The Purchasing Power - Post Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful and meaningful Thanksgiving. I hope it was not only tasty and filling but also a time to share with friends and family while reflecting on the things you are thankful for this year and in life. 

Sadly, this time of year is also a crazy push for mass consumerism. What with some major stores starting Black Friday on Thursday night, the eve of Thanksgiving, the hype of rushing to stores to grab a deal has gone bananas! I am not excluded from this equation. I admit, I purchased winter boots and a printer, but sadly it was only because I had the day off. The whole concept of mass purchasing on this post-Thanksgiving weekend is disturbing. Yet every year we dive into Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals so we can all save a few bucks.

That all said and done, I do believe that there is much good and positive outcome to this crazy American ritual. We have dubbed the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday and a combination of Fair Tuesday and Giving Tuesday for the Tuesday after. These 2 special days allow us to make a direct difference in people's lives locally and globally. Small businesses provide jobs, taxes, connect and give back money to local communities, while ethical or fair trade businesses provide the same things to communities abroad.

Photos from Soom Foods, Mata Traders & Sundara.

Giving Tuesday gives people the opportunity to make a contribution to non-profits. Fair Tuesday provides consumers the opportunity to make a purchase that will most likely help a small business, but more importantly make a difference to someone and/or a community on abroad. If you read this blog on a regular basis, you already know that I design for a wonderful fair trade company called Mata Traders. They produce clothing and jewelry through women cooperatives in India and Nepal. These cooperatives provide fair wages, health clinics, schooling for their children and much more. The jewelry and garments that they make are beautiful and with every purchase you can have piece of mind that it was made fairly and ethically. You can find a list of  fair trade companies here. 

Another company (a new one!) worth checking out is Sundara. Sundara is a soap company with a social mission to not only be a vegan & eco friendly product, but to promote hand washing to children and communities in Thailand, India & Ghana. These soaps not only look beautiful but provide a service that helps save lives and promote wellness all over the world. Plus, the ingredients they use look amazing!  

A great way to find a company that gives back is at One Percent for the Planet. This site provides a list of companies that give 1% of their profit to loads of non-profits that give back to our planet. I heard about this site from my friends over at Soom Foods. This trio of sisters, produce and sell delicious Tehina with a social message (check out their amazing recipes! I never knew you can do so much with Tehina).

These companies and these 2 special days after Thanksgiving make if possible to use our purchasing powers to create change on a local and global scale. Please consider finding a local and ethical business that produces and sells what you need and make a difference in communities near and far this holiday season (and beyond!) 

Della

Around a year and a half ago, I got a new laptop and that meant a new laptop case! I realized that in this world of buying "stuff" there was an opportunity to help people as well. Since then, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to purchase less. However what I do buy, I try and support a fair trade, ethical and/or sustainable company.  

Della - Soaring II Macbook case

I learned about this wonderful company called Della. At Della, Ghana women create beautiful laptop cases and get paid a fair wage. I immediately purchased one. They use traditional African dutch wax batik fabrics, which are filled with bright bold colors and really makes a statement. This is just one example of how a small purchase can make a huge difference in the lives of people all over the world. 

I feel so proud to me designing for companies that share the same mission and ideals as this company. Please think of fair trade organizations and companies when looking over your gift list and consider supporting them. 

Below is a video that shows the women of Della and how happy they are working for such a great company.

Forecasting the Doodles Print

I get so excited about the first day of the design process for a new collection at Mata Traders. The design crew sits at a table and combs through the trend forecast. We identify what we like individually and then think about what would work well with our manufacturing capabilities and overall esthetic. Sometimes (if we're are lucky) we see really strong trends and decide to merge them. That was the case with this Doodles print.

Doodles Print. Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. Dresses by Mata Traders. Spring '13 collection.

There were some great images in our trend forecast back in 2012. One page was full of   hand drawn doodles, which is one of my favorite styles to create. After perusing the pages a bit more, we noticed the slight shift from the southwestern/aztec trend that were all the rage in Spring 2012, to more Moroccan and Moorish geometric trends popping up all over the Spring 2013 forecast. Combining both the hand drawn style with Moroccan and Moorish shapes seemed like the perfect match.

