Saturday, August 16, 2008

Textile freaks, anyone? I'm selling some Thai tribal silk & cotton

Mama needs a new pair of shoes (well, orthotic-friendly sneakers) and new brakes for the Crapmobile Mark II (which is back from the insurance company's body shop.) So, to finance happy feet and an even happier car, I'm selling some gorgeous lengths of handwoven Thai tribal silk (matmee or mudmee, depending on your choice o' spelling) from the north of Thailand and one astoundingly long length of handwoven Thai tribal cotton.

I'm planning on putting these on eBay, but I figured I'd check and see if any readers had any interest before I post them for the eBay rabble. The pieces are currently at my office -- someone at work indicated they wanted to buy them on behalf of a tailor/friend, and she's blown me off for more than three months now, so I've given up. Amusingly, other folks passing by my office bought some of the pieces when they saw it draped over my guest chair. Two of the ladies are planning to have really swanky "goin' to a DC cocktail reception" suits made for themselves. They will look stunning.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in seeing the fabric/prices, let me know. I initially bought these pieces for myself, when I thought I could actually make a go of a wearable art business. That failed miserably, but the gorgeous silk & cool cotton remain.

Fun story - I was mugged at knifepoint by a member of an ethnic Chinese meth gang at the Chatuchak market in Bangkok the day I bought this fabric. The silk vendor I loved to work with came down from the north every weekend to sell handwoven marvels on behalf of the ladies in her village, and she worked on a cash-only basis. Let's just say I was relieved of a considerable amount of money that day by some punk with a bad 80s haircut - complete with pink streaks - and wraparound shades. And a knife. A really big knife.

Good times, good times!

I won't say any more about that day -- eventually, it'll end up in a book, I hope.

For now, my lovely fabric needs a new home or two or three. Drop me a line (addy is in my profile) if you have a hankering for some textile goodness. Most expensive piece, fyi, would be $51, plus shipping. I'll take photos once I'm back at work for anyone interested. Variety of cool colors, each length with a segment of plain brilliant color and a segment of an even more brilliant traditional ikat-style pattern.

UPDATE: click here for photos of the silk & cotton, with info and prices.

3 comments:

Heather Meadows said...

My friends are interested in photos/prices, if you can provide them! Hopefully you still have my email addy?

Cyn said...

Sounds like a bargain! If only we hadn't had our own string of pricey mechanical failures and less-life-threatening-than-yours health-related expenses (daughter's getting braces Monday - after seeing the cost I've decided that in my next life I will be an orthodontist)...

Though I'm not buyer material (yikes, just typed an unintentional pun!) evidently I am a fiber fetishist because I'd love to see photos of your wares.

And I think you should include the mugging story on eBay as a selling point.

Merujo said...

Heather, I do have your e-mail addy! I'll snap photos of the fabric on Tuesday, when I'm back at work. I'll post them here and send you e-mail with the prices for the pieces.

Cyn - I feel your pain between things mechanical and medical! You'll enjoy the "textile porn" on Tuesday.