The WARP Blog

Installation view of Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, de Young, San Francisco, 2024. Photograph by Gary Sexton

Appropriation, Appreciation + Commodification

On the opening day of Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, I was on a panel about cultural appropriation and appreciation.Kaiser spoke to the implications of cultural appropriation for consumers. The chance of coming together all of these years later to discuss the same topic in a new context was fortuitous. What I wanted viewers of my documentary in 1999 and visitors to the de Young in 2024 to consider when thinking about this topic hasn’t changed — it’s still all about power.  INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

Oomingmak: The Bearded One

Here’s a story that comes from the 200-member Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-Operative, in operation in the Alaskan Arctic since 1969, making it one of the oldest – and coldest – groups we know of. INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

New board members

The annual meeting is coming very soon and it’s time to elect our new board members! Right now WARP has 9 board members, each one of them can serve for a 3 year period that can be renewed once. So every member can serve a total of 3 or 6 years. INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

Coming to the WARP Meeting? Here are some fun things to do in Colorado

We are often told that the PLACE of the WARP meeting is an important factor in people’s decision to attend the meeting. Colorado is a GREAT place to live or visit, and we want to share a few of the many options available while you are there. Keep in mind that Colorado in May can be sunny and warm or deliver snow.  INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

Don’t Miss out! Apply for an Artisan Support Grant by March 31

We are delighted to announce that, for 2024, WARP will again award monetary grants to textile artisan communities in need.  The WARP Grants Committee is again offering two grant options: one for Emergency and one for Development. We will be accepting 2024 grant applications from March 4 – March 31, 2024. INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

Internet sales then (1994) and now (2024)

Because internet sales are of continual interest, we decided that this month we would bring you a story from the Spring 2023 WARP newsletter about just that. Susan Schaefer Davis has been doing internet sales of rugs from Morocco for just about as long as internet sales have existed, retiring just six years ago. Rikki Quintana is a relative newcomer to the field, starting her sales for “the ‘Stans” a mere ten years ago   INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

The WARP Newsletter – Part II

The December Blog talked about how the WARP newsletter began in the early 1990s. This Blog continues the story of the newsletter and features a bit of the impact it has had over the years.  INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL

Thank you for being a member of WARP

As 2024 starts, I would like to thank you for all your support of WARP in 2023. Through the incredible dedication of our board members, volunteers, and the support of our membership, we have been able to expand our impact in textile communities worldwide. Thank you for being a WARP member! INGLÉS/ESPAÑOL