Live from New York

BY Marcella Echavarria | August 15, 2010

Marcella Echavarria

A Sustainable Gift Fair (Almost)

The New York International Gift Fair is not only one of the major events for the hand- made world, but an important platform for artists and artisans to present their work to an audience that has seen it all and who is always looking for the innovative, the unexpected, the rare, and the newest flavor of the day. In the world of craftsmanship that requires revisiting traditional techniques, creating things slowly and carefully by hand, and working responsibly with rural, urban, and indigenous communities of artisans from countries in the global south. Today, sustainable and responsible design is the fastest growing segment in the decorative, shelter, and fashion industries, and the fair highlights the most creative offerings.

Visitors who enter the main lobby of the massive Jacob J. Javits Convention Center will immediately see the exhibit, Sustainability: Design for a Better World that showcases a vast collection of sustainable products from companies present at the show. The criteria for all the products displayed focus on three concepts: green products, recycled and/or using sustainable materials; reduced energy production processes (wind, sun, alternative fuels); and socially responsible products made by indigenous people, creating viable, sustainable trade, and markets in poor areas.

Below is a sampling of the creative and spectacular handmade products that were introduced at the show and that stood out for HAND/EYE Magazine:

Masha Ginsburg: Hand Felt
www.masha-ginsburg.com

Masha is a one woman show in Berlin. There, she makes wearable art from start to finish. Working with the finest merino wool, Masha makes felt with a secret recipe that leave the traditionally matted fibers fluid and skin friendly. The result: true couture one-of-a-kind pieces that have a following in Japan--not only for their unique texture, but the interesting ancestral, yet modern shapes of her pieces.

Creative Women: Feminine Threads
www.creativewomen.net

Founder Ellen Dorsch has been working with women-owned businesses in Ethiopia for seven years. She knew that by finding markets in the United State for handmade cotton products an opportunity existed to improve women's lives and maintain a centuries-old art form.

For generations weavers, mainly in the Dorze and Chencha areas of southwest Ethiopia, handwoven netelas and gabbies on traditional looms use centuries-old patterns and designs. Ellen’s input has resulted in a beautiful tabletop collection where simplicity and the right use of color rules.

At the Fair, Creative Women launched a new tabletop collection in indigo and mustard shades handmade with Ethiopian cotton that gets better with use. The company also produces beautiful eco-friendly cotton towels that only take ten minutes to dry!

BENT: Gustav Reyes’s Wood Jewelry
www.gustavreyes.com

Rather than working against the grain, Gustav works with it. His jewelry is made with salvaged maple, walnut and cherry woods using eighty percent less waste through his high tech, handmade production methods. His pieces are finished by hand with a cold bend process. His mantra, “I use technology to use nature efficiently and respectfully.”

Everything is Personal: Dwelling
http://www.dwellingllc.com/

Gloria Delaney’s vision is simple: “I work with artisans from Kenya and Haiti because I love the people of those countries.” And her products show that personal connection. The banana fiber zebras, giraffes, and elephants are made by Peter and his wife Grace by using banana tree parts harvested from their farm.

Jeanette Farrier: 100% Bengali tradition
http://www.jeanettefarrier.com/house.html

Jeannette Farrier is on a mission to preserve hand loom work in Calcutta where women are still doing the intricate double weave that makes a scarf warm even if made with light cotton.

Mushana: Bead by Bead
www.mushana.com

Angela Tucci Robinson has a vision: upcycled products equals upcycled lives. And this is exactly what she has done for many women in Uganda who produce her collection of recycled paper bags, table top, hats, scarves and 108 mala beads that combine paper and bark cloth in extra-long, super fashionable necklaces in metallic shades.