4/2/2010 - First Friday Art Show Opening: Local and Global Handmade Treasures

The Staff & Volunteers of RVML Present:

First Friday Art Walk in Ashland's Railroad District

Opens First Friday, April 2, 5:00-8:00 pm
Exhibit runs April 3-30, 10-6 Daily

April Art Exhibit: Local and Global Handmade Treasures from
L'atelier Annabel Lee Gallery & Indika Imports

Exhibit Description:

RVML is pleased to welcome our neighbors in the A Street Atrs Building; Indika Imports and L'atelier Annabel Lee Gallery for an exhibit of local and global handmade treasures, crafts, fine art and clothing.

Indika Imports is an Indian imports store. Although their primary business is wholesaling to retailers nationwide, owners Travis Luther and Farinaz Wadia have also opened Indika to the public. One of Indika's best selling items is their colorful Prosperity Hens. Co-owner Farinaz Wadia said, "They are made in the desert in Rajasthan, which is in North India, by women who have set up their own cooperative of handicrafts there. Hens symbolize prosperity to the women who make these ornaments. They make the hens from scraps of leftover fabric, embellish them with silver and glass beads and then tie a hand-made goat bell at the end."

Indika is different from other import stores because it only carries items from India "Our selection is very unique. Every item we sell is entirely made by hand, and fairly traded," Wadia said. "We travel to India each year to select items and to make sure that the money we send there goes to the source we intend for it to go. Quality is most important to us. We also focus on the origin of each item, such as whether the women are free to work in their own homes or not, or if they work in a factory, what the working conditions are like."

L'atelier Annabel Lee Gallery is a creative, one-of-a-kind children's clothing store. Annabel Allen opened her store in December because she said she couldn't find any "fun" clothes for her two young sons. Frustrated, Allen began making clothes and blankets with the sewing machine her grandmother had left her. Because she received so many compliments on the clothing she made for her own sons, she realized there was a potential market for good quality, unique children's clothing in Ashland.

One of her favorite items in the store is her "Angel-Wing Onesies." "They make great baby-shower gifts," said Allen of the tiny white onesies with soft, iridescent wings sewn onto the back. "We can put an angel-wing onesie into a large golden egg then wrap a taggie blanket around it like a nest. The gift is ready to go." Allen says she loves to help create personalized gifts. She can also make favorite photos into decorated pillows or take an old sweater and create something new out of it, like children's leggings. Allen prides her store on whimsical and fun items; organic cotton girls' tops with big silk flower sleeves or a skirt with a pattern that, upon closer inspection, reveals jumping green frogs.

About the Exhibitors:

Farinaz Wadia grew up in India and left in 1992 when she was 21. She and her husband lived in Washington before settling in Ashland with their 8-year-old daughter, Aisha. She says their decision to open an import store in Ashland grew out of a love for her native Indian culture and because the people here in Ashland appreciate beauty and quality.

More information: (360) 421-3342 e-mail: info@indikaimports.com

Website: http://www.indikaimports.com

After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater at Southern Oregon University, Annable Allen said she originally wanted to be an improv comedian. "I started at Second City in Chicago then performed at Improv Olympic in L.A.," said Allen. "While we were in L.A., I was the first to create 'cigar box purses' which Fred Segal carried for eight years. My purses were even shown in magazines being carried by celebrities. But, once we had Milo and Egan, life very happily became about my children."

More Information: (541) 951-5182, e-mail: milosfamily@ashlandoregon.org

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/annabelleeallen

The exhibit opens First Friday, April 2, 5:00-8:00 pm and runs April 3-30, 10-6 DAILY, downstairs in the Rogue Valley Free Media Exchange (Suite 2).

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RVML COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER: RVML is a volunteer operated, donor-supported non-profit organization in Ashland, Oregon providing easy access to a variety of unusual information that inspires, heals and transforms. Thank you Volunteers and Donors!

Free Media Exchange: 1000's of books and videos on all subjects to purchase or exchange for free! 50-Seat Event Center: Attend weekly events or rent it for your own! Rogue Valley Metaphysical Library: Founded in 2001, RVML has grown to be among the largest of its kind in the world with over 15,000 titles to borrow! Subjects include: spirituality, paranormal, personal development, psychology, sociology, science, cosmology, mythology, society and more!

~~ RVML is OPEN EVERY DAY 10am-6pm - (541) 552-9119 ~~ EVENT CENTER IS UPSTAIRS IN THE RAILROAD MUSEUM ~~
RVML- 258 A Street, Ashland, Oregon
Across from Ace Hardware, near the Food Co-Op
In the heart of the Railroad District