kusumacreates@gmail.com
Website: http://beautyandvirtue.com
Blog URL: http://beautyandvirtue.com/blog/
707-634-4764
1441 Tilton Road, Sebastopol, CA, 95472
Kusuma Sparks is an environmentalist who fought the urge to create beautiful things with textiles (and lost).
Despite her youthful ambition to land a Fulbright Grant and ‘save the world’, she finally (and begrudgingly) had to admit she had a gift and passion for textiles and, in the end, she became an artisan of fine garments for women who share her vision of a better world. Maybe it was because she couldn’t stand seeing her for-a-cause friends suffer bad aesthetics. Maybe it was a rebellious act against the industry.
Whatever the reason, for nearly two decades she has devoted herself to textiles arts; wrestling with the subject throughout the US, Europe and India. She finally got the courage (and the push) to open her doors to other women who are also seeking to do good, feel good and look beautiful.
From original pattern-making through silk painting, embroidery, and fabric manipulation techniques, her work places emphasis on artisan hand-work skills that are unparalleled by machines today. Aside from sustainability and ethics, themes in her work revolve around nature with dreamy and romantic interpretations.
Read her full bio here.