Photo credit: La Carmina

La Carmina’s path to success seemed laid out along fairly conventional lines, except for one notable exception. Whether on an annual family trip to Hong Kong or pursuing her JDL at Yale Law School, she remained true to her sartorial self-expression, developing a playful Gothic-Lolita style that drew heavily on both traditional dress and modern couture.But when her career took an unexpected left turn, La Carmina found the perfect venue to showcase her penchant for fashion, ethnicity, and street culture beyond the mainstream.

How did you transition from a budding law career to being a travel and fashion blogger?

It all happened gradually. I started the blog while I was in school, so I developed it first as a hobby. My posts about cute food in Japan and weird theme restaurants got the attention of a literary agent, and by the time I graduated, I had two book contracts. I was able to focus on blogging and related work, and it all grew from there–to TV, travel partnerships, and more.

Why do you travel?

I’m lucky that my family exposed me to travel from an early age. We went to Asia almost every year to see family, and I had been around the US and Europe by the time I was in my teens. Even as a child, I loved seeing new places and feeling inspired by the local culture and architecture. I knew travel would always be part of my life, but I never imagined in a million years that I’d be able to make it my job, and see all these far-off dream destinations.

Photo credit: La Carmina

With her purple hair, cat-eye makeup and penchant for black, La Carmina creates a sartorial base that is both distinctive and oddly universal. In the way that a cartoon can sometimes be a truer rendition than a photograph, her Gothic context makes the details and structure of traditional dress uniquely accessible, be it a Balinese robe or a German dirndl.

Do you ever go out without your signature look? 

All the time. On planes, I’ll wear comfortable clothes, no makeup, and glasses. I’m never without my colorful hair, and my t-shirt may have a bat print on it, but I don’t feel I need to dress to the nines at all times.

Does traveling with such a standout look ever get in your way when exploring a place, or does it help?

 I actually enjoy dressing up in styles that are inspired by the local culture, but still fit my aesthetic. For example, in Bali, I wore an Indian-style outfit–but with my signature purple hair, and hippie glasses! Likewise, I wore rainbow colors in Cape Town (known for its bright Bo Kaap district) and Japanese street style in Tokyo. I feel fashion is a huge part of my personal expression, and a way for readers to make a strong visual connection to the places I’m writing about. Everywhere I’ve traveled, I’ve always gotten positive feedback on my style–and it’s a fantastic way to get conversations started with locals.

Rainbow Village in Taichung, Taiwan
Photo credit: La Carmina

Along with many amazing opportunities with worldwide media outlets (such as National Geographic CNN and the Travel Channel), La Carmina’s inimitable travel style has brought her access to international subcultures that are virtually unnoticed (if not ignored) by outside visitors. While any traveler can benefit from her reports on where to stay, local festivals, and cultural notes, La Carmina offers travel guides specifically for alternative communities whose aesthetics she represents.

Have your particular interests in lifestyle and fashion helped you see sides of destinations that you might not otherwise experience? (Helped you meet certain people, gain certain experiences, etc.)

Marrakech, Morocco
Photo credit: La Carmina

Over the past eight years, La Carmina has covered nearly every major destination of note, from standbys like Paris and Bali to newer trendy destinations like Vietnam and Iceland. She makes herself at home in every place she visits, showing how looking different need be no barrier to accessing the cultural riches all over the globe.

Where is a place in the world where you feel perfectly at home?

I always feel at home in Hong Kong, since my parents are from here and I’ve been coming here annually since I was a year old. Picture walking down the street and looking up and neon signs in Chinese characters, next to cute character posters. You’ll smell Chinese food coming from market stands and local eateries, and hear people talking in Cantonese (peppered with the signature Ai-yahh! expression). The humidity will stand out on your skin, followed by brisk air conditioning as you enter one of the many giant malls. Perhaps you’ll stop for a cup of jasmine tea and egg tarts. Hong Kong is truly a feast for the five senses.

What does your way of traveling bring to the world that no one else’s does?

