stories from my red thread life
Healing from tragedy: quilters create the Toronto LOVE Project
The deadly van attack on pedestrians that took place in Toronto on April 23 left Torontonians in a state of shock and sadness. In this relatively safe and friendly city, any act of hate shakes us. In the days that followed, many people wondered what they could do. Some people attended vigils, expressing support for the victims and outrage at the perpetrator. Berene Campbell got to work. Berene, a designer and quilter, has a large following in the sewing community, and she called upon caring quiltmakers to help create a work of art that would express hope, positivity, and unity in the face of this tragedy. She teamed up with the organization North York Arts and secured a bright, central space at the North York Centre, at the heart of the community where the attack happened. Today, June 25, 2018, the installation was unveiled. It consists of 71 banners, each one four inches wide and 22 feet long. They were created by people across Canada, the United States and Australia. Some came from quilt guilds such as the Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver Modern Quilt Guilds, while others came from individuals. Another group of eight banners on display was made by [...]
Bursting at the seams
Have you heard the quote “Do one thing every day that scares you?” It sits alongside so many other aphorisms designed to inspire us, to get us off our asses to act, to “Just Do It!” (thank you for the kick, Nike). Ten years ago I started a business. That in itself is a leap of faith; it exposes you to failure and requires that you gain the support of others, while drawing on every skill you have, including a few you didn’t know you had. I set out to create a strong, cohesive and appealing brand. It worked — when I put my first children’s dresses out into the world, people liked them! Those people became customers, and then loyal customers. The line grew. Stores started to carry my clothing, both close to home and far away. And ten years later, I feel grateful to be able to continue to do this work for an appreciative audience. Over the years Red Thread has maintained its focus on vibrant prints and simple shapes. A few years ago, my customers’ requests to “please make something for me!” started to grow into a chorus. My usual response was to feel moved, [...]
Children’s clothing shops in Paris: Part Two
I’ve been back from Paris for a month now, and I still have a delicious taste in my mouth. What a feast! Of course I couldn’t help but notice how much gorgeous children’s clothing there was. My first post on this topic included four shops, and today I’m happy to share four more with you. These shops all have some wonderful things, ranging from friendly and affordable to pricey and ever-so-precious. Soeur’s St-Germain shop is a treat for older girls with more sophisticated tastes I was quite taken with Soeur, a shop that caters to girls aged 10-16. How delightful to see a collection for this age range that is stylish, well made, and — dare I say it? — age appropriate. The pieces on display for Fall 2013 reminded me of the luscious corduroy and plaid preppy designs I lusted after at age 13, so sophisticated and chic, yet soft and comfortable. Their website lists three locations; I visited the St-Germain shop at 88 rue Bonaparte. The prices are a bit intimidating — for example, the cream-coloured sweater below is priced at €135 (about $180 USD), but it has a luxurious feel, and seems to be of very good [...]
Children’s clothing shops in Paris: Part One
Ah, Jacadi. So international, yet so quintessentially French! Last week I had the good fortune to spend five scrumptious days in Paris, at the end of a two week trip to France. But even though I had put Red Thread on a brief pause to soak up this stunning change of scenery, I could not resist scouring the city for beautiful children’s clothing. I was curious to see how Parisian children are dressed, and wondered if I might find some inspiration there. Inspiration was everywhere, of course! This will be a brief introduction, and I’ll post more discoveries in the coming weeks. First, here are a few lines that left the strongest impression on me. The CdeC shop at 93 rue du Bac in the 7eme is like a tiny jewel. I wonder if this lovely shop could accommodate even a single stroller. I was pleasantly shocked at the abundance of gorgeous children’s shops, from the tiniest shop I’ve ever seen, CdeC by Cordelia de Castellano, to the endless beautifully-styled rooms of Bonpoint. The CdeC by Cordelia de Castellano shop at 93 rue du Bac was not on my destination list – I stumbled upon it and was delighted [...]
A Summer of No Pants
It’s just as exciting as it sounds, depending on your perspective. I’ve joined Summer of No Pants 2013, a special summer challenge in which the participants commit to making four skirts or dresses in the four weeks leading up to the first day of summer (May 27-June 21). Everyone posts their creations online, and pledges to not wear pants all summer long. I practically live in jeans, so this will be an interesting change. I love to design and sew, but it’s always for Red Thread. I’ve designed dozens of women’s skirts and dresses in my head, but until now most of them have stayed there. No longer! For week one I created a pleated skirt from a pair of jeans, and if this interests you, you can check out some images and an online tutorial here. I’m also posting images of skirts and dresses I love on Pinterest, where I always share my colour and design inspiration. You can follow me there if you like what you see. I’ll be posting my four creations, and my inspiration along the way. I’m looking forward to taking my pants off, and to sharing my projects with you! Happy summer, Devorah Red [...]
Announcing… The Love Dress
For about a year, I have been working on a special project. You know how sometimes an idea pops into your head, and you wonder “Could I really do that?” This is one of those. I am frequently asked to donate dresses to charities, mostly for silent auction fundraisers. My customers have causes that they care deeply about, and they ask, so I give. It’s easy. But sometimes we want to do meaningful things that are not so easy, that require thought, investment, time and risk. And sometimes a cause or an organization strikes our heart in a different, more persistent way. The Canada Mathare Education Trust felt like that to me. It’s a secular, volunteer-run, registered Canadian charity that provides high school scholarships for children living in the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi. Mathare is one of the largest and most impoverished slums in Kenya, and most of its 800,000 residents live on less than a dollar a day. Thanks to the opportunities CMETrust provides, kids who would otherwise not have access to a high school education are thriving, and several graduates are now starting university. The students are seizing these opportunities, working hard, and taking on leadership roles [...]