Dresses by Mata Traders.

This Doodles print was designed as a traditional block print which gave a softer, yet still edgy feel to the fabric. It was produced in 2 color ways, on 2 different garments and gives off 2 totally different vibes: The strong and structured Shanghai Shift Dress on the left and the flowy and playful Twist and Twirl Dress on the right. 

I personally enjoyed the challenge of merging different trends. Just reminiscing and writing about this process has gotten me excited about the start of designing a whole new collection. In just a few weeks we will start designing for Mata Traders' Spring 2015  line and I am sure we will have many amazing stories of processes and inspiration to share with you.

Pinwheel Print

In the Fall of 2010 (the beginning of my senior year at University of Michigan), I filled a moleskin journal with many hand drawn patterns that eventually resulted in my thesis project . I only used a few select patterns for the overall project but had many others sitting in that journal waiting to be used in the future. Luckily for the Pinwheels, that time was a cold day last February, while designing the Mata Traders' Spring '13 collection. 

From left to right - Dahee Dress, Garden Party Dress & Shanghai Shift Dress. 

After sifting through colorful and complicated designs, we realized that what we were lacking was a simple, monochromatic print that was playful and quirky but also sophisticated. I brought in a few ideas from my moleskin journal from college and we all decided that the Pinwheels would translate effortlessly from paper to fabric. We loved it so much that it was paired with 3 different garments (2 of which are almost completely sold out!) 

This has also been a popular pattern to be blogged about. Check out these three posts by Walking with Cake,  Birds-of-a-Thread and LindaLind.

Bloggers who have featured the Pinwheels print from left to right: Walking with Cake, Birds of a Thread and  Lindalind.

Bringing Patterns to Camp!

For many summers, I had the amazing opportunity to attend Camp Tel Yehudah, Young Judaea's Teen Leadership camp. Summer months as a camper were spent mastering the art of kissing with braces, challenging ourselves creatively on how to best raid the boys bunks and learning a thing or two about Zionism, leadership and Jewish identity. I spent these same months as a counselor figuring out how to connect teenagers with art & Judaism. However, one of my favorite parts as an art specialist was preparing for the last night of camp, otherwise known as "Banquet". Banquet is a huge themed night where the typical dining hall is transformed into something special and spectacular... and the entire staff dresses up according to the theme... It's a kind of a big deal.

 Last summer my amazing, talented younger sister, Leah Whiteman, was the supervisor for the art program at Camp Tel Yehudah. After 2 weeks, she decided on "Africa" for the 1st session banquet theme. Besides sharing genes, Leah is also a wonderful artist who is currently a senior at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design,  and has taken a few fiber arts classes (I swear we have differences!)

Within the theme "Africa" she wanted to focus quite a bit on traditional African kente cloth and African Dutch wax batik prints.  Kente Cloth is a type of interwoven silk and cotton fabric, native to the Akan ethnic group of South Ghana. Each color used in the cloth has a different symbolic meaning. They are beautiful pieces with rich traditions and history. African Dutch wax batik prints are patterns printed on one side of fabric using both wax as a repellant of ink in addition to ink and dyes. This is a common but beautiful process in African textiles and the fabric is used on many native garments in the region. Incorporating traditional elements of African textiles added a respectful and authentic touch to the theme while also made it look so cool! I wish I could have a backdrop like this at one of my own parties!

Painted panels of traditional Kente cloth and African Dutch Wax batik prints.

Using camp art materials like butcher paper, tempera paint, cardboard and paper mâché, Leah and her team of art specialists truly transformed the dining hall into a beautiful African paradise!

Check out these panels of replicated fabrics! They managed to create an elephant sculpture and a staff member took on the challenge of dressing up as a giraffe! Disney's "The lion king" played on theTV screens in the background and I'm sure the campers were in awe of the space and had quite a memorable "Banquet". 

Animals were created and welcomed! ...Also, check out the awesome Mata Traders dress Leah is wearing!