Popdog by Mitch Levin and Susie Levin

If I was asked to describe the work environment of my dreams, I would immediately conjure up a light-filled space filled with vibrant people, stimulating art, and dogs. (Yes, dogs, as I have found that dog-friendly workplaces help to break the tension and keep people grounded.) Imagine my joy at walking into the reality of that workplace, the offices of the Level Playing Field Institute
in San Francisco.

LPFI is a non-profit organization dedicated to fairness: to removing barriers to fairness in higher education to the economically disadvantaged. They help talented students be better prepared for success in higher education and the workplace through scholarship, mentoring, internship and peer counseling programs. What they are doing is so encouraging and life affirming.

Knoop I by Josh Urso

Upon walking in to the offices, one is immediately greeted by one or more dogs, dogs who come to the office everyday and who clearly run the place. These rambunctious characters have many art dogs surrounding them, including “Pop Dog” by Mitch and Susie Levin, which graces the large conference room wall.

Wherever you turn within LPFI’s offices, there is art, all of it extremely tactile. At the entry gathering spot, rather than a traditional corporate coffee table, the founders have placed a Josh Urso “Knoop Table“, letting you know immediately that this is no cookie-cutter sterile office experience.

Autumn Rust Canopy by Tim Harding

Tim Harding’s voluptuous pieces silk pieces adorn one office wall, providing color, texture and the suggestion of the importance of creativity in the workplace.

With a name like Artful Home, we tend to talk a lot about art for the home for obvious reasons, but visiting the LPFI offices made me wonder why more companies don’t see the value of bringing original art into the workplace. Most of us spend more of our waking time in our offices than in our homes, and the benefits to the soul of being surrounded by art most certainly have productivity benefits to the workplace.

Ember Rose Scarf by Jenne Giles

If you’ve seen the Rose Scarves by Jenne Giles, you’ve seen how stunning the rose effect is. Recently we’ve had quite a few people ask us how to get that beautiful rose effect when wearing the scarf. Well, Jenne came to the rescue and created a great how-to video to show you how to tie your scarf to achieve the rose styling and several other creative ways for wearing the scarf. Take a peek at the video below.

Jenne herself is a San Francisco-based artist whose work ranges from traditional fine arts and crafts to innovative performance and installation art. She is dedicated to creating unique pieces of wearable art which combine her love for painterly color, sculptural form, folk art, and costume.

Besides her rose scarves in colors that range from winter white to “nocturne” (which is a combination of deep blue an grey), she also makes beautiful felted wraps. I love the luxurious fiber combinations that she uses. Her works contain Merino wool which is the reason the fibers felt, but she also includes various types of silk fibers to give the piece a luxurious look and feel.

Bunny and Frog by Josh Title

One of the down-sides of the artwork being shipped from the artist’s studio to the art buyer is that we in the office seldom get to see the artwork. Thousands of great works of art on the website and most of them we never see. Until now…

We recently discovered Josh Title and his amazing Cate & Levi collection. Hand-crafted stuffed animals made from reclaimed materials. Adorable!

Josh is from Toronto and when he couldn’t find environmentally responsible toys for his child, he decided to make them himself. The bunny and frog are made from reclaimed wool materials like old sweaters. I like how Josh defines it as leaving “the softest possible pawprint on our planet.”

Because of the reclaimed materials, each one is unique in it’s coloration, stripe, and patterns. The bunnies are pink and the frogs are green, but beyond that each one has its own special markings. And Josh even labels each one as 1 of 1 because of the unique markings.

Bunny and Frog by Josh Title

When we juried Josh’s work onto the Artful Home website, Josh decided to to send a shipment of bunnies and frogs here to Artful Home. So while we seldom actually see the works of the artists we represent, this time we are over-run with critters. Bunnies on tables, frogs on filing cabinets, high up on book shelves. It’s a lot of fun to turn around and see a cute stuffed animal staring at you.

Bunny and Frog by Josh Title

Beau Chene by Michele Hardy

Framing
There are many considerations in framing textiles as well. While glass protects against humidity, dust, insects, and touching, it is important to allow an air space around the work and to use conservation glass and acid-free mats and backings to avoid harming the fibers. Many fiber works – especially large pieces – are best displayed unframed.

Installation
Many of the works created by artists featured on Artful Home will come ready to hang, and any artist whose work you purchase should have suggestions for hanging his or her artwork safely. One good way to hand fiber involves handstitching a four-inch-wide twill tape (used in upholstering) onto the back of tapestries. A strip of Velcro is then attached to the tape and another adhered to a board (shellacked so no acids can leach out) that is covered in muslin. Screw eyes are used to secure the board to the wall, at the optimum height.

Cleaning
While fabric protectors such as Blue Magic Tectron may solve many of the problems associated with soiling, fading, and humidity, periodic cleaning will still be needed. Some pieces can be carefully vacuumed, with a mesh screening places of the work to minimize fibers being either disturbed of extricated from the piece. Dry cleaning, though, by anyone other than a well-versed conservator, can be danerous business; textile conservators around the country specialize in cleaning fragile artworks.

When appropriately cared for, contemporary fiber art will endre long after its creation. Good care from the beginning will guarantee that the best of our textile treasures will be passed on within the family for future generations to enjoy.