Turkey Red in Turkey Red
My dear friends and showroom partners, Krista Nye Nicholas and Tami Ramsay of Cloth & Kind, recently gave me a remarkable book: Décors Barbares: The Enchanting Interiors of Nathalie Farman-Farma. Known for her vibrant textiles inspired by traditional Persian, Central Asian, and Russian costumes, Farman-Farma has written a book that treats the reader to a world filled with folklore, fairy tales, and the Ballets Russes, not to mention rooms "where Tolstoy would want to spend the night."
Gouache renderings of mostly Turkey red patterns from an early 19th century, French pattern book. Photo taken of a photo in Textile Designs: Two Hundred Years of European and American Patterns for Printed Fabrics Organized by Motif, Style, Color, Layout, and Period by Susan Meller and Joost Elffers, 1991.
I found one chapter- a rumination on Turkey reds- especially inspiring. The term “Turkey red,” as Farman-Farma so eloquently explains, refers to 18th and 19th century red cotton fabrics. Traditional methods of dyeing cotton a deep shade of red came from India or Turkey, and when French textile dyers mastered the technique in the 1740s they referred to the crimson hue as “rouge Adrianople” after a former capital of the Ottoman Empire. The association stuck and as red cotton fabrics spread across the industrialized world in the early 19th century, they became known as “Turkey reds.” These crimson-hued textiles make regular appearances in Farman-Farma’s work.
An inspiration board for our Winter Wheat wallpaper and fabric and our Turkey Red linocut print. Photo by Alexandra Rowley.
Turkey Red has played an important role in my textile design practice as well, but it’s been Turkey Red of an entirely different variety. The Turkey Red that travels through my work is an heirloom red winter wheat. This heritage grain, known for its high protein levels and low gluten content, originated in Turkey and was brought to the American Midwest in the late 19th century by Mennonite immigrants fleeing czarist oppression in Ukraine and Crimea. Tannins give the wheat’s bran (the outer shell of its grain) a reddish cast, hence the name Turkey Red. This remarkable plant inspired my wallpaper and fabric, Winter Wheat, and my linocut print, Turkey Red.
Turkey Red wheat growing in Minnesota. Photo by Ben Penner (the farmer who grows it).
As harvest time approaches, Turkey Red wheat attains a golden hue. A field of Turkey Red truly does contain amber waves of grain (and is beautiful for spacious skies). My Turkey Red-inspired wallpapers, fabrics and prints, offered in varying shades of blue and ochre, pay homage to this palette.
Turkey Red, in color Turkey Red, is available on our website
But I always love a play on words, and after reading Décors Barbares: The Enchanting Interiors of Nathalie Farman-Farma, I couldn’t resist printing my Turkey Red linocut block in Turkey red. The result, a festive marriage of motif and color, has arrived just in time for the holidays. Turkey Red in Turkey red is available for purchase on our website.
This journey began with Nathalie Farman-Farma's captivating book and the generosity of the Cloth & Kind team. What a treat to work with fellow creatives who give flight to my imagination and add new colors to my palette!