This week, I am delighted to share an interview with Robbie Stewart of Mbare, a long-time colleague of AOW. We enjoyed working together on an artisan project for West Elm a few years back and I have loved following his work ever since.  Robbie has been running his import business since 1997, which supplies a unique collection of handcrafted products from Africa. He also offers warehousing services that are a growing demand for artisan enterprises. He's filling an important niche in this sector and has vast experience so let's dive in! I hope you enjoy!

I am delighted to start ‘24 by talking trends with Haley Seidel, a home furnishings designer and specialist in trend forecasting and product strategy. I have known Haley for many years now, and I first met them when she had just started working with The Citizenry, one of the top artisan home decor brands in the market today. A few years ago, Haley moved to upstate NY to freelance as a product consultant and designer. Haley has deep insight into the artisan field and a wealth of information regarding design trends, not to mention being a talented freelance product designer, particularly for artisan home decor. During this interview, we dive into her thoughts about trends, what she expects to see more of in ‘24, what’s here to stay, and what she wants to see gone (how to phrase). Also, we dive into travel destinations, business insights, her design process, sources of inspiration, and much more.

This week, I am delighted to feature an interview with Maggie Galton and Maria E Hagerman of Onoracasa, co-founders of one of the most beautiful artisanal brands I've come across in the market today based in Mexico City. I love how she gracefully blends exquisite craftsmanship, which speaks to culturally diverse craft techniques throughout Mexico, and elevates the artist's work by selling in their brick-and-mortar shop and online DTC site to a level that the craft and artists deserve through a keen eye and curation. Onoracasa has so much soul and beauty and strong relationships with its partners, and hope this can be a model for those in other countries to follow, as I feel their retail company has elevated the sector for those small, often unrecognized artists with exquisite museum quality products. Wholesale was a model they tried, which didn't work, and Maggie dives into that a little, where the trade and retail have been a focus for them. 

This week, I am delighted to share a conversation with Kavita Parmar and Marcella Echavarría, co-founders of XTANT, which has become a beautiful, inspiring, emerging artisan fair and educational program that takes place annually on the island of Mallorca. The show features the work of master artists and includes a week-long program of conversations and exhibitions around the intricacies of the artisan sector. It’s been described as “an exciting mix of Burning Man, a TED talk, and a village fair.” The focus for Kavita and Marcella remains on providing a platform for master textile artists, some of whom are among the last generation to hold onto their traditional know-how. "We aim to celebrate them as the rock stars they are,” they told me. “For us, textiles are texts that represent the next frontier of modern art.”

I am delighted to circle back with a longtime colleague and friend Sara Berks of MINNA this month. I've worked with Sara over the years, and during that time, I’ve watched her company grow leaps and bounds. She started with just a few small lines of rugs and pillows from Guatemala and has since opened up a brick-and-mortar shop in Upstate New York and developed one of the leading artisan brands in the US. What sets MINNA apart – beyond the soulfulness of its art direction, the quality of its products, and the fantastic storytelling – is the cohesiveness of her brand. Sara and her team have developed a signature style that is seen all the way through, from conception to execution, from product designs to how each new collection is thoughtfully photographed. As I work with brands, I always stress the value of strong photography. I am delighted to feature Sara this week as a primary example of someone who has built a strong brand identity through design, photography, and storytelling. Dive into our interview here - I hope you enjoy it. 

Molly Keogh and I founded Osei-Duro in 2011. We are based in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Accra. We currently produce textiles and garments in Ghana, applying traditional techniques to simple contemporary designs. Born out of our shared interest in discourse between different fashion systems, Osei-Duro remains an experiment. Having pioneered the use of West African batik on fabrics like silk and rayon, we continue to focus on developing new hybrid materials.