Ultrafabrics + Dignify by Design Summit
It started 10 years ago as an idea, asking the question, how can the Museum of New Mexico Foundation expose designers to the largest collection of folk art in the world numbering more than 130,000 objects from more than 100 countries. Thus the design summit was born.
As a founder and board member of this biennial creative summit, Kimberle Frost, Director of Merchandising at Ultrafabrics, is passionate about this mission and its grassroots efforts. This year’s event, Dignify by Design was especially meaningful given the climate of today’s world.
In July, a creative team, representing different market segments, from Ultrafabrics attended the 4th biennial design summit, hosted in partnership with Human Dignity Projects and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. The gathering of leaders in the fields of design, craft, art, architecture, and film had the opportunity to discuss their creative process and how dignity informs their work, lives and shared spaces.
Stimulating, inspirational speakers collectively demonstrated how their work moves a cultural tradition forward and/or encourages heathy communities. A snapshot of some of our favorite speakers:
Fernado LaPosse, a Mexican designer whose practice is material driven and focuses on transforming humble materials into refined design pieces, promoting their regenerative possibilities and tackling environmental issues. Fernando spoke on themes of regeneration over sustainability, human-centric design in harmony with nature-centric design, and novel life at odds with traditional life.
Left to right: avocado leather created from the waste product of the avocado; agave fibers; Totomoxtle corn veneer; avocado dyed textiles.
Marie Brown, Executive Director at Handshouse Studio, a non-profit educational organization, known for creating bold, innovative hands-on projects that illuminate history, explore science, and perpetuate the arts. Discussing one-of-a-kind collaborations that focus on the re/creation of objects, Marie follows lines of inquiry and curiosity to delve into the object’s cultural context, and then invite students, educators, and skilled professionals to work side-by-side to re/create the object with its original tools, materials, and methods.
Left to right: 1750 replica Perronet crane; celebration of the completion of the synagogue roof installation; Notre Dame restoration project.
It was a thoughtful two days of hands-on, creative workshops, an exclusive tour of the Museum of International Folk Art’s 30,000-piece ethnographic textile collection and the Museum of Indian Art + Culture’s unrivalled basketry, pottery, and textile collections.
We left inspired to design, create, make, and manufacture with reverence and humanity, integrity and harmony, with awe and stewardship towards community.
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