If you have a chance to stop by Littlestone Upholstery Designs at 210 W. State St, Ithaca NY (2 blocks from the Commons) my rugs are on display there, in the big window in front.
Anne Steinle, the owner of Littlestone, is an extremely creative upholsterer. She will be giving an upholstery workshop at the Finger Lakes ReUse Center later this summer. You can also view her work at http://www.littlestoneupholsterydesigns.com/
There’s also a small display of indigo and cochineal bugs, so you can get an idea of what these look like. I use both of these in my rugs along with pomegranate, pecan and marigold, and many other plants. The bugs on display I cultivated in Mexico and the indigo is from the Isthmus of Oaxaca. Many of the dyes I used in Mexico aren’t available in New York, so I will be experimenting with plants from this area. I will let you know how I progress with some local plants!
Cochineal is cultivated on the pads of prickly pear cactus-which probably won’t grow in New York-so my kids will be taking over that process for a while.