Where am I and What am I doing?

Hello world!!! It has been FAR too long since I've written something. I figured I would start by answering the questions "Where am I?" and "What am I doing?" 

Shifra Whiteman, struttin' around in one of her textile designs.

First of all, I am still in the great city of Chicago. However, I am now a graduate student! I am currently in the middle of my first semester in the Business and Entrepreneurship program at Columbia College Chicago (not to be confused with Columbia University in NYC). I am hoping to gain as much during these next 2 years so that I may be able to focus on establishing my own creative and fair trade business. So far, I have been taking courses in accounting, economics, marketing and fundraising. Yes, it's true, the majority of my classes have to do with numbers! I will still be designing while I'm in school, so stay tuned because I have so many goodies that I will be sharing oh so soon.

Della

Around a year and a half ago, I got a new laptop and that meant a new laptop case! I realized that in this world of buying "stuff" there was an opportunity to help people as well. Since then, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to purchase less. However what I do buy, I try and support a fair trade, ethical and/or sustainable company.  

Della - Soaring II Macbook case

I learned about this wonderful company called Della. At Della, Ghana women create beautiful laptop cases and get paid a fair wage. I immediately purchased one. They use traditional African dutch wax batik fabrics, which are filled with bright bold colors and really makes a statement. This is just one example of how a small purchase can make a huge difference in the lives of people all over the world. 

I feel so proud to me designing for companies that share the same mission and ideals as this company. Please think of fair trade organizations and companies when looking over your gift list and consider supporting them. 

Below is a video that shows the women of Della and how happy they are working for such a great company.

Piecing together the Leaf Puzzle Print

The Leaf Puzzle print was one of the first prints I designed for Mata Traders as an intern in the fall of 2011. I had hopes that it would make the cut for the Fall '12 collection (like so many prints), but it had to wait until Spring '13 to make it's debut. 

The story behind this print is interesting because it deals with restrictions. Mata Traders works with a few fair-trade cooperatives in India and Nepal and each one has their own restrictions on what they can produce. A designer might get frustrated by not having the freedom to create anything their heart desires. However, I love a challenge and believe that by learning how to work with these restrictions and guide lines, my designs get stronger each season. 

This particular print was manufactured in a cooperative where I, as a designer, was only allowed to use two colors in addition to the white of the fabric. In the past, the designs Mata Traders had created for this cooperative, were small amounts of two colors and a whole lot of white as background. While that looks nice with one or two pieces of clothing, having too many garments with that color formula gets mundane. Also, I don't even have THAT many clothes with a white background in my wardrobe. I decided that I would challenge myself to design a print that is dense and minimizes the amount of white you see. My goal was from a distance, the eye would blur the shapes and colors together so that the overall print wouldn't seem to have any white at all.

Jin Ju Ruffle Dress pink/blue and Pagoda Pocket Dress yellow. Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. 

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! After playing with a few shapes, scale and the spacing, I believe my goal was accomplished. I focused on leaf and geometric shapes that together looks reminiscent of fabric from the 40's and 50's. 

This print was manufactured on two different dresses in two different color ways. The Jin Ju Ruffle Dress on the left and the Pagoda Pocket Dress on the right are now on sale through Mata Traders. 

Global Girlfriend

I have been reading the book "Global Girlfriends" by Stacey Edgar, the founder of the website Global Girlfriend, and have been totally inspired. I highly recommend it! I could not have started reading this book at a better time - while constantly hearing about the over 800 dead because of a factory collapse in Bangladesh to unfairly treated workers, and my recent trip of the "Tour de Grad Schools", I have really been thinking about what I want to accomplish in life, and how to do it. 

​Paper Crane Tie Shoulder top. Textile Design by Shifra Whiteman. Created by Mata Traders. Sold on Global Girlfriend.

Feeling inspired, I decided to comb through the Global Girlfriend site and got to a page where I recognized a custom order that Mata Traders did for Global Girlfriend - the Paper Crane Tie Shoulder Top!   I feel honored to have somehow made it onto the Global Girlfriend site and hope to continue my work in textile design for fair trade!!!

1st round of Spring 13 designs for Mata Traders!

​One of the main companies I freelance for is Mata Traders, a fair trade fashion company based in Chicago, IL. Everything is designed in Chicago and then produced and manufactured through women's cooperatives in India and Nepal. The garments are made using mostly traditional techniques through screen printing, block printing and hand weaving. I have designed a good chunk their textiles for their Spring 2013 collection.  This week is especially exciting because a handful of my designs are now available for retail purchase on their website!  These are only the dresses that have come in but there are shirts, skirts and more dresses coming soon!!!!

​Textile design by Shifra Whiteman. Dresses available through Mata Traders.