I share our meeting as an opportunity for you to dive deeper into the relationships and connections that exist in your individual world.

EllynAnne Geisel author of The Apron Book and the writer/curator of Apron Chronicles: a Patchwork of American Recollections, her traveling exhibit

Storytelling

EllynAnne’s storytelling begins with the origin of her 20-year apron journey and her discovery of the apron’s connecting threads. She writes:

“In 1999, when my youngest went to sleep-away college, my chosen career as a full-time homemaker and stay-at-home mommy was at its end. I envisioned a second career for myself – a writer. My first article, I decided should be about the apron as the domestic symbol of what I’d just done with 26 years of my life.”

But there was a problem with her subject choice: she didn’t own an apron.

“Visiting several thrift stores before finding an apron in more than rag taggle condition, I spied a skirt of sunny yellow cotton with a wide waistband the color of periwinkles, and four evenly spaced narrow bands of colored bias tape. At a cost of twenty-five cents, this was the apron that set me on an apron journey and changed my life.”

Journey

“In the twenty years since I began this apron journey, I have been privy to hundreds of stories, and I have learned that an apron memory isn’t a scholarly dissertation. It isn’t mired in dusty facts and details. It is a story of life and memory that engages and catches you up in the telling. You need not have walked in the storyteller’s shoes to know the journey.

APRON CHRONICLES: a Patchwork of American Recollections debuted in 2004, 3 years post-9/11. Such was a time when our sense of security was trampled, our trust in one another rife with mistrust. The exhibit then and now offers a respite from a climate of societal outrage and chaos through the unexpected domestic symbol: the apron; the storytellers’ memories triggered by the apron much more about life than fabric, illustrating how much we are more alike than different.

The storytellers’ voices are the patchwork of our America…the stitches uneven in places, but stitches all the same. The aprons’ ties bind them – and us – together, because when it comes to the journey of the human experience, we are all in it, together.”

From Ellyne’s personal collection of Aprons and connecting threads

APRON CHRONICLES is a wonderful juxtaposition of storytelling, photography and aprons. Going along with the theme of connecting threads, one framed apron resonated with me. It’s an embroidered apron, delicately stitched and a beauty within its own right.

Embroidered and stitched beautifully

Next to it reads:  ” Stitchery was once a domestic art learned through practice and patience.  With its embroidery perfectly stitched and painstakingly tiny, and the silk ribboned waistband and rosettes, this apron was a testament tothe feminine skills of the seamstress.  Of the hundreds of aprons I own, this apron – its sheer fabric the color of a girl’s sweet blush – is the most captivating.”  from the Apron Collection of Ellyn Anne Geisel.

Exhibit of Aprons and connecting threads in its final days

APRON CHRONICLES traveled America for 16 years. The exhibit ends its travels at History Colorado (12th and Broadway in Denver).  The last day of the exhibit is Monday, May 31, 2021.  EllynAnne will present her final curator chat Saturday May 29, 2021 at 9:15 am.  Tickets must be purchased in advance:

https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/apron-chronicles.

Or by calling the museum 303/447-8679

Relationships

I’m so honored that I had the pleasure of meeting and connecting before the exhibit closed.  As we discussed, I believe there is a synergy between us that our paths will not only cross again but we will come up with something interesting through our connecting threads energy!  Who knew that aprons and connecting threads, stitching, and relationships would have such an enduring meaning in our lives.

Thank you for our deep rooted common understanding of how fashion and threads became the begining of a new found relationship.

Connections

As you wander through your everyday life remember that the connections you make through your individual passion can have a much deeper meaning than only that  connection.  It may be the vehicle to profound wisdom, shared joy and learning new things.  Keep an open mind where something small may seem insignificant at the time as it could turn into a huge heartfelt experience.

In need of a special ensemble, lifestyle or something for an important occasion we can help.  We’ve got you covered, literally!  Reach out here.

Ties that bind us