Jul 30, 2012

Creative Women’s New Tablecloth Sports Blue Ribbons … and Green and Gray

Hair Ribbons, Blue Ribbons (it is Olympic season again), Ribbons of caramel laced through vanilla ice-cream, lovely gifts decorated with Ribbons, and now Creative Women’s new Ribbon Collection. Can we call it a collection if we only have one piece … the Ribbon Tablecloth?

There’s more to come, but for now, we’ve taken the ribbon concept, tweaked it by weaving ribbons of thick colored yarn through a natural, hand-woven, 100% Ethiopian cotton tablecloth. The ribbons add texture to a flat surface and a bit of whimsy to the table. Instead of continuing the Ribbons from row to row, each row begins and ends with a short (stubby) tassel, adding interest to the length of the table, rather than the traditional fringe at the ends of the table. Available in Cyprus, Gray, and of course Blue … the Blue Ribbon for first place (with coordinating napkins).

Our Ethiopian partners, currently working on the Ribbons Place Mat, will incorporate the same concept in pillows, blankets and throws. Ribbons will add a bit of fun and a lot of hand-made artistry; both should add up to new jobs and beautiful new products.

In addition to our Ribbons, Creative Women will be adding a new Tussah pillow complementing our Tussah table top and new colors (blush and gray) to our Ribs Bath and Hand Towel. Buyers also will find other new textile fibers at Creative Women’s booth. Soft, lightweight alpaca scarves (from Peru); from Bolivia, we’ll be showing throws, in green, deep navy, and rich gray. Our popular lines of tabletop, bath accessories, scarves, and throws will be on display at Booth 201, The Galleria, NYIGF (August 18 -21). Make an appointment to talk with us, or just drop by the booth.

A quote from Ellen Dorsch, Founder of Creative Women:

“I look forward to each NYIGF as a chance to show off our new products, see old friends, and get needed feedback on our products. After the show, I write our partners and share the excitement  of the show with them, passing on the compliments and suggestions. It’s all part of helping them create sustainable businesses and helping Creative Women fulfill our mission.”

Notes to Editors:
Today, Creative Women, a Vermont-based importer, works with other women-owned businesses in Ethiopia, Bolivia, and Peru to create traditionally-inspired contemporary accessories and home textiles. More than just designing and selling textiles, Creative Women works to promote equitable trade practices and to support women’s economic independence. “I founded Creative Women as a way to create jobs and to sustain an ancient art form by introducing the West to the refinement of Ethiopian textiles,” says owner Ellen Dorsch. “I believe beautiful things are even more beautiful when the people who make them are respected and paid fairly.”

Over the past ten years, Creative Women has worked with a variety of artisan groups and businesses, expanding our geographical and design reach. We’ve worked with cooperatives in Mali and Senegal, experimenting with West African design. From Swaziland, we imported lush mohair, beautifully hand-dyed at Coral Stephens, Hand-wovens; from Azana, in Afghanistan, we imported elegant hand-woven silk scarves. Each of these groups helped us develop the Creative Women look … simple, rustic, natural textiles, beautiful for their timelessness and high quality.

Today, Sabahar, Ethiopia, is the primary studio we work with. Over ten years, this studio has grown from 5 people to over 70 full-time employees, while also working with contract weavers, silk farmers, and home-based spinners. Creative Women, perhaps Sabahar’s largest customer, cannot claim responsibility for all this success. However, as we order more, more jobs are created to fill these orders … helping Creative Women fulfill its goal of creating more jobs in places where decent jobs are rare.

In addition to Sabahar, we continue to work with two other Ethiopian studios, plus we recently have begun working with artisans in Bolivia and Peru. From these South American producers, we are now able to bring more winter weight products to our customer … lush alpaca throws in natural and subtle colors and soft and loosely woven scarves/shawls, unlike most shawls you have seen from that part of the world. It’s been fun trying to think in Spanish again and learning about a new textile. Alpaca truly is a luxurious and elegant fiber and a wonderful complement to Ethiopia’s cottons and silks.