Interview: Carla Madrigal of Madrigal Embroidery

 All images this post belong to Carla Madrigal and are used by permission.

 

This week I'm very happy to be interviewing Carla Madrigal of Madrigal embroidery. I first discovered Carla's beautiful work in her Etsy shop where she takes scraps of fabric, vintage ties and other textile bits and pieces and transforms them into "many a splendid adornment". 

How did you develop an interest in embroidery? How did that interest transition into making embroidered jewelry?

During the 60’s, the real heyday of embroidery, I happened upon a shop in Sausalito, California which sold Scandinavian products and embroidery thread.  There were drawers and drawers of spools in seemingly endless colors; my mind reeled and I salivated at the possibilities. Being a “child” of the times I embellished Levis (501’s) and blue work shirts with the collar altered and a slew of other items.  Creating was in my blood, embroidery floss neither cost much nor took up much space so it was a natural fit.

Years passed and embroidery flitted in and out of my life. Two and half years ago I quit my day job (geologic/environmental illustrator) to explore the unexplored.  The pull of embroidery came flooding back.  It began with neck ties for both men and women and graduated  to the cuffs and necklaces, items I thought people might actually wear.

You use lots of recycled and upcycled components for your pieces. What are some of the items you typically end up recycling? What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever turned into something else?

Gently used neckties, fabric samples, and scrapes of cloth are my main stays.  Some supplies are purchased from Goodwill and SCRAP, a recycling center here in San Francisco and I also use bits of fabric which I have collected over the years.

Plastic netting and a set of miniature castanets are a couple of examples of found objects I have incorporated in my decorative work. Buttons are an important component to my cuffs and if not vintage are interesting. 

How do you develop your embroidered jewelry designs? Do you envision a finished design at the outset or do your pieces evolve as you go along?

Maybe there is loose idea of what I will do but for the most part it’s ad lib, taking advantage of the particular piece of fabric pattern and texture.  I may draw an elemental feature and work out from that. I have a huge collection of floss, maybe a couple of hundred spools and they are the equivalent of tubes or jars of paint and I lay them out and pick and choose.

What craft medium that you've never worked in would you most like to explore?

Not quite sure how answer that. I have worked in a variety of mediums and rotate through them. I draw and knit (crochet a little -just enough to add dimension) and worked in clay. I have made cards, painted on fabric and shoes. Just a lot of this and that.

You live in San Francisco. Can you tell us a little about your favorite places around the city?

My top places to shop are the
1. S.F. Friends of the Library. They have a wonderful selection of books and an equally wonderful coffee shop and are located in one of the most spectacular places on this planet - Ft Mason which is on S.F Bay and looks North to Marin County,
2. New People in Japan Town. Fabulous Fun place for toys, books, clothing, Japanese this and that.
3. Satin Moon Fabrics is the best fabric shop in San Francisco. They sell unusual fabric and have a small but wonderful selection of domestic and imported buttons.
4. SCRAP where “ you’ll always find an abundance of “art parts,” “.  SCRAP is a recycling center with an ever changing selection and is loads of fun for kids and adults.
5. Haight Street Market, a family owned market which sells anything your body or soul  could want.
and
6. The Ferry Building Farmers Market. I have been buying my fresh foods from this market since it’s lowly inception (many years ago) on a bit grass across from Pier 39. It’s a community.

San Francisco is a walking city with a number of parks worth visiting and exploring: Chrisy Field, The Presidio, Golden Gate Park, Buena Vista Park, Sutro Heights Park to name a few.  S.F. has a rich architectural and cultural history also worth investigating.

Can you tell us a little about Jack and Vincent (great names!)?

Jack is a seven year old polydactyl cat with stripes.  He was  found at a dog park in Brooklyn, New York by my daughter and Jet Blued to San Francisco when he was approximately 2 months old. He invents games and then teaches Ben and I how to play.  He loves loves toy mice.  He throws them up in the air and hides them under rugs. I can not imagine how he ended up in a dog park!

Vincent is a fluffy Tuxedo cat who is very cuddly and a bit reserved as his furry outfit suggests. If you speak sweet words to him he purrs as if he were being petted. He is about 14 years old and we rescued him from the SF SPCA 8 or 9 years ago. He had been languishing in a small cell for 10.5 months. I can not imagine why he was relinquished. I could very easily be a crazy cat lady.

You like to read (me, too!). What are the best books you've read lately?

Currently I am reading Plastics - A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel.  Ms Freinkel offers  a fascinating and captivating story of the history of plastic and how it has slowly invaded our lives for better and worse. One of those hard to put down books I love to find.

Last week I finished The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel  Wilkerson. This is the history of black migration from the Southern U.S. to the North and West. Ms Wilkerson follows three individuals and their families through their geographic and emotional journeys. This book holds a massive amount of enlightening and fascinating information about this amazing migration which took place over 7 decades, beginning during WW I. Great read.
 
Thank you Carla, for sharing a bit of your work and life with us!