Left:
Leather Urchin, 2010
waterjet-cut and hand-
woven vegetable-tanned
saddle leather
6
x 23.5 in.
C ra fte d S y ste m s m akes regu lar
co n trib u tio n s to th e Y W C A
fro m its p ro fits, and p ro v id e s
sh e lter resid en ts w ith w o r k
e x p e rie n c e . (“ A n y th in g to
fill a resu m e th e se d a y s,”
says S arah .)
T u ’s e n terp rise also le a ve s
a sm all carb o n fo o tp rin t, as
tra v e lin g d istan ces fo r sales in
and arou n d P o rtla n d are sh o rt
and d o n ’ t con su m e a lo t o f gas.
L o o k in g fo rw a rd , T u n o tes th at
th e re are Y W C A s in m an y c it-
ies. “ I w o u ld lik e to see w e a v e s
h a p p en in g all o v e r th e c o u n -
tr y ,” sh e says.
T h a t’s a p o ssib ility. C ra fte d -
S ystem s p rod u cts are sold onlin e
and in shops th at sp ecia lize in
design and su stain ab ility, but T u
has also receive d inquiries abou t
b ig o rd ers from fu rn itu re m anu-
factu rers w h o w a n t to d isp lay
th e vase s and tapestries in their
sto res. B alan cin g p ro fit, h elp in g,
and su stain ab ility is a ch allen ge,
but T u is com m itted to h er m is-
sion , th e Y W C A , and hand-
assem b ly, no m atter the city .
T u ’s fa th e r, o rig in a lly from
V ie tn a m , w a s an in tre p id tra v -
e le r, and th e fa m ily liv e d in
E n g lan d tw ic e w h e n she w a s a
ch ild . W h e n she tra v e le d on h er
o w n in h e r 20s to such p laces as
V ie tn a m , M e x ic o , and P e ru ,
she b egan th in k in g ab ou t p a rt-
n erin g w ith - and e m p o w e rin g
- artisan s. “ W h e n I began
w o rk in g w ith te x tile s, it w a s
o n ly a n atural co n n e ctio n to
asso ciate th a t a c tiv ity w ith
w o m e n ,” she says. T u g o t in
to u ch w ith A id to A rtisa n s, an
o rg a n iza tio n th at p ro m o tes c o l-
lab o ratio n b e tw e e n d esign ers
and artisan s aroun d th e w o rld ,
ab o u t six m on th s b e fo re she
started C ra fte d S y ste m s. B u t
she d ecid e d to tr y w o r k in g lo -
ca lly in P o rtla n d , p a rtly fo r th e
sak e o f c o n v e n ie n c e , b u t also
b ecau se she th o u g h t it w o u ld
m ean m ore to e m p o w e r w o m e n
in h er co m m u n ity . A n d she has
seen em o tio n al b en e fits first-
hand. “ M a n y o f th e w o m e n
h a ve u sed th e w o r d ‘h ea lin g ’
w h e n d escrib in g th e ir w o r k
fo r u s,” says T u .
A t th e Y , p a sse rsb y w h o see
th e w o m e n w o r k in g fro m the
h a llw a y p o p in to co m m en t on
th e o b je cts th e y ’v e m ade.
“ T h o s e are a w e so m e ,” says
o n e v isito r. “ T h a t’s art!” says
an o th er. T u ’s assistan t, R e b e k -
ka H a n n e sd o ttir, a stu d e n t at
N o r th w e s t C o lle g e o f A r t
ad d s, “ T h is has b e e n h ap p en in g
all d a y .” D o lly , a C ra fte d -
S y ste m s a ssem b ler w h o w e a rs
h er p arka zip p e d all th e w a y up
to h e r sh o rt, p u n k y h aircu t,
lo o k s at h e r la te st p ie ce w ith
sa tisfa ctio n : “ T h a t on e w a s m y
fa ste st - 40 m in u tes.” B y th e
a fte rn o o n th ere are ab ou t 20
ve ssels co n stru cte d . T u lo o k s
p le ase d ; she had a llo tted tw ic e
as m uch tim e.
“ It’s th e rap e u tic,” vo lu n te ers
M e lissa, in a v o ic e that sounds
alm ost p ain fu lly sh y. “ Y e a h ,
som eth in g w o rth w h ile instead
o f w a tch in g T V o r so m eth in g ,”
adds Sarah. T h e re is a palpable
sen se o f co m m u n ity in the room ;
the w o m e n cle arly e n jo y sp en d -
in g tim e to g e th e r and sharing a
sense o f accom p lish m en t. T h e y
talk o v e r each o th er and an sw er
q u estion s c o lle ctiv e ly in a fam il-
iar w a y . “ N o w a d a y s p e o p le e x -
p e ct so m uch in d ep en d en ce
from w o m e n , it’s n ice to spend
tim e w ith th e girls and hang
o u t,” says Sarah. T h e n she
sm iles and sa y s, “A n d som ed ay I
m ay b e w a lk in g past a sto re and
b e lik e , ‘H e y , I m ade th o se!’ ”
+
cra fted -sy ste m s.co m
E lizabeth Lopeman writes about
art from Portland, Oregon, and
M unich, Germany. D ana Cuellar
contributed reporting to this story.
Below:
Hexmats, 2010
die-cut and
handwoven
wool felt
16 x 18 in.
054
american craft
fcb/m arn
Urchin photo: Scott Kouchi / Photos (4): Lincoln Barbour
