The Sisterhood of the Traveling Coat

There is a creative and collaborative "Happening" going on here at Bohemia Esprit.

Here's how it all began...Diana planted the first seed in our very active, weekly forum chat, never imagining that PattyMara would add her own brand of creative water...but once she did we were off:

Diana led the way with: "And now, I'm kind of excited! I made up a pattern for a sort of drapey wrap/coat based on the cocoon coats of the 20s."

That was the seed, but Mara (in her inimitable way) said: "Wow I just had the strangest notion. I 'saw' Diana making a cocoon coat, dying it then sending it to a BE artist to add the buttons, then that person sends it to someone to add beads, then someone else for another embellishment and on and on until it is a fully adorned, wildly Bohemian collaboration coat. We could blog about each of the additions and watch the coat 'materialize' into an artisan treasure. And figure out a way to fairly compensate each artist for their contribution of time and material and shipping. And appear on the Rachel Maddow show (or Oprah if Rachel is busy doing the news) to promote and celebrate it and us and our market and sell it for thousands and thousands of dollars."

"it could happen."

And so, it took root. And grew.

SquareOne : "I always say, "You just never know!" yes it could happen...what a wonderful coat it would be too..."

And it was Kay who said: "Shall we offer it as fund raiser for a cause we all believe in? That is donate the profit!"

And Manny said: "Count me in! Mara, how brilliant and bo-ho inspired! I like the donation suggestion, Kay...particularly because it will be rising out of such thoughtful and collaborative hands and hearts!"

Delight was right there too, with: "I LOVE this idea of the coat. This is something that is done in the book/mail art world. It is called THE EXQUISITE CORPSE. I believe it was started by the Surrealists. I am in! Donating it or rather the money would be great! Exposure for us and money for a worthy charity.Let's run with this..."

And it was Abby who coined the name: "I love the idea! Please count me in. Truly The Sisterhood of the Traveling Coat!"

Leinaala , who later even dreamed of the coat: "The coat idea is fabulous! Count me in. I need to test beads for washable-ness, but no big deal. Diana, I like the colors in your Safari Arashi and also the colors in the Phoenix Rising top you had a few weeks ago. Maybe the Phoenix Rising would be a good idea and donate the money to women in transition? Who are "rising" up over their former circumstances? Just an idea."

Soon, we had more tendrils and sprouts as others came to play.

Laura said: "This is so exciting for so many reasons!!!"

"What a wonderful way to get to know each other and build the community here. What a great way to feel connected to this market. What a fantastic way to promote the market! What an amazing way to inspire each other! And this project is so perfect for the theme of our market!!"

"I have very little extra time right now but I'm absolutely making time to do this. Thank you to everyone who helped brainstorm this idea!"

And VinTij : "My heart hands are ready as well! :)"

Rachel said: "I want to play too :)"

And Cherie too: "I am adding my name to the list and expressing my interest in doing my humble best to try to add to the Coat's glory!"

So, off we go! No matter the medium, all Bohemia Esprit market members are welcome co-creators in this Sisterhood of the Traveling Coat!

PattyMara here, commenting on my progress on the purple/bronze coat. I have taken to calling these wonderful beings "DreamCoats" because now two of our artists have dreamed about them. I have loved having her in my studio. I've decided to use some silk that I dyed purple a few months ago when I was making a 'Mother of the Bride' dress for our daughter's wedding in June. I tried to hurry up the heatsetting time, and ended up burning holes in the silk. Just a few days before my dreamcoat arrived in my mailbox, I found the silk stashed in my fabric closet. It was a perfect match to Diana's dye patterning, with the burned bronzes matching her base dye of rich brown. I'm lining the dreamcoat with the silk and adding applique around the burn holes to stabilize the frayed silk edges. I've finished with all the sewing except for this final handwork, and decided to take her with me on a long train journey to Albuquerque, then mailing it to Kay (OnSlenderThreads) from New Mexico. When I mentioned that to Diana, she wrote: "I smile to think of the coat on the train with you, traveling to New Mexico. And what a joy it is to relax, and listen to the dreamcoats, as they give us their names and their needs, and fulfill ours."