Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, 44 Clovers. In Rachel's words:
"44 Clovers creates eco friendly treasures for you and your home with locally raised fibers and foraged plants. She also offers plant dye education within an ecological context.
Visit Rachel's blog and shop: both can be reached through the website."
SouleMama: How has your business changed over time?
Rachel: I have always enjoyed working with textiles and I get super excited about all the possibilities. However, I've also been good at taking on too much. Over this past year, I've taken stock in what really means the most to me when it comes to textiles. Learning more about the Fibershed model where ethics and sustainability are taken into account on every aspect of how a product is made. I've been inspired to also hold my business to the same standard when it comes to sustainaility and ethics coming into how I create my pieces. I have recently made a commitment to use up what I have instead of buying more of what I don't need (i.e. more fabric-which I love) and to in the future when I run out of a material such as cotton cloth to either get it used or find a fair trade and sustainble cloth. To me the price does not mean that much to me. Not when I know I am contributing to a healthier work environment of others and helping to stabilize our planet by not buying cloth that is polluting our air and harming others. I do my best to educate myself on where my materials are from and how they were made. Something that has come to mean a lot to me.
SouleMama: In your mind, what is that one thing which makes your business different?
Rachel: My process for creation is very slow, there are many steps, and creating say a pair of mittens starts with the whole raw fleece. From there I wash it by hand, forage for the dyes myself (i love that sense of discovery, I spin the fleece by hand and then I come up with a one of kind design. Many people have asked me over the years why I bother with all these steps instead of buying my yarns wholesale, getting my fleece processed at a mill, or using much faster acting dyes. I'd say one half of it is because I LOVE the process of working with my hands through each step; my hands in the fleece washing it, dyeing it, spinning it and knitting. And the other half is I enjoy staying connected with an age old tradition of creating pieces completely by hand and from what is available around me. Though two aspects is what makes me thrive with my business.
SouleMama: How do you come up with new designs and ideas?
Rachel: I day dream a lot and am often inspired by objects, lyrics, quotes, ideals, films and people who mean a lot to me. A small percentage is paid to what is trending and then I try and so something different. The only way I can think to describe this "thinking of something different" is like when Anne from the Anne of Green Gables series says to Marilla when explaining how she prays, "I imagine going out into a field and just feeling a prayer." That's kind of how I wait and figure out what to make next. It ultimately comes from inside of me as inspiration is passing through.
For today's giveaway, 44 Clovers is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky winner:
~ The Mayo project bag. Made from fabric from Ireland. And a 70 yard center pull ball of Maine raised handspun wool dyed with foraged purple loose strife.
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To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 9:00 am EST on Monday, and announce the winner, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winner is...
What a beautiful giveaway! Please pick me!!
Posted by: sage and spirit
Thank you, 44 Clovers!
