Uzbek Alive

UzbekAlive was created by a small group of enthusiasts as a channel for promotion of work of Uzbek artists and designers. After several years of contemplating, in 2002 we finally put our efforts together and launched this website. In years of running UzbekAlive we learnt several things, the major one of them being – we do have something unique and beautiful to offer to the world. In fact, we have become known as a place to shop for unique gifts.

Everything on this website was made in Uzbekistan with tremendous amount of care. We work directly with artists, who live in Uzbekistan and are the most talented artists and designers in their fields. The money generated through sales on UzbekAlive is used to support these artists and designers who otherwise would be struggling making a living doing what they love in a today's unstable economy of Uzbekistan, where people are more concerned about meeting basic needs, not about keeping Uzbek art Alive.

Our ikats were hand dyed and handloom woven in Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan using a centuries old technique of ikat weaving. The technique requires a precision in tying and wrapping silk threads before dying in order to create a desired pattern.

Uzbekistan was once a major branch of the ancient Silk Road. As caravans traveled between East and West they facilitated exchange of cultures, religions and skills. Certain imperfections in dying and weaving are inherent to the manual process of ikat making and should not be considered as defects. Dry cleaning is recommended for silk scarves. Hand wash in cold water is recommended for cotton/silk blend fabrics.

In addition to scarves and fabrics, we also feature works of lacquer ornamental jewelry and decorative boxes, hair barrettes and pins.

Our sales operations are now based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where we already have the products listed on this website. We carry a limited number of units of each product at a time and, as everything that is hand made, the patterns and designs will be very similar, but never absolutely identical.

Everything here is fair-traded – there was no child labor involved in the production of any item we sell; artists would not have sold us anything unless we paid a fair price.

SRI Threads: Vintage Japanese and Indian Textiles

A Rustic Indigo Dyed Boro Nagagi: Beautiful Patches, Eccentric Stitching

Sri is a textile gallery specializing in antique Japanese folk textiles, highlighting the indigo-dyed cotton utilitarian fabrics and boro--or patched and mended--textiles of old Japan. We also carry a wonderful selection of textiles from India.

We are located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York and we are open by appointment.

Please visit our BLOG, Sri Threads, for our commentary on the world of Japanese folk textiles and for photographs of our New York home.

If you would like to visit us, please do not hesitate to e mail or call us; we would love to meet you.

As well, if you are searching for a specific type of textile not listed on our site, feel free to contact us with your request. Our showroom inventory is larger and more diverse than we can list on this site, and we would be happy to speak to you about your interest and how we might help you find the textile you are looking for.

For a glimpse of individual pieces from our collection of specialized texiles, visit out gallery at asianart.com

And for a view into Sri's showroom, have a look at our online gallery where we have posted a few photos of our Brooklyn home.

An Applique Ralli Quilt: Boro, Indian Style

Peacock China Imports

From small, picturesque, little-known villages including Langde, Anshun and Kaili come fascinating works of embroidered art and fabric. Brilliant in color and meticulous in detail, each product is imported directly from the Miao people of Guizhou Province…an industrious culture whose kind and gentle nature is exemplified in each of their products. Of the over 50 minority cultures in China, the Miao people (pronounced Mee-owe) are the predominant minority. Industrious and wise, the Miaos devised a way to enhance their quality of life by exporting their delicate embroidered designs.

In addition to our Miao products, Peacock China Imports brings you select items from Tibet. Paintings in spectacular oils. Sensational jewelry. One of a kind silver hand mirrors and jewelry boxes. An Autonomous Region of China, Tibet provides exceptional import opportunities!

With great appreciation for the “magnificence of the Miaos,” I am proud to offer you these unusual, soon-to-be-extinct collectors’ items…true heirlooms from the original artisans of China…and in many respects, the world. Through Peacock China Imports, I endeavor to bring to you the most desirable products of the Miao and Tibetan cultures.

Thank you for visiting, and enjoy your travels here.

Batik Tambal: Indonesian Fabric

The textiles presented by Batik Tambal are hand selected by Trish Hodge from a variety of locations in Indonesia. Trish has been making quilts for over thirty-five years. She has enjoyed the good fortune of combining her three great passions: textiles, travel, and teaching. She has lived in Tunisia, Syria and Indonesia where she studied and collected textiles and incorporated the motifs into her own work. She took full advantage of her recent five years of residence in Sumatra to intensively investigate Indonesian batik, culminating with her master's degree thesis, Indonesian Batik Design: Transmitter Of Culture.

