Global Girlfriend

I have been reading the book "Global Girlfriends" by Stacey Edgar, the founder of the website Global Girlfriend, and have been totally inspired. I highly recommend it! I could not have started reading this book at a better time - while constantly hearing about the over 800 dead because of a factory collapse in Bangladesh to unfairly treated workers, and my recent trip of the "Tour de Grad Schools", I have really been thinking about what I want to accomplish in life, and how to do it. 

​Paper Crane Tie Shoulder top. Textile Design by Shifra Whiteman. Created by Mata Traders. Sold on Global Girlfriend.

Feeling inspired, I decided to comb through the Global Girlfriend site and got to a page where I recognized a custom order that Mata Traders did for Global Girlfriend - the Paper Crane Tie Shoulder Top!   I feel honored to have somehow made it onto the Global Girlfriend site and hope to continue my work in textile design for fair trade!!!

2nd Round of Mata Traders!

Friends, the 2nd round of Mata Traders garments with my designs are in and will be up on the Mata Traders retail site any day now! I have been getting a delightful amount of comments full of support and encouragement about my designs and it has 100% solidified my thoughts and dreams that this is exactly what I want to be doing with my life! Thanks to everyone who is reposting on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, spreading the word via email and even just checking out this blog and my website! It means the world to me!

If you are interested in finding a store near wherever you live to try on any of the garments from Mata Traders, please visit the "Locations" page and type in your zip code. 

​Textile Design by Shifra Whiteman. Garments by Mata Traders.

Closer Look: Polina Soloveichik's murals

This week, I came across these gorgeous murals here which are located in Beelitz, Germany. The artist is Polina Soloveichik and unfortunately I can't find anything about her! The most I could find is her website which includes more murals, etchings, prints, paintings and lots of collaborative work. 

HOWEVER, these murals caught my heartstrings. The beautiful cobalt blue, white and gold combinations remind me a lot of ancient chinese and dutch pottery. The scale of these murals and how they make that one building stand out amongst the rest, really make these murals so magical! The patterns cascading down the building and around the entryways and along the balconies feels like this building belongs in another world.  New goal: somehow make it to Beelitz and really take it all in!

Marimekko-roons!

Back in the summer of 2009, I was fortunate enough to participate in an intensive textile design program in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the program was spent on an amazing design study tour of Sweden and Finland. The design tour ended with the finale of touring the Marimekko headquarters/factory. That was the day I may or may not have cried tears of joy when I saw the screens that are used to print the Unikko pattern (the famous Marimekko floral). ​ So it may come as no shock to you all that when I happened upon this on Pinterest, I freaked out and immediately squealed! 

​Marimekko-roons!

Laura, who runs the blog Craftstorming, actually made Marimekko-roons! By using three batches of blue dyed macaroon mixture and adding different amounts into the backing sheet, she was able to create the affect of the Unikko pattern! I absolutely LOVE how statement textile pieces can be inspiration for culinary adventures! Hopefully, in the future, we can create more combinations between food and patterns. Until then, näkemiin! (goodbye in Finnish)

Made it onto ModCloth!

Friends, I am pleased to share that dresses with my textile designs I did for Mata Traders, has made it onto ModCloth! ModCloth is an online store that specializes in mod, quirky and unique clothing (mostly dresses) and I have been trolling this sight for years! ​This dress in particular is one that will be available on the Mata Traders website later this month, but you can purchase it through ModCloth here as the "I Crane, I Saw, I Conquered" dress!