BY Marcella Echavarria | August 16, 2010

Outside-the-box-traditional textiles

At the Gift Show, happening this week in NY, Arnold Haas is launching an amazing collection of textiles that tell the story of his interesting and diverse journeys. Born in Austria, Arnold has lived in Ethiopia and now lives in  Santiago de Chile.  The collection highlights just this je ne sais quoi of a globetrotter with an acute eye and a passion for the hand made, the exquisite and the authentic, always with a modern touch and sense of color that can only be explained as “very Wubet”.   For Arnold, the key is to take traditional techniques outside of the ethnic box to give them a chance as high end designed pieces for a modern world.  For example, the oversized, extra-long scarves and throws mix guava tones, pinks and yellow accents in unexpected ways.  His textures mix hand spun and hand loomed baby alpaca from the Andes with Netela which is the fabulous gauze made with Ethiopian cottons.  Leather bags and wood carved gigantic bracelets complement the assortment.
 Pier 92-booth 31006, August 14-18, 2010
www.wubet.com