Hopefully, I can bring awareness to alternative and sometimes misunderstood cultures around the world. Right now, my team and I are delving into the new technology of Virtual Reality, which lets you capture environments in 360 degrees. With a headset, you’ll feel like you are actually traveling with me, in the Fez market or looking over a view of Lisbon! Our most recent virtual reality travel films are found on their Radius VR site–we’re excited to grow this new medium. Check out my La Carmina blog for my latest adventures and add me on Instagram and Snapchat (@lacarmina) to see my latest travels on the go!

Photo credit: La Carmina

The post Uncovering the World’s Alternative Side appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

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1. Energy and Strength Handwoven basket from Marrakech, Morocco

2. Antique Tomoe Japanese Indigo Ikat from Wajima, Japan

3. El Jems Pouch from Tunis, Tunisia

4. Silver Coin Necklace from Bukhara, Uzbekistan

5. Red Dao Brass Memory Bracelet from Ta Phin, Vietnam

6. The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes by Justina Blakeney

7. Modern Blue Earth Striped Bowl from Kanazawa, Japan

8. Orchid Silk Scarf from Bukhara, Uzbekistan

9.Miao Pink Wedding Pillow from Beijing, China

10. Nzuri Agate and Bronze Necklace from Mombasa, Kenya

11. Jazah Suzani from Bukhara, Uzbekistan

12. Jing’an Round Copper Teapot from Shanghai, China

At Bly, we believe in craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind and we are committed to the idea that there is something special in the hand-to-hand transaction. We believe in stories, in history and the way an object can come to encapsulate something much bigger than itself. We believe that a city is a living, breathing organism, and to get to know it you have to wander its streets, the veins that fork and converge and inevitably lead you to its heart—the marketplace. Explore and shop streets of cities around the world at Project Bly. 

The post Bly’s Bohemian Gift Guide appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

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Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of Japanese netsuke— finely carved wood and ivory miniatures animals from an Uncle. The only family heirlooms to survive the Nazis and World War II, de Waal is the fifth generation to inherit these carvings– a hare, a tiger, a rat- and his exquisitely written book, The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, tells the story of his Jewish ancestors through the netsuke. It is a book exploring  memories contained within objects.

I want to know what the relationship has been between this wooden object that I am rolling between my fingers… and where it has been. I want to walk into each room where this object has lived, to feel the volume of the space, to know what pictures were on the walls, how the light fell from the windows. And I want to know whose hands it has been in, and what they have felt about it. I want to know what it has witnessed.

De Waal’s family memoir is a haunting story of the Ephrussi family’s journey from Odessa to Vienna and Paris. It is about loss and resilience, but it is also a book about inheritance and the giving of a gift from one generation to the next. In many cultures, gifts are given to be passed on. We’ve had the privilege of acquiring such gifts from around the world. While we don’t know whose hands they’ve been in and what they’ve witnessed, each one is special; they’re gifts that were given on occasions like weddings and births and were then re-gifted. They’re gifts to create memories with and gifts to pass down to the next generation.

1. Antique Hanging Bell from Mumbai, India

2. Miao Red Chrysanthemum Pillow from Beijing, China

3. Antique Cannetille Pendant from Krakow, Poland

4. Antique Spring Dao Wedding Scarf from Ta Phin, Vietnam

5. Antique Brass Ceremonial Bowl from Malacca, Malaysia

6. Vintage Lacquered Comb and Hair Pin from Kanazawa, Japan

7. Vintage Nkyim Nkyim Kente Cloth from Kumasi, Ghana

8. Antique Brass Anklet from Kumasi, Ghana

9. Four Winds Silver Sinia Tea Tray 

10. Gulnar Vintage Suzani from Bukhara, Uzbekistan

The post Gifts to Pass Down from One Generation to the Next appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Just before completing her MFA at the Art Institute of Chicago, Veronica Corzo-Duchardt returned to New York City for a funeral.

Her grandfather, Neche Eugenio Hadad, was known to others as a meticulous accountant and a devoted grandfather who walked his grandchildren from school to his apartment each day. While waiting for their parents to return from work, he regaled Veronica and her brother with stories of their family’s past generations in Cuba and Lebanon.

But as she grew older, Veronica began to see him as the custodian of the family history, who brought his professional exactitude to the preservation of their heritage.

