One of my secret (although it’s not so secret now) dreams is to move back to the South and work on creating a more unified and formalized community of southern designers to promote and celebrate in the design community at large. The deep South in particular is full of incredible talent that I think is oftentimes overlooked by design publications and television. I’ve always had the pie-in-the-sky idea that I could somehow win the lottery and then devote all my time and energy to helping those designers do anything they need to get the attention they deserve (or more).
One of the first designers that made me look more deeply into the design community in the South is Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Her incredible fashion and textile designs, sewn by a team of local Alabama seamstresses (who are paid a fair and living wage, which is sadly not common in the fashion industry) using salvage material whenever possible, captured the attention and hearts of shoppers and the media across the globe over 10 years ago. She has been an inspiration to designers and artists in not just Alabama, but across the country. I relish any instance where someone’s design work is as beautiful as their work ethics and Alabama Chanin is one of those rare moments. I’ve always wondered what a day in Natalie’s life looked like and thankfully she agreed to share a peek inside her day! Thanks so much to Natalie and everyone on her team for sharing this glimpse inside her daily life. xo, grace
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via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1odqk2i From Grace Bonney
