Cimarrona

Loving the land of craft

Leslie — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:52:43 +0000

Sunset on Beech Mountain

Right now I am on a road trip with several friends and staying on Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Today we headed over to the town of Blowing Rock, in the next few days we will head over to Asheville and Boone. A trip to the Penland School of Crafts is in the works as well. It has been great to be in a land of inspiring natural beauty and to see the part of our country with such a long and rich heritage of craftmaking. Today I bought a piece of pottery at Traditions Pottery at Blowing Rock, there 6 generations of potters sell their work. It was one stop on what in turing out to be a wonderful and inspiring trip.

Studio soundtrack

Leslie — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:48:42 +0000

Recently I was watching a documentary on TV and the soundtrack was wonderful. The show was 180 degrees South. I found the soundtrack and have been listening to it since. If you get a chance check it out and listen to the likes of Ugly Casanova, Mason Jennings and Jack Johnson. I listen to it almost everyday in the studio.

wool gathering

Leslie — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 01:01:44 +0000

thrift store sweaters provide some of the raw materials that will become hats and other things at Cimarrona

One thing that I do this time of the year is make my rounds to some thrift stores in our area. I look for wool and wool blends with great color, pattern and texture. These get washed and dried and shrunk (or felted) and then taken apart. What the sweater becomes will depend on the weight and texture of the wool after this cleaning. These are a handful of sweaters that I picked up this fall.

Gearing Up for 2013

Leslie — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 20:41:11 +0000

I don’t want to wish a day away- but I’m ready to launch into 2013. I have had a great 2012 with lots of new things added to the Cimarrona line, but I’ve been playing around with some ideas that at this point are just sketches. And while the hooty hoot hats and woolagin guys and girls will be first to get restocked- I am eager to explore these ideas: pillows and other home dec items that use the woolagin characters, applique and reverse applique, collage and fiber mixed media worked into encaustic (wax) pieces. Learning to weld, and working with steel and some found metals to create bottle trees for the garden and my studio.

Black and White Graphic Knit Porter Style Hat

Leslie — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:21:10 +0000

This hat is a wonderful combination of soft black cable knit top and bold graphic patterns in black and white. Lined with black fleece for cozy comfort. This hat measures 22″ in circumference and is 4″deep.