Diana was orphaned at a young age, when the elders of her maternal family, the O'Donoghues of County Cork, Ireland took her on and she became the last ward of the Ancient Celtic Brehon Law rooted in a vision of nature that saw trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality. To Speak for the Trees is a captivating account of this remarkable scientist's personal story interwoven with her significant discoveries, including the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest and how planting trees can actively help regulate the atmosphere and the oceans, and even stabilize our climate.
Trees matter.
In honor of American Indian Heritage Month, I want to recommend Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Botanist, professor of plant ecology, and Potawatomi woman, Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Welcome to a curated list of recommended Good Reads focused on Creativity and our relationship with Nature. I look forward to adding inspiring titles on a monthly basis. Please join our VIP mailing list if you would like to receive notifications as new books are listed.
Yay, we are excited to be showing at the Patchwork Modern Maker Festival by Dear Handmade Life at the Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa this weekend, June 25th & 26th 2022!
Discover 100+ local makers in the heart of Northern California wine country at the Patchwork Show in Santa Rosa at the historic Old Courthouse Square in Downtown. This show is outdoors, has several DIY craft stations and activities and is surrounded by restaurants, bars and local shops.
We will have a lot of new styles of our signature Macrame Jewelry & Luxe Friendship Bracelets, as well as some delicate rings and small stud earrings, Indigo Mud cloth ponchos, Kantha scarves and more!
Hope to see you there!
Click here for DIRECTIONS
]]>We are excited to be at participating in several of the Head West Marketplaces in the Bay Area again this year! It's always fun to head outside and enjoy a stroll through a handmade marketplace, perusing local artisan crafts. We love the venue lineup! Here are the ones we will be at in 2022:
Hangar 1 Vodka Distillery - 2505 Monarch Street, Alameda CA 94501
Hangar 1 is an indoor/outdoor venue located on the Historic Alameda Naval Base. The marketplace is kid & pet friendly, and the tasting room, bar areas & Runway Spirits bar patio are 21+ The addition of experience partners EAT REAL FEST’s ‘Taste of' Food Trucks + Gardeneur’s Plant Marketplace make this a super fun venue!
The Barlow - 6770 McKinley Street, Sebastopol CA 95472
The Barlow is a 12-acre Bay Area outdoor market district featuring local food, wine, beer, spirits and crafts made onsite by Sonoma County artisans. Stroll the industrial-chic, dog-friendly campus with tons of fun eateries, wineries, breweries & artisan shops.
SF Ferry Building - 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco CA 94111
The Ferry Building, a historic landmark venue, has always been committed to the artisan food + maker community. Home to a vibrant gathering of local farmers, artisan producers, and independent small businesses. Kid & pet friendly, held outdoors during the summer and early fall months. Corda will be a the indoor market in December!
Check out our complete (and growing) show list here!
Honoring our lead artisan, Elizabeth, who I've been working with for 5 years. Originally from Manipur, "Elle" oversees all aspects of sourcing & production from our small studio in New Delhi. I had the chance to meet Elle when visiting a small artisan group working out of the back of a church in 2016.
Since then, we've collaborated via What'sApp to create Corda. Together we've surmounted many challenges, as the path has not always been clear and easy for us - from wrangling our sources & locations to navigating the past two difficult years. I feel extremely fortunate to have met her.
Dedicated, and growing more confident in her abilities every day, Elle's talent, craftsmanship & attention to detail contribute greatly to the quality of our work.
For me, making masks is an act of love and I'm truly grateful to be able to use my creativity to help during this pandemic. To date, I've made over 1000 masks. The process has been humbling and inspiring, a challenge, at times grueling, but a silver lining nonetheless - if there can even be one. This is the story of my journey in mask-making during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
]]>For me, making masks is as much an act of love as wearing one. I'm truly grateful to be able to use my creativity to help during this pandemic. To date, I've made over 1000 masks. The process has been humbling and inspiring, a challenge, and at times grueling, but a silver lining nonetheless - if there can even be one right now.
When I first answered the call to become a mask-maker, through a donation request on NextDoor, I had no idea what I was in for. All I knew was that nurses, health care, and essential workers were desperately in need of PPE, and (like many other creatives) I thought to myself: okay, THIS is how I can help!
As a former craft editor and prop stylist of 15+ years, I had an overwhelming collection of fabric that had piled up over the years. My sewing skills were intermediate, and the masks seemed simple enough. In a spontaneous flash, I began my mission. It was a no brainer.
