The Threads Of Life

Contributed by Hayley Maybury Nov 23, 2011

In every issue of Papercut Magazine you are sure to find gorgeous, fun, and one of a kind wardrobe pieces. It's all thanks to our fabulous editorial team and stylists who put all these magical pieces together. The pieces we shoot all have a story.

They didn't come from a manufacturing warehouse where they are shipped out and thrown on to the racks for us to buy at our leisure. The clothing and accessories you see spread across our pages come from everyday people creating these garments out of pure love for what they do.

In our November Issue, the ever inspiring Alvin Stillwell styled our chic and beautiful “Globetrotter” editorial. After it was shot, he informed me that the scarf he showcased ( pg.70 ) was obtained while he was on a recent trip to Bali. This isn't just any scarf that you can find while walking by a street vendor. Alvin acquired the scarf from an amazing program called “Threads Of Life”. This program enables women and men to create and sell their own amazing hand-woven textiles.

"Threads of Life" provides economic and technical support to help weavers form their own independent cooperatives while preserving this very special art form. Each piece of textile through it's patterns can be traced back to the person who created it. These tecniques have been passed down from one generation to the other. Once almost obsolete, the unique weaving and natural dying process has been perserved thanks to this great organization and the dedicated people who create them.

Check out their website(http://www.threadsoflife.com/index.asp) and explore all the different ways "Threads Of Life" is impacting and making a difference in the poverty stricken rural areas of Indonesia.

The scarf is an incredible creation. The story behind it is something to really wrap your head around.

A beautiful thing, in more ways then one!