Swatch of the Month Inspiration: Beads + Sequins; June’s Swatch of the Month featuring Transitional Embroidery; “Shade Card” from Journeys in Natural Dyeing: Techniques for Creating Color at Home by Kristine Vejar and Adrienne Rodriguez (pages 182–183); “Oaks galls used to naturally dye June’s Swatch of the Month Embroidery Floss at the Verb Studio in… Read on

Melanie Falick has been a friend of Alabama Chanin and The School of Making since our earliest days and, through her former imprint at Abrams Books, edited five of our Studio Books. Her dedication to crafting by hand and sharing the importance of doing so made us compatible and complementary partners throughout the years. As part of her most recent… Read on

Last fall, our friend (and editor) Melanie Falick reached out with the desire to design her own stencil—and use that stencil for one of our of our Custom DIY Kits. She documented her process, and we’ve named her design “Circus”. (She also likes the subtitle, “If Not Now, When.”) Seen above, the finished artwork is… Read on

As I’ve mentioned before, writing a book is no easy feat. It involves months (often years) of planning, drafting, edits, new designs, reviews, rewrites, photo shoots, patternmaking…basically, equal parts labor and love. So, I honestly surprised myself when I agreed to write another one. While still a work in progress, the end is in sight,… Read on

Perhaps the most common advice given to any writer: write what you know. Fabric designer, crafter, illustrator, writer, friend, and heroine Heather Ross manages to do just that in her newest publication, How to Catch a Frog: And Other Stories of Family, Love, Dysfunction, Survival, and DIY. In the book, Heather shares wisdom, heartfelt stories,… Read on

I’ve known Heather Ross for almost five years now. We first met in New York, at a show celebrating our collection based on the work of famed Alabama photographer Charles Moore.  Heather arrived with my editor, Melanie, and I was bowled over by her beauty AND her spirit. When Alabama Studio Style launched back in… Read on

Past & Present is a collection of essays on decorative art history and DIY projects by Design Sponge columnist, Amy Azzarito. Grace Bonney, founder of the very popular Design Sponge website, first met Amy while working on a video project at the New York Public Library. The two became instant friends, as Grace was impressed… Read on

With the publication of our Alabama Studio Book Series, we open sourced our beloved techniques that these living arts might be preserved for future generations. One of the things that we learned along the way is that people who are dedicated to one particular area of craft can also become converts to another area. The… Read on

We finished our week of MAKESHIFT with Crafting Design, a chair workshop hosted at Partners & Spade in New York City. From the New York Times piece “Pull Up a Chair, Then Fix It” by Andrew Wagner: “Last Saturday, as part of a conference called MakeShift, Natalie Chanin, the founder of the fashion label Alabama… Read on

There has been such a buzz around the studio these last weeks as we prepare for the holidays. So much buzz, in fact, that I have not really had time to sit down with our new book,  Alabama Studio Sewing + Design. Last night, I remedied that with a quiet house, a  cocktail, and my… Read on

When I first thought about the blog tour for Alabama Studio Style, I did not realize what a great opportunity this was going to be to travel the world, connect with some of my favorite people and experience life from my own beautiful table. Now, half-way through, I am awed by deep, thoughtful questions, the… Read on

If there’s something we have learned from our DIY community and The School of Making programming, it’s that our fellow makers can be passionate and prolific. In a world focused on “fast fashion” we are constantly inspired to see so many taking time and effort to create meaningful things. Quite a few of you have… Read on

Another MAKESHIFT thought- “No one can make NYC’ers sing and sew like Alabama Chanin.” –Nicole Mackinlay-Hahn Thank you again to Ellie Levine at STC Craft for compiling a beautiful summary of Makeshift 2012 events. [<a href=”http://storify.com/STC_Craft/makeshift” target=”_blank”>View the story “MAKESHIFT: Shifting Thoughts on Fashion, Craft, and DIY” on Storify</a>]

“Those who dwell among the beauties & mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life”. -Rachel Carson It is well known that I am a collector of stories and beautiful objects. I love all things that are carefully crafted, curated with love, and also give me room to think.

Melanie – my editor – recently asked if I would send her a hi-resolution photograph of one of our embellished fabrics that she could use for her computer desktop background.  In talking about this simple act, we decided it would be nice to share these photographs with everyone. Thus was born our Desktop of the Month series. Each Desktop… Read on

It is hard for me to believe that I am almost finished with my third book, now titled Alabama Studio Sewing + Design. Had someone asked a decade ago where I saw myself in ten years, it certainly would not be lying in bed, reviewing and making notes on a “pass” (publishing lingo for a… Read on

Preparing for my journey to New York and looking forward to the adventure. Plan your adventure and journey to Brooklyn to join us for events@ Spacecraft and Etsy. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the… Read on

When our editor Melanie described this new Abrams title, I could not fully imagine how a book about domesticity could be so interesting. And now, I am taken aback by the beauty, prose and “comforts” of Jane Brocket and The Gentle Art of Domesticity. When opening the book, I was stuck by the very first line:… Read on