At least that's what I thought! Over the next few weeks, I made small batches that were distributed to various organizations via the generous efforts of kind souls. I also donated fabric to other sewers in the neighborhood, each on their own journeys, busily sewing away in their own homes.
I did a little post about the effort on Facebook, and before long I began receiving requests from friends and family who wanted some for themselves. One friend suggested reimbursing me through Venmo, so I decided it would be easier to create a product listing for it here on my website.
Ironically, the product launched the exact same day the US Surgeon General announced the guidance for all of us to wear face masks, and that same day I had 80 orders!
My process from there was intense. The requests kept coming in, Forbes listed my masks in an article which resulted in more press-links and ultimately nation-wide orders. My 20-year-old sewing machine broke down, threads kept on snapping, and I had a steep learning curve to bring these handmade masks from donation-worthy to product-awesome.
I was determined to make this work. People needed their masks, and I couldn't let them down! The pressure was on. I re-tooled - got a new industrial sewing machine, and an electric cutter. I scoured the internet for additional materials. It was as though we were suddenly cut off from all supply and quick delivery - the fight for fabric and thread became very real! I sewed literally morning, noon, and night to get them out to customers as fast as I could, and it was very challenging to keep up.
Fast forward three months later to June and I was finally all caught up, and back to a more manageable pace. Now it's July, and sadly we are not out of the woods with this pandemic... I continue to make masks as more orders and re-orders come in.
What I've enjoyed most about this unexpected journey, is connecting with so many lovely customers writing in to let me know how pleased they are with their masks. One customer in her late 70's thanked me for helping give her a "feminine boost!" Another wrote to let me know he wore his on a flight to NYC and it "helped him feel safe."
Definitely a silver lining, and right now, I'll take it.
If you would like to order masks that we are making please go here, and understand that due to demand, shipping times are at 2-3 weeks.
Corda's home-studio is completely turned over to face-mask production and here are some of my first batch that went out to Marin county clinics today care of a generous neighbor doing pick-ups and drop-offs from local sewers.
It seems crazy that our health care workers are needing to resort to wearing these, and let me clarify that they are not intended to replace the N95 masks, but rather to be worn OVER them in an effort to prolong the use of the few N95 masks they have. The idea is that unlike the N95's, they are washable and reusable
If you want to get involved in helping with this effort here are some resources and tips:
For more tips and discussion join our FB Group: STAY HOME AND MAKE A MASK
Let's do what we can to help protect our health care workers!
Please share this post and tag @cordadesigns to pass the word along!
#wereallinthistogether #stopthespread #millionmaskchallenge
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Celebrate your achievements and the "wonder-women" in your life who inspire and lift you up with the ultimate friendship bracelets. ✨
]]>Today is OUR day ladies! We are excited to introduce the Tressa bracelet in honor of International Women's Day.
Celebrate your achievements and the "wonder-women" in your life who inspire and lift you up ✨
The ultimate friendship bracelet, nuggets of Brass are woven into a solid band that sparkles. Also available in Rose Gold and Silver with a variety of waxed cotton cord colors.
This is a small batch limited time offer... View the collection and sign up through our link 👉 http://bit.ly/corda-iwd2020 to access special sale codes.
#EqualforEqual begins with each of us 💪
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"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights." - Gloria Steinem
I'm contemplating these words as I look back at this photo taken on Corda's visit to Zakhira, home of some of the artisans we work with. Our lead artisan and friend were bringing gifts for Afsana (far left) who had recently given birth to her fourth child.
In the center is Raunak (in blue) who was visiting. We were very sad when she was arranged to be married by her parents and had to move to a whole different state to live with her new husband and take care of his family.
Peeking out next to her is Kushnama (in black) - the youngest. Unlike the others who were all married in their teenage years, "K" resisted her parents' opposition and completed her 12th year of schooling, learning how to read and write in Hindi and English. She is waiting to be admitted for her B.A. and continues to work with us to help support her parents and siblings.
Let these women's stories help us remember to not take for granted how far we've come, and Kushnama's resilience and determination inspire us to keep on fighting the good fight.
Sending out orders today and feeling so much joy knowing circles of friends are about to celebrate their bonds. There is nothing like the kinship of a good friend who has known and supported you over the years ❤️
It’s been so wonderful to see girl-friends from different periods of my life come to purchase bracelets for their current (or past) besties.
Love this idea? Have a group of friends you are gathering with soon? Our bracelets come in pretty fabric tassel gift bags. Let us know if you need help picking out the best color combos in the chat box below...