Bokja

I am infatuated. Very much adoring my new find...

As a self-diagnosed fabricaholic, I absolutely am enamored with the trend of covering one piece of furniture with multiple fabrics, and if they are brightly coloured, textured, handwoven, natural and global textiles, all the better. The sad truth is that the making of fabric in our own culture has been mechanized and plasticized to the point of nearly being tupperware. But there is a cultural connection to textiles around the world that goes back nearly as far back as man. The gathering, dying and weaving of these fibers went hand in hand with the telling and documentation of tribal stories. The tapestri of life can literally be traced back through history.

"We are mixers and matchers who like to upcycle fabrics, frames, and techniques in a sustainable and fascinating way. We are story-tellers. Every piece of fabric, color, thread, frill that goes into our pieces is a little word from a different part of the world that is chosen in an intuitive process." the team explained to GreekArchitect online magazine.

BOKJA is a Turkish word that describes the elaborate and detailed fabric created to cover a bride's dowry. Embroidered by the bride's relatives, this fabulously worked textile is meant to be a reminder of her past to be treasured in her new life as a married woman. Marrying vintage furniture with fabrics that are worked traditionally is the brainchild of Lebanese design team Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri. Artisans are often enlisted with a mind to help women, with female prisoners and widowers being given a chance to support their families in an otherwise desperate situation.

What the world needs is a more beautiful way of looking at what we have to work with. We don't need more stuff, we need a way to revitalize what is already on hand, both in terms of things, and resources. A good dose of colour doesn't hurt either! It doesn't get much better really :)