A girl can never have too many cushions. Just like scarves. Once you've been bitten by the textile bug, there's no looking back. Creating magic with different textures, stitches and shades brings endless warmth and comfort to any home. My passion is collecting old embroideries from India and Japan and creating a new life for them. Voila - a reincarnation as a cushion. Whether its the moody indigo blues of Boro patchwork or the earthy natural madders and ochres from the desert, a unique piece of textile history is to be treasured.
After 3 wonderful days exhibiting and selling at Gig Moses' gallery in Moree we were so inspired by the parched natural landscape that we decided it would be a dramatic backdrop for our vintage cushion shoot. Gig suggested the old wool sheds on her property. Surrounded by delicious early morning light we waded through the dried out tall grasses like pack horses overloaded with endless bags of cushions. The wool shed stood proud and sculptural, a combination of corrugated iron in rusty hues and bleached wood weathered grey with time. I felt it was a marvellous mating game to mix the organic textures of our cushions with the harmonious contrast of the wool shed.
Vintage Gujarati embroideries...rare desert delights adorned with with old coins,beads and cowrie shells. Look at the collection here:
https://www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/vintage-cushions
Stunning vintage strip patchwork covered in squillions of tiny kantha stitches.
https://www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/vintage-textiles/products/patchwork
How amazing is this embroidery - I patchworked vintage Rabari baby bodices, incredibly rare and almost impossible to find.
Vintage Japanese Boro patchwork cushions. Boro is a Japanese word meaning treasured "tattered rags". It is a term used to describe lovingly patched futon covers and other textiles. Adding sashiko stitching to the repairs gives greater strength to the fabric. The layering of the patches are in shades of nearly black indigo to palest eggshell blues. My latest pure indigo shibori, hand stitched quilt hanging in the background.
See my latest indigo shibori quilt
https://www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/quilts/products/moon-shadow-quilt
Dowry quilt magic. This is an exquisite, perfect piece of vintage kantha from Bengal. Layers and layers of patched white handwoven cotton embroidered in geometric patterns with red and blue thread. Faded and softened with age.
View this and other vintage cushions here:
https://www.sallycampbell.com.au/collections/vintage-cushions