Paloma Textiles

If you love art fabric, cultural textiles, color, and great craftsmanship, visit the new(ish) TAFA website (http://www.tafalist.com/).  TAFA is the brainchild of Rachel Biel, who has worked in handicrafts since 1988.  Her mission now is to "help preserve textile traditions, to educate the public about the social context of the artists, to empower the people who make them, and to increase market access to small-scale crafters and artists."

TAFA invites artist/craftspeople from all over the world to become members.  Each member gets a page where they can post information about their work, their creative process, plus photographs and video feed.  Also in these pages you'll find suppliers who are "off the beaten path," such as Oshiwa Designs (http://www.tafalist.com/2010/02/oshiwa-designs.html) which markets textile stamp; and Afghan Tribal Arts (http://www.tafalist.com/2010/01/afghan-tribal-arts.html), a seller of beads, jewelry, textiles, and other handcrafted items from Afghanistan.

If you're an artist looking for inspiration, you'll find it in these pages.  It's like having a virtual art/craft gallery at your fingertips.  Although TAFA is young, it's growing quickly, and Rachel will be interviewed in an upcoming issue of Hand/Eye Magazine (http://www.handeyemagazine.com).  (The piece in the photo, "Holston Cat Trail," is by Carol LeBaron and can be seen at http://www.tafalist.com/2010/03/carol-lebaron-fine-art-textiles.html)