Finding the Silver Lining

I always told my children when things went wrong “If it never rained, you wouldn’t appreciate the sunshine.” So to try to cheer up our battled and bruised Louisiana, we decided to add all of our beautiful and happy suzanis to the website. You just can’t look at a suzani and feel sad. And whether you’ve been through a hurricane or not, who wants to be sad?

 

As you know our beloved Louisiana has been slammed again, Ida-clare. But if you look for the positive in the whole disaster, the state’s heart and soul is ever so impressive. And the levees held in New Orleans, so restaurants and shops have jumped through miraculous hoops and are now open and anxiously awaiting the return of visitors.

 

Fortunately Baby Viz was home with us in North Louisiana for the storm along with all of our NOLA refugees. We were all wringing our hands while watching the Weather Channel. Seeing the horrifying devastation South of New Orleans (where some levees were breached), and secondly worrying about the Magazine Street pillows mildewing over time with no electricity, Sarah immediately donned her cape to try to save the day.


"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
Dolly Parton

Sarah drove the 100 miles to the Jackson Costco and probably bought all of their batteries and survival necessities such as headlamps, bleach, tarps, gas cans, beef jerky, etc. With no room to see out of the rear view mirror, she waved to me from the driver's seat while blasting “Highway to the Danger Zone” which made us all laugh even though we wanted to cry.

 

She picked up a friend who stayed for the storm, drove farther south to Chauvin and delivered the essential goods to many people. While it was just one load, the gratitude was overwhelming and she said that her heart was swelling. Then she went back through the city to move half of the pillows to a generator-run home and the other half she brought back to St. Joseph. (While worrying about pillows at a time like this seems quite trivial, it would probably have taken at least 2 years to produce that many and of course, most of them are one-of-a-kind.)

 

Sarah also rescued the suzanis we had just received from Uzbekistan and we were able to photograph the whole lot and can now offer them to you on our website. In my 27 years of studying textiles, these are the most spectacular suzanis I have ever seen. We are so lucky to be one of the few reps in the world for these works of art and they add such joy to our shop and website.


While we do have some vintage pieces, these suzanis are newer and the colors are sublime. They are each hand crafted following the historic traditions of the art that almost was extinguished during the Soviet era. Thankfully this cultural jewel has been revived since Uzbekistan’s Independence in 1991. An unusual detail I love to highlight is the astounding “flicker stitch'' which often outlines a motif with a black and white striped stitch. (Remember these are hand sewn!) This tends to give the overall design a subtle sparkle and adds a lot of depth to the piece. See this article for more about the magic of suzanis.

 

Hopefully sharing these suzanis with you will be an uplifting moment. Our world has been turned upside down battling Covid, the elements, the politics, and the uncertainty and sadness. I am not making light of these tough times, but trying to share some positivity and beauty to help in any way I possibly can.


To assist even more, I will be listing organizations below that we love if you wish to donate funds. Or the other way to help, is to plan a trip to New Orleans, stay at a hotel, go out to eat at a GREAT restaurant, and buy something special from a local business... all guilt free!

1. Bayou Fund

2. Cajun Navy Relief

3. United Way SELA

4. Feed the Second Line

 

We're so proud of our community, specifically the many women-owned, small businesses that have banded together for Hurricane Ida relief. A lot of great things are happening down here to help heal our sorrow and for that we are incredibly thankful.

 

PS: Don’t watch the Weather Channel if you are nervous about meteorological events. The repetitive tune is more anxiety inducing than the music from Jaws.

Rebecca Vizard