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Veronica’s artistic vision has always been rooted in memory and heritage, especially as it shows up in material culture. Her body of creative work explores the significance of commonplace objects and overlooked surface histories; she’s known for using the ephemera of her own everyday life (coffee grounds, sugar, paper scraps) to create textures for her screen prints.

She had long recognized that she was the natural heir to Neche’s role as family archivist. But while looking through Neche’s belongings for birth certificates, immigration documents and photo albums–the important things that that she could take home for preservation–she discovered a treasure trove of ephemera that told her family’s story in a way that words couldn’t convey.

What she found became the Neche Collection, a visual archive that tells this remarkable man’s story, one piece at a time, and elevates everyday objects with evocative meaning.

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo Duchardt

Do you think your grandfather identified more as Cuban or as Lebanese? 

“He got his citizenship; he definitely felt like he was American. But I would say that Cuban was dominant. His parents moved to Cuba in 1922 and he was born in 1926; he’d never been to Lebanon. And he never really talked about why his parents came, or anything like that. It influenced him in some of the language and some of the food; my grandmother cooked Lebanese stuff that his mom taught my grandmother to make. But they lived in the midst of lots of other Lebanese people living in Cuba, who had moved for political reasons or just exploring the world in a way we don’t do now.”

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

What was your relationship like with your grandfather?

“My grandfather and I were very close. In a lot of Latino cultures, you sort of grow up with your grandparents always over. He was the one who remembered all the stories from Cuba. He was the archivist of the family. I didn’t realize how much stuff he had, at the time, until I started working with him, recording my grandparents through audio interviews to document some of their story. I’d heard about the fact that he’d shipped a lot of documents and photographs over, which is something a lot of Cuban families did because you couldn’t bring everything with you.

“I think he liked the fact that I was interested in hearing all the stories. But while he was alive, he was very protective and possessive of his things. He didn’t want to share them with anyone.”

Photo couresty of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

For 29 weeks, the Neche Collection ran live, gathering a cult of devoted followers both in the design world and outside it. Veronica received emails and comments from people around the country who felt their own histories reflected in the objects–histories that couldn’t have been more different from Neche’s.

“I wasn’t really sure how people would react—it’s a really personal project about my grandpa that nobody else knew. But so many people have reached out to me, and really opened up about their own stories. ‘Oh my god! I have that Speak-and-Spell.’ I’ve even had an artist from Iran talking about how some of the items to him spoke of diaspora—the Viewmaster was very significant to him because He realized that was how he as a child encountered American culture, being able to view these cities. That was not at all the relationship I had with the Viewfinder! I think of it as a kitschy, fun object I remember from being younger. It’s really cool that they are able to see their own story in this project.”

Photo Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Photo courtesy of Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

The post A Rich Inheritance Discovered Through Everyday Objects appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

“Craft tourism seems like an ideal way to support their needs while also helping to preserve their customs and educating other Americans about their culture.”

A mere year’s worth of planning and fundraising later, Caitlin was leading her first weaving workshop on a one-week sojourn in Guatemala. A Thread Caravan voyage takes small groups of intrepid travelers past the usual tourist destinations into the heart of a region’s culture. The portal into this deeper experience is indigenous craft—textiles, food, music, construction—that has been practiced there for generations.

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

Participants sit at the feet of indigenous artisans, who guide them in reproducing these textiles for themselves. In between sessions, they explore the landscape, enjoy the hospitality of local hosts, and peruse the markets to learn how today’s designers incorporate traditional crafts into modern creations.

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

Each voyage is carefully curated by Caitlin herself, whose particular travel-lust mirrors that of many travelers—a desire to stay and connect by adopting the local rhythm of life.

“Starting this company seemed like a great way to support craftspeople, but through experiences rather than physical products…and who wouldn’t want to go travel somewhere, meet the locals and make art with them?”

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

The lush landscape of jungles and volcanos, the rural villages roamed by chicken busses and tuk-tuks, and the artisanal practices engrained over centuries made Guatemala a natural choice for Thread Caravan’s inaugural workshop.