She has taken instruction from a batik master in Jogyakarta where she worked side by side with his batik artisans. She has extended and enriched her palette as a textile artist by employing batik fabrics in her recent quilts.

Batik Tambal is an Indonesian term which translates to "Patches of Batik". Tambal Miring (shown below) is a traditional Indonesian batik pattern. The literal meaning of "Tambal Miring" is slanted patches of batik, but much more is implied in the term. As late as the beginning of the twentieth century certain priests in Indonesia wore patchwork jackets which were believed to have magical qualities. Indeed the batik tambal garments of the Sultan of Jogyakarta were said to have been passed down from heaven. In our own time Tambal Miring is a traditional design mode which imitates the clothing of the priests. Some of the magic undoubtedly persists.

It is a great pleasure to present the work of some of Indonesia's finest batik artists. The batik paintings make uniquely attractive wall hangings, and also lend themselves to use in wearable art, quilts, table runners, and other forms of patchwork art.

Fabric and Art.Com

FabricAndArt.com we are excited to be statrting a new journey, directing our entire fabric collection to a high quality, sustainable collection of the worlds finest fabric. Our focus is on natural fibers, that are manufactured in as low impact a way as possible.

The quilt fabric industry is slowly catching on to the movement of environmental responsibility, though we have a ways to go before we can truly call fabric manufacture sustainable. Therefore even though we have a large selection of quality quilt fabric, we are always searching for new, greener fabrics. Hopefully before long we will be able to offer more and more selection of sustainable fabrics

Proudly we've been on the forefront of offering Hemp and Organic cotton fabrics, and now have added soy and bamboo fabrics to the mix! These types of alternative fibers are an important growing industry.

We are also proud to offer fair trade fabrics. Handcrafted batik fabrics from Ghana as well as Vietnamese brocade and woven silk shantung from Cambodia.

As always our selection of Indonesian batik fabrics and Bali handpaints are a true celebration of the Balinesian ancient art.

We have a range of other fabrics including our most popular Japanese quilt fabrics and Aborigine-designed fabrics from Australia. Since India is one of the largest manufacturers of silks and cotton we are seeking sustainable, fair trade fabrics, please visit our pages to check on availability of Indian loomed cottons and silks.

Galleria Pangea, Chinese and Asian Crafts

About Us

Galleria Pangea is a collaborative partnership between Asian and Western friends interested in the relationship of culture and craft. Our staff has traveled extensively throughout China to discover the handmade treasures that often lie hidden in the infrequently-visited regions and modern artifice of our daily lives. Each of our products has a unique cultural significance and story that we are happy to share with you as you explore with us the rich legacy of artisan craftsmanship bestowed upon us by our collective heritage.

When you visit Galleria Pangea, we hope that you will find more than well-crafted, thoughtful merchandise. We hope that you will come to appreciate a shared history and culture that has evolved over millennia. We are continuously adding both new countries and new products to our catalogue so please check back with us frequently and let us know how we can serve you better.

Our Mission

Galleria Pangea's mission is to locate, procure, and provide you with pieces of the world's heritage at a fair price. In between the spaces of the familiar and the stereotypical, fine handicrafts and artwork abound in the hidden corners of the world. We are devoted to seeking them out for you - in a way that preserves the historical significance of the pieces in question.

We deal directly with the artists who make each piece. There is no middleman or distributor used, and we ensure that each artisan can trade his artwork at a reasonable price for both the buyer and the seller. You can buy from us in confidence.

Much like our namesake, the archetypical Pangaea continent preceding the separation of the world's continents, we ultimately hope to make the Earth a little more unified. Please join us in our mission!

MarketPlace: Handwork of India

MarketPlace: Handwork of India is an innovative fair trade, not-for-profit organization increasing economic opportunities for low-income women in India and empowering them to bring about changes in their lives, their families and communities. MarketPlace works with 14 co-operatives consisting of 480 artisans in India who produce high-quality women’s apparel.

MarketPlace: Handwork of India is not a strategy, a program, or an academic exercise. Rather, it is a way of life that brings about change in the lives of the women artisans, in their families, and in their communities. Earning a living and supporting their families have given these women the independence and self-confidence to explore different aspects of their lives. They have found the courage to question age-old traditions and beliefs and to develop their own opinions, values and dreams. Combining the old and the new, they have fashioned new lives incorporating self-respect, ambitions, and strength. And at the center of each woman’s new life is family. Above all they will not compromise their absolute belief that they want a better life for their children and that they will do anything in their power to accomplish this.

Social change ripples into the community as leadership building initiatives give the artisans tools for action.