This is where everyone who will work on this project has a huge debt of gratitude to Lamora and Issa Haidar of Access Commodities. If you are not familiar through my writings, they are the small business owners of Access Commodities and distributors of Au Ver a Soie silk in the USA and Canada. They also carry linens, metal thread, and an assortment of other FINE needlework supplies. Calling them distributors makes what they do sound trivial. First, they are experts in importing textile materials, as most of what we want is made abroad. This is NOT easy as importation of textile materials can be fraught with protectionist regulations which come and go as well as see uneven implementation. One shipment can get through easily, another gets held for months or even sent back. The newer homeland security checks can also come into play, leading shipments to get impounded as the sniffing equipment has picked something up (who knows what??) in a box of wool. Very dangerous, you know – I remember back to a T-shirt I once saw at a EGA event. Ladies sewing circle and terrorist society. Not PC to wear today, but ironic in light of how some shipments of textile objects have sat impounded of late. And in these days of gold prices being so high, how do you mark the boxes for customs but keep it from being stolen en-route? I have had to alert Benton and Johnson to be more circumspect in their markings as some shipments to me have come totally in shreds as someone along the way thought they could get gold out of my box. They were disappointed to find woven silver tape and luckily I got it in the end.
But Lamora and Issa’s efforts do not stop at locating fine supplies and importing them through the vulgarities of international shipping, they are product developers as well. Lamora is a historic embroidery ‘geek’ as well and a stickler for technical details. That is why we get along so well. She is not in this business to get rich, she is in it for love. I think that they make wise decisions, but are not afraid to take risks because it is something that they feel will really enhance and open up possibilities for embroidery. So they often see holes in the market where something does not exist that is needed or that stitchers don’t even know they need, but that they know was available historically. They will search for a manufacturing partner and have them make it, or will make the case with the companies they already are distributing. Sometimes they have located a supply of something and have it on the shelf – waiting until a teacher comes along and muses that they need ‘something like…’
Lamora takes the time to talk with the teachers and understand what they are doing and why. You often get a little box or something extra in your order – things to try that she has anticipated that you will like and need someday. That has come to our benefit many times during this project development, like when I was trying to find just the right linen for a casket. I found something in my drawer that was just right and called Lamora to see if it was still available. Her laugh went on for minutes. She then told me that she had that linen on the shelf for many years waiting for someone to realize that it was absolutely wonderful. I was the first one. Lucky, the supply was large enough for our needs. Phew.
This was a long winded way to say that as I sent lists back and forth to Lamora asking about the available quantities of Soie Ovale and Paris on the shelf and back in France, she realized that it just wasn’t going to work. In her gut, she knew that we needed to do right by those who would pour themselves into this project and make sure that they had not only the best color range – but the supply as well. Somewhere in that process, maybe it was 10 months ago, she stopped in a conversation about colors and supply and said: “Let’s do this right, let us fix it once and for all”.
“Do it right”
Think about that for a minute. Doing it right means a fully flushed out color line of just under 40 colors. Well shaded groups in a red, blue, purple, rust, yellow, green and more than one brown family. It means that most likely more than half would need to be dyed special. That means that the cost of that would not be born by Au Ver a Soie and that the risk would be on Access’s shoulders. This was huge. How many distributors do you know who are willing to stretch their neck out like that? That is why I use this silk range and rarely ever use another. Not only is the quality fantastic, but to have a distributor who is willing to send cones of it to Bill Barnes to make funky 17th century threads? You don’t get that kind of service in a $1 skein of silk that is trying to compete on price. You get that out of a distributor that believes that your embroidery and the time it will take deserves the best thread and the right colors.
Doing it right meant clearing my desk of those existing colors I was working with and starting to dream about what the right color palette should be. Lamora did the same. We then talked about the original dye stuffs that would have been used in the 17th century and went to the Au Ver a Soie palette and archive looking for those colors in all lines and matching them to the historic pieces. And when I mean archives I mean archives, Lamora keeps one. Colors that don’t exist, special dying, obsolete numbers, pieces of silk fabrics in colors that would be great to have, and all versions of a color number pre and post regulation changes. And so packets of potential color families started arriving in boxes…
Tricia
“Ladies sewing circle and terrorist society” well my husband calls us the Sewing Mafia. It’s kept my son on is toes when he travelled aboard,
no knowing who was in it.
We are luckly with Access who are willing to put their necks out for us, for you for running this class. As to the gold there will always be someone….. need I say more.
Tricia, this post is one of the reasons I love to read your blog. I’ve known and appreciated Access’s work through the goldwork classes that I’ve taken, and my favorite of all silks is Soie d’Alger. Although I’m not registered for the Casket class, your posts generously allow those of us with an interest in historical needlework to learn about these processes and people that make the needlework world so special. Thanks for your hard work to supply us with this information, and I look forward to learning more.
I have stitched with all sorts of silk, au ver soie 100/3 and perle, madeira, gloriana and caron waterlilies but I have never used a flat silk, which I understand is harder to use and maintain its natural sheen.
Has anyone used a flat silk?
I often hasve difficulty matching colours, often you need a grey green and all there appears to be is a blue green or a yellow green. I have found blues tricky too and with browns, there is so much variation not only in tone but also in shade. Even with anchor and DMC ranges of 400 or so colours finding the right shade can be tricky.
Penelope,
I’m learning Japanese Embroidery and they use Flat Silks.
Carol-Ann maybe able to help you.
Lamora is a wonder, isn’t she?? I loved this article! The consumer rarely sees the behind-the-scenes dedication of the manufacturers and distributors of these specialty supplies … and the risk involved in keeping them available. The whole face of fine needlework in the US would be vastly different if not for Access Commodities!
Hi Penelope
I also am learning Japanese embroidery. I really enjoy stitching with flat silk, it is really satisfying to lay a flat silk foundation. It takes a bit of practice to keep the silk smooth and shiney but it only takes a bit of practice, some patience and smooth hands
I hit the button too quickly because I also wanted to say to Lamora and Issa,
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Carol-Anne
If it weren’t for Access and mail order, we would all be stuck doing little duckies on kitchen towels in cheap cotton. What a pure pleasure to be able to work with all the glorious threads offered by Access. Thank you, thank you!