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

The trip begins with a visit to the village of San Juan, where participants learn about local dyeing techniques. Next, they venture deep into the highlands over Lake Atitlan to learn about spinning thread. Finally, the group stay in the town of Panajachel, where they work on weaving their own designs.

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

Lake Atitlan. Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

By and large, the workshops are led by women artisans who, in addition to teaching the textile techniques, offer stories of how their ancient crafts had helped them reconstruct life in the wake of tragedy.

“One artisan group we work with in a town called Chuacruz was greatly affected by the recent Civil War,” Caitlin says. “Many of the men were killed, leaving the women and children to fend for themselves. The women have since created an artisan cooperative, using art to support their families. The stories had both the artisans and our participants shedding tears of sadness and hope. Connections like this make me feel like we are on the right path, and achieving our goals of facilitating deeper connections.

“Some Guatemalans compare the backstrap loom to an umbilical cord, saying the creative process is like birth in which something new enters the world. Despite the machismo culture here, the women here are very powerful and strong. They are determined to support their families and communities.”

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

A lifelong artist, Caitlin knew that creating art alongside natives would be a powerful portal into their world. But by becoming a student of a local art form, a Thread Caravan traveler gains insight into more than simply a region of the globe.

This, says Caitlin, is how Thread Caravan cultivates one of the most important by-products of travel:

“It challenges you to think differently about things that are engrained in your social upbringing. I think it’s important for everyone to step out of their bubble so we can learn how to be empathetic towards people from different circumstances, and for us to address some of the global problems going on.”

Take, for example, the power imbalance that accompanies much global tourism. Caitlin reports with satisfaction that after a few days of learning from indigenous artisans, Thread Caravan participants abandon the tired touristy custom of bargaining down the price of a handmade souvenir. It’s hard to quibble over a few American dollars once you know the process that goes into creating these items.

By joining Thread Caravan in upcoming trips to Oaxaca, Alaska or Polynesia, travelers will learn much more than how brew mezcal, carve totem poles, or build dugout canoes.

Photography by Karim Iliya, courtesy The Thread Caravan.

“Art that serves more of a purpose than just creating it. With Thread Caravan we are helping provide artisans with a livelihood, helping to preserve their artistic traditions, and connecting people from different cultures around the world for them to learn from one another.”

Learn more about The Thread Caravan’s upcoming trips over here including a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico this November!

Chelsea Batten is a journalist and photographer who writes a regular column on Project Bly featuring travelers, photographers, adventurers and doers across the globe. If you’re a traveler with a story to tell, email her at holler@chelseabatten.com. 

At Project Bly, we believe that a city is a living, breathing organism, and to get to know it you have to wander its streets, the veins that fork and converge and inevitably lead you to its heart—the marketplace.

www.projectbly.com

The post Crafting the Perfect Trip in Guatemala appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

When Linares recovered, he quickly got to reproducing the whimsical beings from his dream. The resulting papier-mâché figurines earned the attention of various gallery owners and artists, and their popularity soon spread throughout the country to places like Oaxaca, where they carved them from copal wood. Today the town of San Martín Tilcajete, a 45 minute drive from the city of Oaxaca is a world-renowned center for the art of alebrije.

Our collection of hand-carved, hand-painted alebrije sculpture was crafted at the workshop of Vicente and Brisia Hernandez in San Martín Tilcajete. Vicente carves each piece, and his wife, Brisia paints them.

HEAD OVER HERE TO EXPLORE OAXACA, MEXICO

Oaxaca, Mexico, photography by Marcela Taboada for Project Bly

Project Bly lets you explore and shop street markets around the world. At Bly, we believe in one-of-a-kind and we are committed to the idea that there is something special in the hand-to-hand transaction. We believe in stories, in history and the way an object can come to encapsulate something much bigger than itself. We believe that a city is a living, breathing organism, and to get to know it you have to wander its streets, the veins that fork and converge and inevitably lead you to its heart—the marketplace.

www.projectbly.com

The post Dreaming in Color: The Art of Alebrije appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

Victory Cigarette Poster; Manchurian Cigarette Poster

Dude looks like a lady—and he is! As the saying goes “sex sells” and cigarette companies world-wide have been using sex and women in advertisements around the world since the 188os. But back in the China of the 1920s, it wasn’t considered appropriate to have women appear in ads, so middle-aged men dressed in imperial-style drag served as stand-ins. By the 1930s real women began appearing in ads often with western style hair-dos, like this Manchurian Cigarette Company poster, signaling the transition between imperial and republican China.

