Just spent 5 days inside the Javits Center, exhibiting Creative Women's hand-woven textiles, at the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). Each day I walked to the Javits, about 1.5 miles, mostly along the the High Line, the park in the sky that was once an elevated train line and is now the talk of NY. Good design abounds on the High Line.

HighLine

I would climb two flights of stairs and as I reached the top steps, started smiling as I saw this view.  Natural plantings, chunky chaise lounges attached to the original train tracks, elegant drinking fountains, comfortable benches so you can watch the foot traffic on the High Line or the car traffic below you on 10th Avenue.  By the time I reached the end at 30th St and 11 Avenue, I was ready to spend the whole day inside (although I would have rather been outside).

Once inside, I rarely left my booth, even though I wanted to see what was new and good looking.  But I realized that I didn't have to go far to see some innovative and pleasing uses of something old ... or to see a new take on a traditional object.

Two aisles down, I met the women from Makaua,(MAKAUA in the ancient Nahuatl language
has two meanings:“hand to hand” or the act of “giving a hand”). 

Makaua

Makaua hires over 400 people to grow the palm fronds, dye their amazing and contemporary colors, weave the wonderfully shaped baskets, and market them around the world. They epitomize the concept of using tradtional skills to bring new life to craft.

At the end of the show I realized that I really hadn't spent much time looking around, so I looked across the aisle at BittersCo, the wholesale and retail general store, out of Seattle, and founded by sisters, Amy and Katie Carson. This is a booth filled with interesting reruns ... one product tweaked or reconfigured that becomes something new. Their set of tin boxes, nested within each other and perfect for storing kitchen and desk paraphernalia, are hand-made in Mexico from old oil barrels. Good looking, useful, "green" ...

bitters

And, how can I resist showing our Creative Women's new throws and blankets from Guatemala ... our contribution to the new and lovely at the NYIGF? 

Atitlan