Pretoria Weaver's Guild

Yesterday I did a dye demo at the Pretoria Weaver's Guild. This Guild has been around for decades and is made up of people who spin their own thread and weave their own textiles by hand.

It is a fascinating process and a person ca work on a single project for many months.

It was interesting to note that most of the Guild members were over sixty years of age. When I asked the organisers about this, they told me that the Guild had more than 700 members in the 1970's. That number has shrunk to around 60 or so. They believe that this has happened because more and more women are having to go out and work and have less time (and energy) to spend on themselves doing hand crafts. Because this is such a labour intensive craft, it is now mostly practiced by retired people who have the time to do it.

It is such a pity that this amazing craft that lies so deeply embedded in our textile history is fading out. Today most fabrics are woven on large automated looms and the knowledge that was once passed down from mother to daughter and father to son is now lost.

In some coutries around the world, the knowledge survives, but in South Africa, it is definitely dying out. I feel it is a real pity. There is nothing quite so beautiful as an authentic hand woven piece of cloth.

If you would like to know more about the Weaver's Guild or become a member, please get in touch with me and I will point you in the right direction. I would hate to see this craft die out completely in South Africa.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150

www.dyeandprints.co.za

High Fashion In Milan

My signature South African flag dyed by hand on chiffon silk recently walked down the catwalk in Milan. Follow the link to see it!

http://http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Melanie-Brummer-Fan-Club/266623571663

I have been producing hand dyed fabrics for the fashion industry since 2002 and they have appeared in collections around the world from New York to Milan.

Because I work so far behind the scenes in manufacturing, very few people know about it since the fashion designer is normally credited for the work. What most people do not realise is that a fashion designer will use many service providers along the way to producing a garment. A single garment may involve a pattern-maker, textile designer, dyer, printer, CMT (cut make and trim), beader and finisher before it makes it onto the runway. Very often the fashion designer is only responsible for the conceptual design and co-ordination of service providers.

Next time you see a garment strutting down the catwalk, remember that it is the work of many hands and try to guess how many people might have been involved in bringing the creation to you.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

http://www.dyeandprints.co.za/

CDP Trust

The CDP Trust is an NGO that works with refugees, orphaned children and abused women. They have created a programme called Arts For Advocacy where they use art to assist people to tell their stories, as well as create promotional material to create awareness for their plight.

A collection of their work is currently on display at Constitution Hill during the 16 Days Of Activism campaign.

They also teach people skills like fabric dyeing and screenprinting, that can be used to earn a living. They have not only succeeded in promoting healing and building awareness, they have also succeeded in building sustainability for thes people.

Women come to the centre and tell their stories. They feel heard, very often for the first time in their lives. They learn and share, and when they leave they are armed with new skills that they can use to make a living for themselves, so that they can grow out of their past experiences and begin new lives for themselves.

They work with paint, clay, fabric dye, mosaics, collages and other media to share their message with the world.

Pop in at Constitution Hill this week to see this astonishing collection of work.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

0835689150

Sew Easy

I taught a class at the Sew Easy Head Office on Saturday and had an enormous amount of fun! The students produced such gorgeous T-shirts I just have to show them off. Consider the fact that these are all first attempts...

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

0835689150

Magical Moments

I often work in the most magical places amongst the most magical people and last week was an exceptionally magical time for me. I worked with a small group of ladies who, between them, feed and care for more than 900 needy children in the townships.

Magical Moments is a volunteer-driven organisation that helps small, grass roots NGO's to co-ordinate their work in an effort to grow and thrive. Magical Moments goes into these organisations and and delivers Magical Moments to the children so that they may have some magical experiences of their own to build valuable memories of their childhood.

A Magical Moment can be as simple as eating their first ice cream. I grew up in a "previously advantaged" environment. We had ice cream in the fridge at home all the time. It is hard for me to imagine a life where a child has his first experience of real ice cream at the age of 7 or 8 years old. Imagine how magical it must be to experience that icy sensation for the first time, in an environment where food is scarce, fridges are unknown and very often there is not even a fresh water supply.

On the day that I did training in this particular home, where they feed hundreds of hungry children every day, there was not even water in the taps.

What is most magical to me, is the dedication of the volunteers who run these places. The selfless people who give of themselves to help those who are in dire need, no matter what the personal cost. Those who have the courage to do the job that few have the heart for, the time that others cannot justify.

I salute all of the unsung heros who work at the point of pain within our society. I salute your courage and your heart. I salute your giving nature.

Imagine, if you can, a world where such people are not a small minority, but rather the larger majority. A world where every person feels the responsibility of the group, instead of saying "This is not MY problem. I did not create this challenge so I have no reason to do anything to fix it."

Day by day we can each make the small internal changes necessary that will have sweeping external effects on society. If each one of us does a little more than is necessary, we can share the load and effect massive social change.

Thank you to Magical Moments for giving me a truly magical moment with your group.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

0835689150

Magical Feedback!

Today I received some magical feedback from one of my customers. It is moments like these that make all the work worthwhile...

"Through all the usual duties and extra honey collection, I tried your dye out on cheap items from Pep Stores. And I stood amazed about the deep, vibrant colours!!! This was also a learning experience as I folded one of the T-shirts wrong! I was so excited. I e-mailed my friends all over South Africa with the photos and they are all thrilled.

I first dyed the one dress and T-shirt turquoise and the following day I folded it and dyed it navy. The other dress and T-shirt I folded and dyed with Brights. The 2 little dresses are for my granddaughter and the Brights T-shirt is for her mother, my daughter. Last night when they phoned me after receiving the photos, Samantha (granddaughter, 2 years old) told me "Ouma, bllue! Blue!!"

Thanks for your book that introduced me to your colourful world. It opened amazing doors for me!"

Kathy Du Plessis

I wish I could bottle such magical moments. Thank you to all of YOU who embark on this beautiful journey with me. The experience is amplified by your voices.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150

Brush Images

I recently did an interview with a successful young entrepreneur for a newspaper. Mosa Moketsi of TYT Construction has an awesome business and a very bright future. It did not seem right to write an article about this charismatic young lady, without some amazing pictures to go with it.

Lwazi Hlope of Brush Images Photography was there to help out. He took some really awesome pictures that really captured this vivacious young lady at her best.

Lwazi specialises in protraits and weddings, although he frequently does work for magazines as well. Currently he is working on pictures for a gardening magazine and he says that one day he would really like to take the pictures for a cookery book.

I am VERY impressed with his work and can recommend him to anybody.

Brush Images...making magical moments click.

0725169252

www.brushimages.co.za

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150