Dan and Dara Brewster in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Peru.
The Collectors
DAN AND DARA BREWSTER
Dan and Dara Brewster are accomplished media executives and entrepreneurs with vast experience in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Dan started his career as a journalist covering the US government as well as overseas assignments before becoming CEO of large publishing companies following a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard University. He was awarded the American Jewish Committee National Human Relations Award in 2002, with former President Bill Clinton as keynote speaker. Dara’s career began in finance, which was eclipsed by her affinity for media, where she transitioned to director of marketing and business development. In 2013, they co-founded DARA Artisans, an e-commerce site offering exquisitely crafted, artisan-made items with the intent to create a marketplace to support economic opportunities for indigenous communities.
While exploring the world in pursuit of immersion and understanding, Dan and Dara were inspired by the beautiful intricacies of heritage textiles and the cultural narratives they convey. They met with dyers and weavers, listened to their stories, and learned about their crafts. This ignited a desire to promote indigenous, artisan weaving as a foundation for cultural appreciation and advocacy. From Indonesian ikat to Navajo blankets, each piece tells a story of the experiences of those who made them, particularly in places with limited resources. Threads of Time is the embodiment of those intentions and hopes to be a foundation for continued exploration of world culture.
When not traveling around the globe looking for textiles, the Brewsters divide their time between Rhode Island and Florida.
www.threadsoftime.org
Art Director, Designer, Photo Editor
PAMELA BERRY
Pamela Berry is an accomplished Creative Director specializing in editorial design, content development, branding and curation with proven success in traditional as well as new markets. A graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, she has art directed many publications in the US and abroad, including L.A. Style, Esquire, Condé Nast Traveler, Us - The Entertainment Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Trunk, ALBUM and D (both for the well-known newspaper La Repubblica in Italy). She worked as the Creative Director for Dara Artisans, an e-commerce platform and journal founded by Dan and Dara Brewster. Pamela’s work has won numerous awards from the Society of Publication Designers, The Art Directors Club of New York, the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and the Henry Luce Award of Excellence.
Pamela is based in Venice, Italy and New Mexico
www.pamelaberry.com
Editor
LYSSA C. STAPLETON
Lyssa Stapleton is the Director of the Waystation Initiative at the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. She is interested in the evolution of museum collections stewardship in the 21st century, decolonization and repatriation, and social justice via the protection and recognition of cultural heritage. Trained as an archaeologist and a curator, she has conducted fieldwork in Armenia, Albania, Hungary, and the United States where she focused on ancient woven artifacts and examined the relationship between funerary material culture and social roles. As a curator, she specialized in the stewardship of archaeological textiles, repatriation, and the ethics of collecting.
Lyssa Stapleton is based in California
Project Manager, Archivist, and Photographer
AMANDA LEMPKE
Amanda Lempke is a commercial photographer with twenty years experience in studio and location photography. She taught photography, editing, and post-production. She also worked in the non-profit sector for over a decade. She is responsible for managing the textile warehouse and is in charge of archiving, documenting and updating the collection as well as assisting the Brewsters.
Amanda is based in the US
Publisher
HALI PUBLICATIONS LTD
Hali Publications has been the leading publisher in the field of textiles for 45 years. Through its two quarterly magazines, HALI and COVER, it is at the forefront of the textile community and contemporary design market. HPL also publishes leading art books, organises international specialist tours and conferences, produces two international fairs, and provides content and editorial expertise for institutional and corporate partners.
Hali Publications Ltd. is based in London
www.hali-publications.com
Textile Photographer
DESMOND BRAMBLEY
Desmond is a fine art, antiques and antiquities specialist. Digitally recording precious artefacts, for study, publication or sales requires a high degree of technical accuracy to ensure the correct colours, textures and details are visible. He works for a variety of clients from individuals to major publications, major collectors and famous institutions. His clients include The Karun Collection, Hali Magazine, John Bly Antiques, David Pickup Antiques, Streett Marlburgh Antiques, Wimpole Antiques, Hadlowdown Antiques, Nigel Norman Fine Jewels, Dickson & Randell Interiors, Artifact Lighting, The Blanchard Collective, 1st Dibs (New York), Architectural Heritage, Astley Fine Art, The Michael Franses Collection, and others.
Desmond is based in the UK
www.desbrambley.co.uk
Contributors
LOCAL VOICES, AUTHORS, WEAVERS AND EXPERTS
Ambu Maritu, Ice Pia, Yanti Sarungallo, Renny Manurung & Desmond Anabrang, Drs. Suhartanto, Karina Rima Melati & Desmond Anabrang (Indonesia); Leona Wang (Southern China); Linda S. McIntosh (Cambodia, Vietnam); Mya Thinzar Khine, May Thin Khine, Saw Nanda, Htwe Kyi & Linda S. McIntosh (Myanmar, Laos); Karma Deki Tschering (Bhutan); Rita Krocha (Nagaland); Saima Kaur (Punjab, India); Aman Chotani, Sanjit Das (Nagaland); Yasmeen Mjalli, Um Ibrahim, Wafa Ghnaim & Mohsen Mohamed (Palestine); Irina Koshoridze & William Dunbar (The Caucusas); Havva Furat & Berrin Torolsan (Anatolian Plains, Turkey); Bako Rasoarifetra, Sarah Fee & Mme. Martine Ravaoarimalala (Madagascar); Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga (Tunisia); Bob Dennis Ahiagble, Peter Kojo Boakye & Molly Keogh (Ghana); Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez (Peru) & David Peiró (Guatemala); Venancio Aragon (Navajo Nation)
LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHERS
Frederic Lagrange (Indonesia, Guatemala, Bhutan), Philip Lee Harvey (Indonesia, Cambodia), Adrian Gaut (Southern China), Ye Hon (Southern China), Kevin Faingnaert (Vietnam), Gentyl + Hyers (Myanmar, Bhutan, Peru), Anders Overgaard (Myanmar), Matt Dutile (Madagascar), Michael Turek (Punjab), Nadir Bucan (Anatolian Plains, Turkey), Josephine Powell (Anatolian Plains), Yasmeen Mjalli (Palestine), Greg Holland (Palestine), Ieva Andersone (Caucusas), Enayat Asadi (Iran), Carley Rudd (Morocco), Adrian Morris (Tunisia), Gianmarco Morassutti (Morocco), Virginie Garnier (Ghana), Lee Dekel (Ghana), Tanveer Badal (Madagascar), Veronica Di Maggio (Guatemala), Minesh Bacrania (Navajo Nation)