tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13212239558111500972011-07-31T19:27:16.039+02:00textile style by jen buleyJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.comBlogger131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-21617500848201425072009-05-05T21:24:00.004+02:002009-05-05T22:02:30.829+02:00

Photos and compilation: Jen BuleyClockwise from top left: Ottoman Empire-era calligraphy; parchment painting; detail of a 12th-century, gold-decorated sword sheath; detail of the sword hilt. Just a few of the delicious objects on permanent display at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul -- a treasure trove for textile and surface designers. The collection of antique Ottoman

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-38596521794487955852009-05-05T20:04:00.004+02:002009-05-05T22:06:11.941+02:00

© Jen Buley, 2009 Bold new architecture and fat tulips are blooming in Hamburg.

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-48848322528076523442009-01-21T17:46:00.050+01:002009-08-28T23:57:04.983+02:00

This month I visited two of the major home product trend shows: Heimtex in Frankfurt, an enormous show for the home and contract textile markets; and Maison et Objet in Paris, the massive, polymorphous show for emerging trends in everything germane to interior décor. Here are the big trends that caught my attention:Re-use (top) Float by Tweelink, chandelier made of fishing floats and fishing line

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-91684786335309133162008-12-06T01:41:00.026+01:002008-12-08T14:16:02.473+01:00

On exhibit now at the Textilmuseet in Borås, Sweden, is a remarkable collection of dresses by Danish designer, Anne Damgaard, who won the Nordic Award in Textiles for 2008. Damgaard's dresses could be classified as conceptual because of their references to armour, protection, nudity, and cheeky functionalism. But the thing that makes Damgaard's work great -- and rare in the realm of conceptual

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-38596232564548178732008-11-26T03:09:00.009+01:002008-11-26T13:52:12.802+01:00

"The tools we use to change the world ought to be beautiful inthemselves... it's not just enough to survive." -- Alex Steffen, Worldchanging.comImage of green roof city from ecogeekClick here to watch Alex Steffen's idea-packed Ted talk about sustainable design directives. It will cost you 17 minutes that you'll never miss, and I promise you'll be inspired to create change...

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-58472799476051750062008-11-20T22:22:00.025+01:002008-11-21T01:10:36.184+01:00

A-Nerve pleating sleeve, Bluetooth accessory for mobile phones, by CuteCircuitI want my clothes to take care of themselves and me, and make life even more fun. Here are a few things on my wishlist* for future clothes (all sustainably/ecologically produced and used, of course...)*Most, if not all, of these concepts are already in research or prototyping. Click the links and dream.Mend themselves

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-56877172967588749932008-11-10T23:56:00.026+01:002008-12-06T13:26:07.662+01:00

I am struck by the new collection of reconstructed t-shirts by Los Angeles designer Raquel Allegra. Though, to call them 't-shirts' simply cuts it short. Allegra's elegant pieces begin as used t-shirts salvaged from the LA County Jail's waste pile. The designer, who once worked for Issey Miyake, washes, dyes, cuts, re-constructs, and then savagely distresses the cloth to achieve lacey, filmy,

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-24891479925265837122008-11-03T15:14:00.026+01:002008-11-11T12:35:32.729+01:00

Throughout human history, luxury has meant fine, expensive, or rare stuff. But "stuff" has become abundantly, overwhelmingly, common, while other things, such as time, personal space, and real nature, have become rare. In the near future, luxury will be defined less by the stuff we have, and more by the leisure we have, our access to pristine nature, the purity of our personal environment, our

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-46403530163365623572008-10-29T22:03:00.007+01:002008-11-10T20:43:53.139+01:00

Fantti, fat wool felt yarn. Photo: Jen BuleyI love this super-fat felt yarn from Finnish yarn company Pirkanmaan Kotityö Oy. It's called Fantti. It's 100% wool, it's soft, it's mothproof, and it's available in a line of 20 fresh colors, with a few good neutrals. It's an interesting yarn for home textiles (carpets, blankets, window treatments, textile "baskets" or bowls), and handbags. Pirkanmaan

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-81401703778424253692008-10-29T20:37:00.005+01:002008-11-11T13:12:45.005+01:00

Textile design by Betsy Childs, custom printed by Spoonflower.A few days ago, I was blogging about how textile manufacturing could be on the brink of a production evolution towards "mass customization" and flexible, small-scale production, thanks to new technologies in digital 2D and 3D printing.Here's the 2D version, and it's here today. A new US company, called Spoonflower, based in North

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-48352569482404237372008-10-26T08:32:00.007+01:002008-12-08T16:34:27.506+01:00

I see textiles as an industry ripe for a new manufacturing model that is more adaptable, customizable, much cleaner, more socially conscious, and smaller-scaled. Yes, smaller-scaled.The common wisdom is that the exodus of manufacturing and capital to China (and other industrializing countries), is the wave of the future. But I believe that the manufacturing model being implemented in many cases (

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-65282430352864718932008-10-20T00:00:00.004+02:002008-11-10T20:50:07.532+01:00

Photo: Jen BuleyAfter “discovering” crocheted insynsskydd in the Swedish countryside, I began to think about alternatives -- beyond draperies and simple roller shades -- for window treatments; and more specifically, I began to think about design solutions that actively play with light to create graphic decorative effects.One thing I love about the insynsskydd is that it has a tailored,

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321223955811150097.post-45767679734091191372008-10-15T05:35:00.003+02:002008-11-10T20:46:40.993+01:00

Image © Jen BuleySince moving to Sweden this summer, I've been looking at lots of vintage crochet and knit work. Every Swede, it would seem, has at least one female relative who was prolific at "virkning," or crochet. There was a strong tradition in Sweden of Do-It-Yourself long before the current DIY trend; it's reflected in family heirlooms -- and in the thrift shops -- as well as in Sweden's

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05018284197908033828noreply@blogger.com1