Much Ado about Colour
Last night my sister came to me with a mission: she’s taking a quilting class and wanted to select nine harmonious fabrics to use in her first quilt. Because I own a vast amount of printed cotton fabric, she expected this task to be easy. It wasn’t! As she pulled out bolt after bolt and ruminated over multiple possible combinations, I started to think about what makes a colour or a print pleasing to one person and ugly to another. I spend a lot of time making decisions about colour and scale and pattern, but it was interesting to watch somebody else engaged in this process. We all know what we like when we see it – something in our brain just clicks. We live surrounded by visual stimuli and are constantly judging what we like and dislike from a multitude of choices. But I wonder how much of this is subjective, a reflection of our personal or cultural associations and biases, and how much is attributable to science. A recent (2010) study at UC Berkeley by a team of psychologists devoted to the study of colour perception and aesthetics, postulated a new theory of colour preference. “Ecological Valance Theory” [...]
More than just a photo shoot
A few weeks ago I did another photo shoot, this time for my Spring/Summer 2012 line. Once again my amazing photographer Lise Varrette worked her magic, this time in her new studio space over a five-hour period with a total of nine children! The children were amazing and the photos are beautiful. As I reflect on these twice-yearly photo shoots I can’t help but feel that in addition to tracking my development as a designer, they’re also tracking the growth of my three daughters, my nieces and nephews, and our beloved friends who have generously acted as my models, some for years. My Caterpillar Dress is a particularly difficult one to photograph well. Because one size fits from about 1-4 years, I like to show it on different ages in the same photo to illustrate its flexibility. But it can be challenging to photograph a 12-month-old, and I don’t know very many right now (all the children in my life are growing too quickly!). Visiting friends with tiny toddler twins fit the bill perfectly. Their older “helper” was the lovely Anika, turning 4 next month, the daughter of other beloved friends. Acting as the senior model with two rowdy toddlers [...]
Tickled Pink
Normally I avoid pink when I’m choosing fabrics for a new season. It’s so overdone, so painfully gendered, more about being pretty than powerful, sweet rather than strong and playful, and more imbued with symbolism than perhaps any other colour when it comes to dressing our children. My customers often tell me that they’re on the lookout for anything other than pink! But. As the mother of three girls, there have been times when each of my daughters wanted everything to be pink. And when I’m designing, I occasionally fall in love with a print that features pink, if it’s strong and vibrant and gorgeous. There are so many amazing variations on the colour spectrum, so many interesting combinations and juxtapositions. Last month I found myself facing some gorgeous pink fabric, a lovely eco-blend of soy and organic cotton in a deep rich shade of fuschia. It was a stunning match for a cotton hearts print I’d been saving for the perfect occasion. How could I resist? And so I made a special dress in 100% pink, in honour of Valentine’s Day, and I offer it to you in all its pinkness, proudly. Turns out I can do pink after [...]
Fabric Gymnastics 101
When I first made the transition from sewing for the love of it to starting a business, I had a lot to learn about production sewing: planning for the best use of precious fabric with minimal wastage, ideal pattern layout, and sewing as efficiently as possible without losing any attention to detail. Because I love to use beautiful, high quality (therefore expensive) fabrics, pattern layout is of special interest to me. Ideally, to maximize yield, fabric should be non-directional so the pattern pieces can lie both up and down, and the print should be consistent throughout. Breaking all of these rules in the name of beauty over function, I recently fell in love with this fabric from Japan. This fabric would certainly make beautiful curtains, but how could I use it for clothing? The answer was instantly clear to me, and it determined the design of two of my new pieces for Fall: As you can see, the skirt is cut from the upper section of the fabric with its soaring birds in a woodblock-print style, simple and elegant. The dress is cut from the lower section, centering the birds on the chest regardless of pattern size. The lowest section [...]
Welcoming Fall with Open Arms
For as long as I can remember, I’ve cared very little for fashion (and yes, designing clothing for a living I am well aware of the irony). Living in Toronto with its climactic extremes, I’ve spent most of my life seeking comfort over beauty: keeping warm and dry during the long chilly winters and cool and protected during the scorching summers. But my interest always turns to fashion in the fall, my favourite season, with its cool days, beautiful transformation of trees and the resulting carpet of leaves underfoot, and more relaxing pace after trying to squeeze every drop out of our too-short summers. Throughout my childhood our family rented cottages every August, and it was then that I developed my interest in tweed, wool, and all things Fall. My mother bought an array of August fashion magazines (the only month she bought them) and on rainy days I pored over the images of stunning models decked out in beautiful fabrics that I coveted. The rich, earthy colours and natural textures had me in a thrall. This year I was very fortunate to find exquisite fabrics for my Fall season that put me in a similar state of joy, and [...]
Welcoming Fall with Open Arms
For as long as I can remember, I’ve cared very little for fashion (and yes, designing clothing for a living I am well aware of the irony). Living in Toronto with its climactic extremes, I’ve spent most of my life seeking comfort over beauty: keeping warm and dry during the long chilly winters and cool and protected during the scorching summers. But my interest always turns to fashion in the fall, my favourite season, with its cool days, beautiful transformation of trees and the resulting carpet of leaves underfoot, and more relaxing pace after trying to squeeze every drop out of our too-short summers. Throughout my childhood our family rented cottages every August, and it was then that I developed my interest in tweed, wool, and all things Fall. My mother bought an array of August fashion magazines (the only month she bought them) and on rainy days I pored over the images of stunning models decked out in beautiful fabrics that I coveted. The rich, earthy colours and natural textures had me in a thrall. This year I was very fortunate to find exquisite fabrics for my Fall season that put me in a similar state of joy, and [...]