LATOUCHABLES - BEAUTY FROM THE RHINE

My friend Dawn lives in Germany, in the lovely Rhine valley. She bikes down to the River in a matter of minutes and enjoys the marvelous surroundings, breathes the air deeply, returns home, greets her sweet black cat with loving strokes, picks a flower in the garden, has a big cup of coffee - and enters her studio where she creates little wonders! 

I thought about calling her the 'cuff lady', but that does not do her justice at all, though a lady she surely is, in jeans and flat red shoes, but a lady, with an impeccable haircut! Dawn has many skills and gifts, and a lot of interests and pleasures, like dancing and music. She has a love for art, literature, and stories, for nature and hiking and biking, for the garden and cooking, and last not least her husband!

But foremost she is a very talented fabric artist, with a strong urge to create beautiful adornments for women who don't like mainstream, but favor the exceptional and extraordinary. In obeying her mind and heart her skilled hands produce adorable bags and pouches and scarves and boleros with perfect workmanship and an immaculate sense of color and texture. She fashions necklaces out of big beads arriving from far away lands, vintage buttons, wood- and ceramic buttons, small stones from the beach, little fabric pieces, small gems like amber and semiprecious stones.  

Some months ago she started creating cuffs and it seems she is not able to stop - and certainly she should not, because they are getting more and more gorgeous and sophisticated. She loves to use vintage embroidery, which found its way to her from places like Guatemala, the Middle East, and Bukhara in Uzbekistan. She owns old embroidery made by women from Ethiopia, and by Bedouin women from Israel - and she knows how to turn them into treasures, embellished with fringes, old and new buttons, vintage lace and whatever else suits her fancy! She uses the softest goat leather and batik cotton fabric to its uppermost advantage. She knows how to mix and match with joy and energy - in short: she loves what she does!!! 

Needles to say that she is also a very clever and professional photographer, with often her lovely niece being her willing and very talented model!
Please visit her shop and her blog and enjoy!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/latouchables
http://latouchablesbagsandthings.blogspot.com/

Here is what our mutual friend Jill from http://www.etsy.com/shop/glazedover has to say about her: 

Dawn sees the poetic verse and beauty in all things, from a simple stroll along the Rhine to a cup of coffee lingered over with a good friend. She brings light and depth to the world through the thoughtful treasuries she weaves, which often come with running dialog and playful banter between artists. She is generous of spirit and quick to praise and encourage. Most especially, though, she sees the world through the very unique lens of her sewing machine. With it she creates the most marvelous combinations of colors and textures. Each piece that she creates—from necklace to scarf to bag to cuff—bears her unmatched eclectic stamp of LaTouchables. Her work has a very distinct flair that is unrivaled.