Designer’s Designer: Nana Spears and Naomi Clark of Fort Makers Heart Them Some Morgan Parish
When Naomi Clark and Nana Spears of the design collective Fort Makers fall in love with a great bag or a killer necklace, they are in a unique position: They might just be able to barter, swapping some of their rad, hand-painted scarves (see) or prints. And they’re always looking to get their hands on more pieces from their pal behind the supa-chic line Morgan Parish. —julia silverman
“I traded my friend Ayeisha [Mesinger] of Morgan Parish for the Clarendon Sac by giving her a couple prints from my time in Venice, Italy. It is the best bag I’ve ever owned! I ride my bike a lot, and it’s the perfect tote to sling over my shoulder to shop for groceries.” —naomi
“I bought these Morgan Parish keychains because of the beautiful and rich color palette. I wanted to see a bunch of them in person—and, honestly, I really wanted to touch them—so I bought them for all the ladies in my family and a few close friends. Now I get to look at them all the time!” —nana
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Alumni News: Naomi Clark of Fort Makers Teaches her Textile-Painting Tricks
As our (now sold-out) Cashmere Snowtime scarves demonstrated (with the help of some way-cool GIF action), Nana Spears and Naomi Clark—the ladies behind Brooklyn line Fort Makers—are pretty impressive. And now, Naomi, who hand-paints all the Fort Makers creations before they are transformed into scarves and dresses, is sharing her knowledge of the trade at the Manhattan branch of the Textile Arts Center in February. Classes start February 5 and offer the ideal opportunity to make good on that resolution to get your DIY on this year. —jiayi
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Occupy a Yurt
Oh, what’s this? Just Claire workin’ out of our yurt at the Warby Parker Spectacle Bazaar. We commissioned glasses cases from The Hill-Side, Dusen Dusen, Manimal, and Fort Makers for the occasion and asked Annie Larson of ALL Knitwear to make a fresh run of limited-edition knit hats—all only available from our temporary set-up at 45 Grand Street in NYC that the peeps behind the schmazing glasses company let us take over. COME SEE US. We’re here all week. —erica
Warby Parker Spectacle Bazaar, 12-8p through January 8, 45 Grand St. between Thompson and West Broadway
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Of a Kind
Now that it’s getting legit cold in most parts of the country, it’s time to reach for the big guns. And by that I mean the scarves that are more like blankets—the sorts that you can’t toss around your neck three times. This number—cashmere with just a splash of wool—was hand-painted by the Fort Makers team in Brooklyn, and each incarnation is singularly unique. Yes, a piece of art that will keep you from freezing your ass off. —erica
Read more about the designers Nana Spears and Naomi Clark:
+ On their first (wine-fueled) encounter.
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Hot Shot: Nana Spears of Fort Makers Shows Off Her Favorite Office Supply
We love a house tour—the opportunity take a peek at how awesome people live. And since studios can be like second homes to designers, we decided to make bi-weekly rounds and bring back interesting things we discovered in these spaces. (That’s right: another new feature.) First up, something wonderful and loud beloved by one of the creators of the textile- and color-obsessed line Fort Makers. -jaime
“The different colored tapes—from mt masking tape and Dick Blick—are one of my collections. We use the tape for our marketing kits and whatnot, but the neon orange tape has been especially useful for all kinds of occasions. Once, we used it as a final touch to our first art show in Paris—it works well in installations.” —nana
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Of a Kind
This Fort Makers scarf would make for the perfect travel accessory. It’s got some serious international cred to back that statement up—hand-painted in Brooklyn and finished in Paris. —jiayi