The Manchurian Cigarette Company and the cigarette industry in Manchuria also has a fascinating history.  From 1932-1935, the territory historically known as Manchuria, which covers northeast China and inner-Mongolia, was a Japanese puppet state, “ruled” by the deposed Qing emperor Puyi (also known as the last emperor of China). The Manchurian Tobacco Company was most likely a Japanese controlled-enterprise established during this period when cigarettes were a booming industry in Manchuria. Credit for introducing the machine-made cigarette in China is given to The British Tobacco Company (BAT) which began selling cigarettes in China in the early 1900s. BAT soon established factories through Chinese subsidiaries in Manchuria and at its peak in 1937  sold  55 billion cigarettes in China. Few Chinese companies were able to compete with BAT and almost all went out of business in the 1920s;  BAT’s only competitors were Japanese companies.  Eventually BAT’s assets were seized in 1941 by the Japanese following their 1937 invasion. BAT was kicked out of China in 1953 when the Republic of China was established.

Talk about a conversation starter on your wall! Check out some interiors that inspire us with their China 1930s style!

via Lucy Gough Stylist

Stylist Lucy Gough pairs this vintage 1930s Chinese poster with moody walls and silver. Explore more of her work here!

via Apartment Therapy

Where else to display vintage posters but in the bathroom! We love everything about Vanessa Dingwell’s bohemian Californian pad. Check it out on Apartment Therapy.

via We Heart

We love the 1930s Chinese poster-inspired art in Zhou Zhou, a bar in Melbourne, Australia that serves brews from all over the world including hard-to-find Japanese stout. Read more at We Heart.

Get the look! 

Victory Cigarette Poster

Manchurian Cigarette Poster

Project Bly lets you explore and shop street markets around the world. At Bly, we believe in one-of-a-kind and we are committed to the idea that there is something special in the hand-to-hand transaction. We believe in stories, in history and the way an object can come to encapsulate something much bigger than itself. We believe that a city is a living, breathing organism, and to get to know it you have to wander its streets, the veins that fork and converge and inevitably lead you to its heart—the marketplace.

www.projectbly.com

The post Cigarettes and Sex in Manchuria appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

Need we say more?

Well yes, actually, we do need to say more about Fearless Nadia, one of—if not the—most badass stuntwomen in Bollywood history. Born Mary Evans in Perth, Australia, she moved to India in 1913 at the age of 5, and learned how to ride a horse on the North-West Frontier Province (modern-day Pakistan). She would go on to study ballet, and later toured with the Zarko Circus. When a fortune-teller told her that a robust career was in store for her on the condition she change her name to something that began with an “N,” Evans promptly baptized herself “Nadia.”

First cast in a film by the prominent filmmaker and founder of Wadia Movietone, J.B.H Wadia, Nadia received rave reviews and with her multitude of skills soon became Movietone’s leading stuntwoman, reaching the height of her fame in 1935 with the iconic film Hunterwali, or “Lady of the Whip,” a roll that turned her into a somewhat curious populist symbol in pre-independence India—the white, blond-haired, blue-eyed woman rallying the Indian people against British imperialism. She would go on to star in many a J.B.H. production, including Diamond Queen, where she was joined by several notable actors, a “stunt car” named “Rolls-Royce ki Beti” (“Daughter of Rolls Royce”) and a dog named “Gunboat.” A woman of many love affairs, Nadia ended up marrying J.B.H.’s brother, Homi Wadia, in 1961. She died in Mumbai in 1996.

This vintage poster of Lutaroo Lalnoo featuring the queen of the screen, Fearless Nadia was found in a little shop in Chor Bazaar, a go-to spot for collectors of vintage Bollywood posters in Mumbai. To explore Chor Bazaar and more vintage Bollywood posters head on over here. 

