Jess Wrobel: Textiles and Decor

I’m well aware that a reading list from the depths of an active studio should be filled with tomes of design inspiration and manuals of technique.  And, don’t worry.  I have plenty of those.  The list is dizzying.  But while I spend most of any given day either pouring over those volumes or listening to audio books while I work, it seems to be a rare treat when I get to actually pick up and interact with a real story.  Finger the pages.  Cling to the cover.  So I am delighted to just have finished the The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.  This beautiful true story tells the tale of a young woman and her family surviving the harrowing years of war and Taliban rule in Kabul.  Their strength, wit, and courage inspire while the never failing can-do resiliency and adaptability resonates.  From the safety of my American middle class upbringing, I have never confronted true hardship, but by the end of my reading of this book a basic tenant I hold dear was reaffirmed.  The best business plan is simple and this:  Believe in yourself and what you do.  If you don’t,  no one else will.