In 2008 Rachel Faller traveled to Cambodia on a Fulbright Fellowship to research artisans and fair trade organizations. She wound up founding Tonlé, an ethical, zero-waste fashion business in Cambodia that makes contemporary women's apparel from garment factory remnants. A weaver and designer, she combines her knowledge of making and materials with an entrepreneurial vision for building an ethical business.
Make/Time shares conversations about craft, inspiration, and the creative process. Listen to leading makers and thinkers talk about where they came from, what they're making, and where they're going next. Make/Time is hosted by Stuart Kestenbaum and is a project of craftschools.us. Major funding is provided by the Windgate Charitable Foundation.
Potter Sanam Emami was born in Iran and grew up in England and the US. She lives in Colorado, where she is an associate professor of art at Colorado State University. She came to pottery after studying American history—which led her to think about her own history—and her work combines influences of Persian and Islamic art with a contemporary sensibility. For Sanam, making pots, and understanding her voice within that work, is a continuing journey.
Make/Time shares conversations about craft, inspiration, and the creative process. Listen to leading makers and thinkers talk about where they came from, what they're making, and where they're going next. Make/Time is hosted by Stuart Kestenbaum and is a project of craftschools.us. Major funding is provided by the Windgate Charitable Foundation.
This week we're reprising an episode from our first season—an interview with Cynthia Schira, who began weaving in the 1950s and hasn't stopped since.
Cynthia Schira is a weaver and designer living in Westport, New York. She taught art for nearly 30 years, and has been a practicing artist since attending RISD on scholarship as a young woman. She happened into weaving because of a scholarship opportunity, but it fit her. In the course of her career, Cynthia has given special attention to working with computers and the Jacquard loom—an early precursor to the modern computer—to explore the digital qualities and possibilities of the art form. Today, Cynthia has retired from teaching, but not from making; she continues to make new projects, collaborate with other artists, and find new synchronicities between art and the world around her.
Make/Time shares conversations about craft, inspiration, and the creative process. Listen to leading makers and thinkers talk about where they came from, what they're making, and where they're going next. Make/Time is hosted by Stuart Kestenbaum and is a project of craftschools.us.