Notebook

Looking back at 2024 provides much to be grateful for. It also serves as inspiration for the planned creative projects of 2025.

The past year was filled with incredible requests and collaborations:

• it was a privilege to design and embroider a waistcoat for the newly opened Emily Hobhouse museum in Cornwall;
• it was an honour to be elected as one of ten global craft art experts for the Homo Faber exhibition hosted during the Venice Biennale;
• it was such a pleasure to facilitate Narrative Threads created by Art, Life, Stitches textile art group at Mogalakwena Gallery that was well received by visitors from far and wide. (We look forward to repeat)

We created an abundance of handmade treasures and plenty new products  that will arrive  in our gallery shop soon.

We wish our co-creators, customers, and friends

                        kindness, courage, peace, health & happiness for 2025.  

Mogalakwena's hand embroidered table linen adorns many tables at family gatherings, intimate dinners, celebrations and festivities.

The joy of special meals around a beautifully set table always lingers...

Enhance your own tablescape with Mogalakwena's hand embroidered table linen ...aquamarine and turquoise for a seaside al fresco, oystercatchers and penguins in black and white for a more formal table setting or shwe shwe for a quintessential South African breakfast.

These hand embroidered linens add style to your table, bring joy to your guests and employment to skillful hands working in a deep rural craft studio.

Visit our gallery/shop in the old stables at Montebello Craft & Design Centre.

Almost 20 years in the Mogalakwena permanent collection, the hand embroidered panel depicting the Craft Art Village is on its way to a new collection in the UK.

From top left to bottom right:

The Artist's Retreat

The Writer's Cottage

Craft Art Studio

Fever Tree Cottage

Nature's slower rhythm allows us to pause, nurture, restore, and find time to enjoy small comforts...

• reflect on the words of William Henry Channing

To live content with small means.

To seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion.

To be worthy not respectable,
and wealthy not rich.

To study hard, think quietly, talk gently,
act frankly, to listen to stars, birds, babes,
and sages with open heart, to bear all
cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, 
hurry never.

In a word, to let the spiritual,
unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony.

• the cosiness of a hand knitted woollen beanie, pullover or scarf

         Knitted by 98 year old Gogo Hilda Phiri

• the sense of well-being  afforded by rose-scented hand stitched hearts
• hand knitted tea cosies.

The above are available in our shop.

Crisp, cold days and autumn leaves prompt us to prepare for winter.

Unpack warm woollen garments and prepare comfort food ... hearty casseroles, homemade soups and freshly baked bread.

Whether setting the table or creating a cosy couch, include the warm colours of autumn...yellow, orange, rust, copper and brown.

Vincent van Gogh aptly wrote; "As long as autumn lasts I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see."