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FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE

by Sally Campbell

Island hopping in Vietnam.... a great escape. Voyage into the unknown.....inspiration heaven. I finally fulfilled my Indochine fantasy of exploring the remote islands of Halong and Bai Tu Long Bay in a beautiful old junk...luxe style of course.  Misty,silent and confronting we kayaked round craggy mountainous peaks and squeezed into scary caves to test our adventurous spirits. Side trips to Hanoi and staying in the exquisite Metropole hotel, visiting  textile museums, sleuthing around for vintage textiles  trying to unearth some rare tribal pieces and  salvaging ceramics pulled from wrecks covered in oysters. Not forgetting discovering the amazing street food of fab pho soups and the famous egg coffees. My idea of sheer bliss.

Junk heaven in pristine waters...a world heritage site

Our bedroom ...chinese lacquered  within an inch of its life and crisp white damask linen. Views straight onto the passing volcanic cliffs

7 course b q seafood lunch on remote isle before we hurled our bodies into the sea 

Fishing for our lunch

Tam Coc. Our hand woven Matka silk shawls drying on the bamboo bridge, in natural dyes of wild rose, burnt ochre, moss and parchment..made in India

More of our Matka silk shawls in natural dyes..handwoven in Bengal. To view see https://www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/scarves

Vintage Vietnamese tribal blankets

Saffron silk being spun, ready for weaving

Cocktail bar in Hoi An where Miss Vy is queen of all Vietnamese cuisine...from Morning Glory to silk worm salads and perfect croissants and coffee

Early morning colours of Hoi An...the architecture sent me into ga ga ecstasy

Some of our street food treats

Rare Bengali patchwork....you can see where the colour inspiration comes from....Aaah the mysterious East, the colour is everywhere and always in chaos.  No wonder their patchworks are soooo crazy complex.

More vintage Bengali colour chaos and tiny kanthan stitches you wouldn't think possible. Our latest vintage textiles are here www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/vintage-textiles

Rare museum quality appliqué and embroidered textile...no I didn't buy it.

Two divine novice monks sprung taking selfies of themselves....accessorised with their very own selfie stick....Buddism is very high tech in Vietnam 

Totally fell in love with the amazing variation of fishing boats in Vietnam and their coloured nets

Handwoven basket boats surfing into shore with the daily catch

Our handwoven khadi cotton hand painted shawls and scarves....natural dyes, made in Kolkata by 2 brilliant artists..father and daughter

See the current selection of scarves : www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/scarves

My handwoven hand stitched ochre, quilts, cushions and vintage throws

 Beachside barber shop bliss....snuck in for a fringe trim

 Kolkata barber shop quartet

Early morning walk in Kolkata down the side streets where all races and religions live happily together .....

Just in through the door - my new range of vintage throws and cushions inspired by the rich sunburnt ochres and  faded olives of Kolkata. www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/vintage-throws

My handwoven hand stitched cotton filled quilt in natural dyes plus vintage throws   and cushions in ochres and moss greens. www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/cotton-filled-quilts

 

 Very delicious sugar cane juice....prepared on the spot

Working up a lather on the footpaths of Kolkata and why not hang up your washing at the same time

 

Exquisite and unique childs patchwork dowry quilt from Saurashtra in Gujarat

Rare vintage  hand embroidered bedcover from Gujarat....in hot pinks, burnt oranges, limes and adorned in tiny mirrors.  A must for an exotic gypsy wild spirit. see this at www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/vintage-textiles

Now these are my weakness....old Bengali kantha embroideries, the finest folk art, nieve and free form in tiny stitches on white back ground...flowers,geometrics and figures.  village life recorded on little dowry quilts

How much do we love this pavement bookseller in Kolkata...swatting the flies with a horsehair birch

 

From the back streets of Kolkata to Jaipur....

 

Natural dye fabric drying at stage one of the printing process

Fabric delivered on the bike for drying...bike seat removed in case of robbers

Some of my new block designs in preparation for Bagru printing in natural dyes

Vijendra our master block printer with some of our samples 

Natural dye imprints left on the block printers table

Old blue wooden pillars discovered at Serendipity....major inspiration

 

Beginning process of our mud print designs...very exciting and lots of fun

 Vijendra printing our block in his workshop...on the wall, samples from his workshops

At present I am into ice blue indigo....here are some new cushions. Spot them in our huge cushion collection at www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/cushions

Our mud resist linen and cotton indigo hand towels. ( you can drape them around your neck as scarves as well ) www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/towels

 

I bid thee farewell, pensive towards the sea on my new pure indigo shibori hand stitched cotton filled quilt. www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/quilts