Scarves are the hot item for S/S 09 and a requirement for F/W 09.  But I hate to spend money on mass produced items. So in the hunt for the handmade and unique, I came across Pauper voile, by Jason Kinney. Absolutely enamored with this work, I caught up with him for a chat about art, style, technique and of course, shopping.

1. Where you from? I was born in Missouri, but grew up and until recently lived in Charlotte, NC. I moved to Portland, OR early last year, and am in love with the Pacific Northwest!

2. I notice a dark romantic streak in the foulards you are making and selling. How did you end up making these scarves? I was in the McQueen boutique in NYC a few years ago (2004?) and came upon a gorgeous scarf of a cathedral window. It was about 4'x4' or 5'x5', and I thought if it was $300- $350 I'd get it. I looked at the price tag and the $750 was just way more than I could handle. Anyway, that planted the seed that grew and grew over the next few years. McQueen's skull scarves are great, but they are everywhere now (and good for him, they've helped his brand to make money, which keeps him making those lovely clothes most of us can only look at!). The rage for all scarves has hit Target and the others, but trend or not, I love the way they can look. Also, a lot of the scarves I'm seeing are nice, but not interesting enough for me to buy, so I wanted to make designs that were more informed with my literary, romantic streak. I finally dove into making mine so that at least I could have a few to wear. So much went into them that I thought I'd better try to sell a few, too! I wanted to keep the cost under $100, but that is just not possible with each one being an art piece, basically. Maybe later things will happen where I can design and have things manufactured, but there is something lovely about handmade, and not being brought on a ship from the other side of the earth.

Shown above, The Dance, Screen print on cotton voile. Adapted from William Blake. Words from Rilke, "Funeral". 

by Danny Daily