Project Alabama <-- this is a very cool thing
The founder, Natalie Chanin, is a designer who while in New York got so many compliments on t-shirts she had made using traditional hand-stitching techniques learned in her Alabama hometown that she realized there was a market for them.
She went back to Florence, Alabama -- a region once known for its textile industry and now economically devastated by the death of the mills -- and started a business. Now Project Alabama employs 150 contract stitchers, thereby not only reviving a local craft but also giving people the opportunity to support themselves with their artisanship.
The clothing line has moved way past t-shirts alone now, and each piece is unique. Check out the Spring 2006 collection.
I am all recovery & regrowth in devestated communities... more things like this should get started around the US/Canada & the World, don't you think?
The founder, Natalie Chanin, is a designer who while in New York got so many compliments on t-shirts she had made using traditional hand-stitching techniques learned in her Alabama hometown that she realized there was a market for them.
She went back to Florence, Alabama -- a region once known for its textile industry and now economically devastated by the death of the mills -- and started a business. Now Project Alabama employs 150 contract stitchers, thereby not only reviving a local craft but also giving people the opportunity to support themselves with their artisanship.
The clothing line has moved way past t-shirts alone now, and each piece is unique. Check out the Spring 2006 collection.
I am all recovery & regrowth in devestated communities... more things like this should get started around the US/Canada & the World, don't you think?