Second year deep mulch is slowly going in between winter snow and rain for Italian herbs. Rows of rosemary to protect baby heirloom strawberries hopefully in a few months. Strawberries are one of the coolest fruits out there so this may require lots and lots of careful taste testing.Yum. Just finished reading a great book on CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) called Sharing the Harvest by Elizabeth Henderson and Robyn Van En. We’ve ordered from the Produce Box, but didn’t realize how popular CSAs are. Given the number one request is for named/personalized cotton bags (12”x14”) to keep root vegetables for campus programs and city programs, you’ve got to think some NC State engineers or non-profit leaders who are interested in...
It’s fruit tree planting season. The British are known in the US for having the best apples, but need to do more research into the color changing types like Surprize Apples which are lovely golden outside and sweet pink inside. Fruit makes some of the most beautiful embroidery. Expect to see this along with color dying next year with a modern tech twist. Blame Foundation, Apple’s scifi tv show, but the costumes are GREAT and the fashion technology gets you thinking how you could use it. The epic tailors in the show combine ancient handsewing with modern nanotechnology and special eyewear…smart glasses…for seeing their work for the very wealthy. Need to look into the new apps for transposing photos you...
Planting plenty of onions for the Italian herb garden while people are putting up Christmas decorations and having fun at parties. December brings out the best in folks. Manufacturing, you see a repeating theme of 6 points on successful fashion asks during agriculture booms. Cotton prices are bringing them to mind for 2026 sucess trends: Custom embroidery Metal work in gold, silver, and bronze Dark Dyes (especially blue, purple, and deep red) Higher quality fabrics like: wool, linen, silk, and leather Cool trims Excess fabric turning into fluffy garments and tents for festivals and outdoor live events The list isn’t new and embroidery always works BEST. Wonder how many craft shops will sell AI SORA embroidery kits for 2026? The...
Roughly every 20 years, a fabric staple in agriculture gets a bumper crop and fashion gets a win the next year. If you’re VERY lucky, more than one. We have various beautiful European aristocratic collections that have come down the centuries to us today. Especially Italian wool. 2025, it’s cotton as trading 15-30% below normal. YES. If you wanted to design something period over the top, 2026 is your year to swing for the fences. A LOT of styles are made with cotton, including American. You can almost feel the trim machines switching on to spool up yards of Mexican and Indian trims for American-British fantasy and reenactment for 2026. Fancy embroidery? Check please. The Texas Cotton Exchange Market is...
It’s such a great feeling when you finish a hard project. A garden in the US takes about a year to get up and running. Gardens improve every year you have one, but the first year is the hardest. Putting down winter mulch for Italian herbs for spring year two feels pretty good which is excellent because pumpkins and squash have been selling out like crazy at the local farmer’s market. Most of the heirloom stuff is gone a full month early (bummer), but you have to give all the happy farmers a high five for a year of successful hard work. It took 10+ tons of mulch, a bunch of fertilizer add-ons, oceans of cardboard, and a year of...