Designer Diaries

A trip to Uzbekistan brings a new exoticism to John Robshaw Textiles

Written by Anne E. Collins

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At the Tashkent airport, Russian taxis line up curbside for John Robshaw's business, each driver hollering to get his attention. A boy selling flowers tugs at his pant leg. The New York-based textile designer looks around for Raisa, his Uzbek guide (and the local weaving director of Aid for Artisans). A stout woman waves her arms across the road. It’s her. John wheels his bag over to Raisa's car. Once on the road, they head east toward the Fargana Valley—land of the coveted Ikat silks.

During the four-hour drive, the landscape changes from Russian neoclassical parliament buildings to mud-walled villages and finally to snow-capped mountains. In the quiet of the craggy countryside, the Unbearable Likeness of Being comes to mind. Uzbekistan feels fictionally beautiful.

Their drive ends at the home of master weaver Fazlitdin Dadajanov, who has dinner waiting: a mouth-watering array of specialties such as Mutton kabobs, round breads, hand-made noodles, cherries and pears. Once the plates are cleared, Fazlitdin takes John to his living room where low banquettes are piled high with his Ikat fabrics, the refined Uzbek form of tie-dyed silks. The vibrant color combinations, the abstract floral patterns and the raw but smooth texture immediately captures John’s attention. Seeing this, Fazlitdin says: “Just wait until you see the workshop.”
The next morning they head to the textile factory, a stark 1960s government building, reclaimed by Aid to Artisans and a long line of weavers. Fazlitdin begins the tour, “First we extract the silk. . .” A woman stands over a vat of boiling water, pulling the threads from silk worm cocoons. “Then we spin it . . .” Around and around, the raw silk turns on a wooden wheel. "Then it’s off to the Loom Room to be sketched . . .” A man sits beside a loom and pencils in a pattern on the stretched strings. Then, another man tapes off sections of the pattern, creating areas that will resist color and remain white on the soon-to-be-dyed design. "In the dying area . . ." the cream white silk plunges into the buckets of color. “After it dries, the weaving begins. . .” Click clack. Click clack. The pedal of the wooden loom hits the floor with every stitch. The weavers arms move effortlessly, and slowly the pattern starts to form. It’s breath-taking.

Fazlitdin and John start to talk business.

The workshop can create any pattern, but John wants designs like the ones he's seen during his tour. The Fergana weavers create a mix of pattern and color in such a refreshing way. The abstract florals are never confined, overlapping and unabashedly bumping into each other. John places the maximum order available: 30 yards. Here, weaving is still a cottage industry and the country is not yet equipped to handle mass international shipments. Whatever John selects will be packed into his luggage. Thirty yards isn't enough for a bedding collection, but it will yield the ultimate throw pillows.

A week later, John returns to his offices and the pillow-making begins. His staff sews a linen border around the fabrics and adds a basic chain-stitch embroidery. Fabrics like these need little adornment. John is running out of ikats, but he isn't ready to stop the collection. With his own fabrics and team he decides to design an Uzbek-inspired line. The new Bukara bed is John's interpretation of the Ikats he saw in eastern Uzbekistan. Done in a block print instead of a weave, he exaggerates the scale, tweaking the colors to create a uniquely John Robshaw Textiles collection.

JOHN ROBSHAW’S TRAVEL TIPS:

Stay: Salom Inn, 9 Sarrafon Street, Bukhara
This is the hotel of the travel agency, Salom Travel, with which John worked during his stay. He found them incredibly informative and helpful.

Eat: Zafar Restaurant, 1 Kuk-Say, Samarkand
A great spot for afternoon tea, which usually consisted of green tea served with almonds and raisins.

Shop: Happy Bird Gallery, 43a Tashkentskaya Street, Samarkand
A charming antique store owned by an eccentric Russian woman and her archeaologist husband. The shop is stocked with dresses she makes from antique textiles, as well as mid-century ceramics, and silver goods. After John bought a handpainted dish, she invited him to stay for beer and chocolate.

Visit,: Urgut Market, border of Tajikstan
A visual feast. Haggle to your heart's content for jewelry, pottery, textiles, and rare antiques. Located close to the border of Tajikistan Republic, the market is a diverse showcase of wares. See our slideshow to see some of the exotic treasures.

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