic designs made me feel like selling ice cube for the Eskimos.

Moscow clients prefer their delicate tracery in sterling silver handmade crochet.

Sometimes it worked better…sometimes not… trust me Paisley is not a good shape for an Israeli jewel…

From Brazil and Peru, I've learn that eternal summer resulted in endless beach parties. Elegant is nice, but they like their jewelries happy in gold shiny bright.

And When I first started my traveling to the big apple, New York, the edgy urban city of style

I've learned that you can never wear too much BLACK.

Under The Pool

We had so much fun taking our photo shoots at the Theater house, we had to take it higher to the next level...

So Next thing Hagai Nativ-my talented photographer could think about was..."Let's jump into the water" and no mistake about it...It was as cold as the ocean in April.

Anat Brandes being professional as a model could possibly be…not only did not say a word about the cold…but barely tweeted when her eyes were burning red, trying to pretend that swimming under the water fully dressed is a natural habit, she did asked me for eye drops…and I mistakenly dropped ear drops into her poor eyes, hysterically funny to me, and quite burnt life experience for her...

I could bubble more and more about this once in a life time experience, but apparently that Hagai Nativ surprised us with hidden camera behind the scene

 Hmmm, and Last photo is mine…had to try living under water too…

Curious for more...Stay tune till next week...

check out for Under water scene by Hagai Nativ Professional underwater photographer right here

The Witch,the Lunatic and the healer

I would love to share with you a bit of why and when...

and this is how it start...

I studied fashion and textile design at Shenkar University in Israel, so I can actually say I have my first degree in knitting…

My final project at Shenkar raised a lot of questions that I am still dealing with over and over in my design path till now…In this project I started from single thread,created 3 clothing sets, and photographed them in their atmosphere locations...Can you recognize the model?

In early middle age days, 3 ladies are on a trial, 3 ladies are telling the same story or almost the same story, each one of them in a different place in a different time.

One of them is domed as a witch and raised to the fire

The second one is announced as a mental ill and sent to the mental institute, while the third one is announced as a holistic healer and the people follow her path.

And none of these ladies ever stop to ask why…

The healer photo was taken at the small community village where I live up north, and that is the most beautiful place in Israel, just by the Mediterranean Sea.

I think that as a final project for textile design, it is also raise the question of how do we treat textile in our heart and our lives, should a textile remain the second voice back stage, or can it raise to life, taking its place at the front of the stage?

Bright side of Life

It's been a while ago since I discover that the nice guy that live in my neighborhood, right behind my house is actually a talented photographer.

The new girl working in the kindergarten babysitting for my baby girl did seem beautiful to me right from first sight…

But nothing could really prepare me to the amazing day that we spend together at the Movie theater house in the small community village where I live...

Getting up in the morning, I packed all my jewelries, I text my photographer…"I think I have too many…"

And then just to be on the safe side…I added the box a bottle of Limoncello and Havana club Rum.

The beautiful kindergarten babysitter arrived…apparently she is 1.81 meter high, and for a small fact…she was a professional model in Italy…but she decided to leave behind the fake life and to come back to the village side…

Some days…some people you meet on the way, just make feel as luckiest as if you just found a million dollars right at your door step...

I did ask my model to play tough on the set, but I couldn't resist her beautiful smile…

With many thanks to: Hagai Nativ:Photographer,Anat Brandes: Modeling,knitwear clothing by Adva Bruner for Duende. and the sweet girl Tamar Linder who found my lost earrings on the set and returned it to my mail box…some things can only happened in community life…

The Verdigris Collection

I would like to share with you a bit of what I am going through in the past few weeks

As I think it has a great impact on my work, my creations and therefore my jewelry collection that you get to wear

I spend most of the past few weeks next to my grandmother bad in the hospital and the Elderly intuition, Most of the time the things you get to see in such places makes you think how come you did not get blind yet.

It also made me think more about the meaning of jewel, the fact that people admire jewelry since the beginning of time, jewelry perceived as something timeless, ageless, that  can never be broken or ruin,that will always keep its value, compare to textile that can ruin in ravages of time and climate.

Which also lead me to think about the human body ,our own body as we preserve it to make sure it won't wrinkle anywhere, won't betray us, and won't change, and  in case it does forge a bit we can always use Photoshop.

What will happen if instead of making sure my jewel won't get tarnish, greenish or corrupted in any possible way, I will let it live, breath and grow its own corrosion to get its beautiful unique fingerprint like no one else got?

And this is the short version of how you got the Verdigris collection

To be continued... 

Forgotten with lost time 

Corrosion colors are lurking in the depth 

aging the metal treasure hiding in the dark 

photograph by Rani Lurie and Hagai Nativ 

For the Love of Textile

I Love Textile, I adore Textile, the idea of a single thread turning into a whole fabric/cloth/garment seem like a true magic to me. 

This ancient almost "unattractive" word "Textile", fill me with joy, with thoughts of a far away old ladies doing their daily textile work weaving, crocheting, creating their fantasies and making their leaving everywhere they go with bare hands and piece of yarn.

This is my piece of heaven, bringing the textile idea/ideal to the front row, 

No more a material we use to get something out of… but a stunning jewelry piece that stand and shine on its own.