Saturday, February 21, 2015

African Village, y'all. My new favorite.

My initial intent when I went to Tucson was to tackle African Village early in the week!  I KNEW from last year's experience that I would really love their stuff and really want to buy some of it.  However, I'd have to have time to get it boxed up and shipped home, cause it wouldn't be fitting in my suitcase!  And as it would turn out... I didn't get out there until, I think, Monday.  That was really late in the game!
OH well.  The show must go on, right?!  All of these textiles are hand sewn and made, I am pretty sure, from grasses from Africa.  They are straight up gorgeous.
And I am forever in awe at the number of beads and artifacts they are somehow able to get shipped here, and the amount of WORK it takes to get it all set out.  This has got to be some back breaking work!!
ISn't this just divine?!
And the baskets.  OH the baskets!! I'll be showing some that I just couldn't resist in a few.  I really wanted some of those straw hats too.  RESTRAINT, Melanie, restraint!!
All over Tucson are different shows, but none have as many wares from the same region of the world as this place.  And I have been going to Tucson for over 10 years, but only last year did I discover this little pearl!!
I bought this piece, and Ellie has claimed it.  She wants her bedroom redone, and I think this could make a fun wall piece!
Look at all of these little brass faces.
And oh my...
These are made from some sort of plastic.  I want to say it is made from telephone wire.  They have to be very resourceful in Africa!
a lot of the stuff I was looking at, I was told, came from very, very poor communities in Africa.
I sent this pic home to Keif, at MMPT, and told him this must be his ancestors, cause of their heavy brows!

and then, sent him this one, and said, and this must be mine!  See if you can tell why!
I have absolutely NO NEED in the world for one of these ceremonial dresses, but I surely would love to have one hanging in my house.  I just think all of that luscious fabric is so stunning!!

These are carved plates used to print on the fabrics and ribbons.  They're pretty neat.  I have bought some in the past, or a few of these would've been in a flat rate USPS box on Tuesday!!
Look at all that intricate beadwork.
And this coral.  I mean, it was probably a strand that was about 3' long and must've weighed 25 pounds.

See how the table are just slam packed with beads of all sorts and sizes?  Well... I was on a hunt for one thing in particular.  It is my favorite jewelry staple.  I have several necklaces, and I knew that I had gotten them here, and I wasn't stopping til I found them!!
These statues are all so interesting, and I see these types of things in "interesting homes" that I go into, but I wasn't sure Todd would find them so "interesting"!!
This is a killer bench.  Some of this stuff made me wish I'd driven so I could load up the back of a vehicle.
These were so colorful and inviting.
But still, not what I was looking for.  Close... but no cigar.
I did end up buying lots of strands of those colorful beads below.  I have them in my studio, and think they are perfect to buy two to three strands to wear together, and make a great gift for kids too.  My kids love these colorful beads.
More intricate beadwork.  WOuldn't this make a fab wall hanging?

To give a little scale, I took a pic leaned over one of the tables.
Oh... these bowls were for sure made from old phone wire.  Isn't that crazy?!  I wish you could see the weave that makes these up!
There.... see it!?

As promised, I did get back around to the baskets.  I bought several of these for the studio and my home and even a few gifts, and the nice man offered to mail them to me.  Wellll..... I am waiting!!
Todd definitely feels I am too trusting.  Revisiting "Strengths", one of his top five is Deliberative.  That means cautious.  Slow to make a decision.  Slow to trust.  Or to put it nicely, "full of care".  He definitely tempers my WOO!  And in my top five is Ideation and Futuristic.  Therefore, I am a dangerous shopper!!  I look way ahead at who I will need to buy gifts for in the future, and I have an idea for everything I see... i.e. "A great wall hanging",  "Something nice for Ellie's new room makeover", "look interesting in my house".  If Todd doesn't see an immediate use of rate object, then, to him, it is not useful!  Hey... God sprinkled each of us with different strengths!!  I am glad He saw fit to put a deliberative in my life to slow me down a bit.  A teeny tiny bit!
a-HA!!  Here we are!!  The paper bead necklaces.  I LOVE these suckers.  I wear them several times a week.  To me, they are the summer scarf!!
You know what I mean... you have on a plain black tunic.  You wish it was winter so you could dress it up with a scarf... but it's hot.  What do you do?  You dress it up with a necklace!!! I bought about 60 strands, I think, so if you think you need one, let me know, and I'll get it in the mail to you.
So many people around town see them on me and ask about them, that I thought I'd stock the studio with them! We sell them for $15.  They are long enough to wear long, doubled or even tripled around your neck.  If you want one, let me know in the comments below, or email me at mojoy@att.net.
After this long day of so much excitement, eating breakfast with a total stranger, finally finding my paper bead necklaces, trusting a dude to send me a large order of baskets, and such.... I deserved this...
And off to my next adventure!!  This one is going to be good!!  Hang on for the ride.

MO

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Yikes, hope your baskets arrive soon. My goodness that was pretty overwhelming. I can't imagine setting it all up. I love the pieces made of plastic.

Mbeaty19 said...

Wow that looks very overwhelming. I can say this would not probably be a must go to spot. I find the intricate work of the plastic items very cool though. The baskets are neat and think they will be a good addition to your house. Again not my thing. I agree about the paper beads though. Each one is unique and all the colors do make perfect accessory to a black shirt. Can't see what your next adventure was.

Becky said...

I think that I would be totally overwhelmed but that is one of the differences between you and me. I am loving Todd's pix of the girls. you are blessed

jmckemie said...

Love those baskets! Hope your arrive soon.
Let me know if the necklaces will be on your on line shop or if we can just handle that here!
Janet