Project Bly lets you explore and shop street markets around the world. At Bly, we believe in one-of-a-kind and we are committed to the idea that there is something special in the hand-to-hand transaction. We believe in stories, in history and the way an object can come to encapsulate something much bigger than itself. We believe that a city is a living, breathing organism, and to get to know it you have to wander its streets, the veins that fork and converge and inevitably lead you to its heart—the marketplace.

www.projectbly.com

The post Fearless Nadia:Bollywood’s First Stuntwoman appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

But the souks are not the only marketplace in Marrakech. The 12th century red ramparts that encircle the medina are dotted by babs or gates, and the northern gate that leads to the national highway N-9 also leads to a local flea market held every Thursday from eight am to noon.  Marrakech’s other market isn’t a well-kept secret, but few tourists venture here, and you’ll find mostly locals shopping for everything from tagine pots to old toasters. If you look hard enough, the flea market is also full of hidden treasures.

Photography by Shantanu Starick for Project Bly

The weekly flea market at Bab el-Khemis is located to the NE of the medina near the National Highway 9. N9 as the highway is known on the map meets up with N8, the highway to Fez close to the gate.

Photography by Shantanu Starick for Project Bly.

A few hundred feet from Bab el-Khemis within the medina is a quiet garden of the same name.

Photography by Shantanu Starick for Project Bly

As soon as you enter the gate, you’ll come across a wide road lined with vendors selling second hand goods. Keep going! The flea market continues for a while and then there’s a turn-off to the left. It’s in here that we found the good stuff!

Photography by Shantanu Starick for Project Bly

The flea market at Bab el-Khemis is famous for architectural salvage pieces like these riad doors. 

If you’ve got a discerning eye and a lot of patience you’ll find treasure buried in these shops! Scroll down to see what we found.

Top Row: Vintage Carved Tuareg Spoons | Hand-Carvec Chouari Cedar Chest | Tuareg Silver Fibula

Bottom Row: Antique Riad Door Keys | Antique Handira Berber Wedding Blanket | Tuareg Amulet Necklace

Get inspired by our lookbook from Marrakech.

Antique Berber Loom Heddles found at the flea market at El-Khemis hang on the wall. Photography by Jessica Comingore for Project Bly.

The post Marrakech’s Other Market appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

Are rugs art?

Is a rug art or is it craft? If a vase is art, can a teapot also be art? How about a basket?  We did a little research on the differences between art and craft. Here’s what we found:

Alicia Vasquez’s family has been weaving for generations. Lately they’ve been incorporating designs influenced by the likes of M.C. Escher and Picasso into their rugs. Art or Craft? Photography by Marcela Taboada for Project Bly.

“Craft is something that can be taught” argues Turner Prize winning artist, Grayson Perry. Art on the other hand, comes from “the inspired individual.”  Monica Moses, Editor-in-Chief of the American Craft Council points out that “craft has a legacy of functionality” and that “mastery of material” is an important aspect of craft.

Craft has a legacy of functionality, but if a vase is art, can a teapot be art? Photography by Jessica Comingore for Project Bly.

Art historian, Laura Morelli, in this Ted-Ed Video looks at the history of art and craft. One of the primary distinctions in Western culture is that art is defined by a spirit of innovation and individual creativity. Craft on the other hand was defined by collective production.

Ritual and ceremonial masks from West Africa. Photography by Jessica Comingore for Project Bly.

Morelli argues, however, that it’s time to dispense with words and distinctions like art and craft. A basket, mask or rug might be art in one culture, but craft in another, and since the appreciation of an object, she says, is so conditioned by our history and culture, art is truly in the eye of the beholder.

So in the end, it might not matter at all. Our opinion, get crafty with your art. Hang a rug on a wall, or maybe even a vintage coat!

A vintage silk coat from Bukhara, Uzbekistan makes for amazing wall art. Photography by Jessica Comingore for Project Bly.

1. Handwoven rugs from Oaxaca, Mexico | 2. Hand carved masks from Kumasi, Ghana | 3. Vintage brass teapot from Mumbai, India

The post Is it Art or Craft? appeared first on Project Bly Blog.