28 Oct Texture Tuesday – Global Inpiration at High Point & Our Studio

You don’t have to look far to find interesting handwoven texture from around the globe. Global influence is still on-trend, spotted by Style Spotters at fall 2015 High Point Market, but in my mind, it kind of never really left.  I mean if you really think about it, we are continually experiencing global influences in our daily lives year round. Whether it’s from our own travels to far destinations like India, Guatemala, Peru, or to our local vintage shop, the “global-tribal-bohemian” look can be collected, shopped for, and found in many interiors. This week’s #TextureTuesday is all about that look!

Photography by, and with permission from, Jonathan Legate.

From “Bohemian” pops of color on lush Suzani throws (above) spotted by Canadian interior designer & High Point Style Spotter, Jonathan Legate, at Cozy Nomad Designs.  To intricate “Tribal” neutrals (below) in a necklace woven with New Guinea shell and feathers (from Asian Loft) spotted by interior designer & High Point Style Spotter, Beth Dotolo, of Pulp Design Studios.

Photography by, and with permission from, Beth Dotolo.

An “On-trend Global Classic” is this amazing rug (below), also spotted by Beth Dotolo at High Point.  It is hand knitted by a Zambia tribe from bamboo silk and wool, and can also add instant global touches to your home, either from your own jet-set travels around the world, or from home accessory companies like a leader in the home industry, Surya, who is highly regarded for their Surya Social program.

Photography by, and with permission from, Beth Dotolo.

Which makes me remember how Deborah Main Designs studio jumped on board this global look with the “Tribal Chic” pillow (below) we created in spring of 2015 for the “Pillow Art Challenge Benefiting Invincible Me” with BD West Design Fair. What a fun challenge that was and really introduced me to the whole global look.

Photography by, and with permission from, Gregg Cestaro.

A pillow like this one we handcrafted in our studio for the contest, was inspired by many different materials coming together.

The Global look, to me, is almost a potpourri and tends to have several key ingredients, that when combined create a very distinctive look – Color + Texture + Beading + Weaving + Fur/Feathers + Pattern + New + Vintage = Global/Tribal Chic

Our “Tribal Chic” pillow came together from:

• vintage leather belt with wooden beads,
• rare vintage French Art Deco metallic trim,
• copper ribbon from Hancock Fabrics,
• re-purposed designer animal-textured textile,
• vintage Chinchilla fur piece, and
• new, contemporary, diamond-pattern silk brocade.

I love how the vintage Chinchilla made a perfect bed for the vintage beaded belt. And we took all these materials and created layer upon layer to capture the look we were after. It was almost like putting pieces of a puzzle together.

And for your home, this look tribal look can go modern –

Photography by, and with permission from, Gregg Cestaro.

Traditional  –

Photography by, and with persmission from, Gregg Cestaro.

Or classically elegant –

Photography by, and with permission from, Gregg Cestaro.

Here’s the back of the pillow with a very contemporary diamond silk brocade:

Photography by, and with permission from, Gregg Cestaro.

All of this brings to mind, that many of my clients have recently been embracing this trend and have been requesting fabric from vintage rugs and blankets in my collection to be made into pillows.

In Austin, you don’t have to look far to find the Bohemian style, as it comes naturally, especially in South Austin, so don’t be surprised when you visit if you see it run throughout our entire city – from tiny vintage bungalows to mansions on Mount Bonnell.

Here are a few vintage pieces below that my clients have recently considered:

Vintage Mexican blanket.

Antique animal print lap blanket.

Vintage Peruvian rugs

My friend Roi James, an incredibly talented Austin artist (who has a show coming up this weekend, so check back here on Thursday for details!), whom I’ve known for years and have collected his remarkable oil paintings, asked me recently If I could make pillows from these antique rugs he collected on his travels to Peru.  He has a modern black leather sofa (which you’ll see when I finish the pillows 🙂 ) which he wanted to add color to with throw pillows.  His interior living room is very eclectic with a mix of modern, vintage, and tribal rugs and pillows, so it seemed like a perfect match.

Here’s a few pics of the rugs he’s had (below), not knowing exactly what to do with them…so pillows came to mind.

I can’t wait to get started on Roi’s pillows!  Be sure to check out our blog on Thursday for more information about Roi James’ upcoming studio show.  Till then, we at Deborah Main Designs hope you’ve enjoyed a little global inspiration!  XO, PG