marissa's blog

This time of year gets awefully busy.  It's also one of my favorite times of year and I hate to see it pass by in a flash.  In order to slow down, breathe a bit, and be more present in the moment...

Here are my top ten tips for staying relaxed and inspired during the Holidays:

1. ESCAPE into another world...read fiction!
2. Feed your SOUL...go to church, read a spiritually inspiring book or text
3. TREAT yourself to a spa day...a manicure or massage rejuvinates
4. PLAY!...suduku, monopoly, blockhus, cards, anything!

"I lived in Malawi, a small country in Central Africa, in 2006 with my husband Jon. While living there I volunteered with the schools doing mural projects, coached a girls’ soccer team and worked on my fine arts painting. About once a week,  I would take myself on little “artist dates” to the fabric markets in town for creative inspiration. I immediately fell in love with the vibrant colors and designs! Whatever I was drawn to in the moment became part of my growing African textile collection. As a painter, I had no idea at the time what would become of these fabrics.

I discovered this sea of carins flooding the Boulder Creek the other day.  I was walking accross the bridge to the Boulder Public Library when a quick glance to my right stopped me in my tracks.  Good thing I had my trusty camera with me as usual.  I always love to have it on hand to capture these fleeting moments of inspiration.  Obviously someone else was feeling creative.  Thank you for sharing your work with the world whoever you are!  It's amazing to me how one person's inspiration can keep on giving to others and becomes food for further creative endeavor

Check out this amazing exhibit at the de Young Museum located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.  It's only on display for another couple of weeks, ending on October 11, 2009. 

"This is the exhibition's third and final presentation before being disbanded and returned to major lending institutions and private collections in Europe and the United States." -de Young website

Being a small business, especially being a one woman show, means that I am accountable to me.  I wake up in the morning and am my own boss.  Anyone else in this situation understands that this is fabulously freeing and empowering, and at the same time, can also be bewildering and overwhelming. 

After returning from my travels in Malawi I realized that the dream for Dsenyo is much larger than what I can accomplish on my own.  So, I have been reaching out for advice and attending workshops on time management and small business growth strategies.  

I have recently returned from seven weeks in Malawi (see map).  It blows my mind that I can somewhat seamlessly travel between what feels like two different worlds.  Operating in another culture is thrilling, inspiring and sometimes exhausting.  What keeps me going always is the wonderfully cheerful spirit of the Malawian people.

Although this article was pulished a few years ago, it brings up several issues relevant that are still valid today. Namely, that the local textile industry in Malawi has been threatened by the sale of second-hand clothing coming from places like the US and Europe.  Over that past 10 years many textile mills have closed with only one company remaining.  On the bright side, there has been talk about starting to grow organic cotton in Malawi through a partnership with Taiwan.  I will give you an update on this when I return from Malawi at the end of July.

The Guardian

• A British daily newspaper, maintains an Ethical Fashion section of the publication on their website.
• Life & Style >> Fashion >> Ethical Fashion
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ethicalfashion

Many people are curious to know the story behind our name Dsenyo (dee-sen-yo).  As a child of the American melting-pot I was born to a Cuban mother and an American, Scotish-raised Father.  I grew up in Colorado hearing my mother and grandmother speak Spanish.

The Art of African Textiles, Duncan Clarke, 1997

The Art of African Textiles, John Picton, 2000

The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End, Alisa LaGamma and Christine Giuntini, 2008

African Textiles: Color and Creativity Across a Continent, John Gillow, 2009

The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles / Recent Art, Grey Art Gallery, 2008