Mini Nomadic, by Beshlie McKelvie chez Storie Paris this spring, a preview

CHEZ STORIE, 20 RUE DELAMBRE, PARIS: MAY 7th- MAY 18th 2019

A poetic collection of summer clothes for mini nomads by Beshlie McKelvie, a talented textile designer with wander lust. This May Storie welcomes our friend Beshlie back to our pretty Paris boutique to show her latest creations, beautiful hand made clothes out of the lightest, coolest fabrics, for little travellers with big dreams.

As with all Beshlie creations, mini nomadic is fair trade, made on a small scale by carefully chosen NGO’s and family run co operatives that Beshlie works with directly.

“ Mini Nomadic was created after the birth of my daughter. My journey as an artist and designer continued and she became part of that story. From a newborn in the sling she came every where with me as I worked on many different projects around the world.

Namaya would sit on the print table in India, play with the weavers wools in Peru and watch as our Huichol artist in Mexico created the most exquisite yarn paintings of animals and birds. Working with many different groups of women artisans and being so inspired by to create a mini collection I was excited to create a range that was both beautiful, and told a story of the many different cultures we were spending time in. The first little collection I made was from Mexico working with a group of women in Chiapas to embroider little dresses. I named the label Mini Nomadic as it suited our nomadic Gypsy life style.” Beshlie.

For many years Beshlie has worked closely with crafts people in India, for Mini Nomadic she went back to India with her little one, “When we returned to Jaipur I started to design small blocks along side my designs for my shawls and these were then put onto gypsy skirts and flowing dresses. Each block is lovingly carved from Indian rose wood and the collection is unique made from khadi cottons, hand block printed, tailored and stitched on a small scale by our family run co operative in the pink city of Jaipur. The collection is a fusion of summer colours and the the prints are of parrots, pineapples, palms, feathers , rainbows and paradise birds .”

Every Beshlie product tells a story, & preserves a craft tradition, “ the beauty of this collection is that it tells the stories of the people that live harmoniously on the land, their dreams, loves and beliefs. Just as in real life, these stories have become interlaced with many others.

The riot of influences that run throughout the collection are testimony to the myths, folk tales, songs, legends of the people.”

Most of the Mini Nomadic collection is hand printed on delicate hand woven cotton, known as Khadi in India. Not only is this cotton amongst the finest fibre one find, but it is also a very powerful social, political symbol - the spinning of cotton, and weaving of it to make Khadi was championed during India’s movement for independence and self sufficiency under peace leader, Gandi. This craft empowered artisans through self employment and self reliance, “Indeed the Khadi has come to represent the spirit of freedom. It has at its heart the desire to protect and preserve the dignity of labour whilst respecting the rights of all artisans.” Mahatma Gandi . Today when many garment makers work in dangerous conditions to feed an insatiable market of fast fashion the importance of Khadi lives on.

For more information about the event and products, contact Fiona Cameron [email protected]