For us in the Northeast US, summer is entirely too short. Winter seems to last 8 months, autumn takes its sweet time, and spring lasts about 2 weeks. Plan your summer pleasure A few bits of considered advice have made their way across my screen lately, and it all boils down to this: we as adults […]
Food and fashion: Chef Nancy Silverton
Chef Nancy Silverton is a Marni fan, and can't cook unless she's got the right outfit. When you eat my food you understand me as a person more. And when you see the way I dress you understand me as a person more. For me, the two fit together. – Chef Nancy […]
Dark Florals: A dim view on May flowers
I found a secondhand copy of Tulip Fever a couple of years ago. It centers around a young married woman who takes an artist lover amidst the fever-pitch tulip obsession of 17th-century Holland. The book is much sexier, with a satisfying twist at the end, than the movie, now streaming on Netflix. I definitely recommend […]
Shop with Manuma for World Fair Trade Day
Today is World Fair Trade Day 2018. Our Facebook shop is open, featuring a selection of handmade jewelry from our refugee artisan neighbors here in Hartford. You may also shop directly in our Shopify storefront, here. This partnership was formed to provide a wider market for our entrepreneurial neighbors. In that spirit of amplifying […]
A certain kind of woman: an unconventional Mother’s Day gift guide
An unconventional, but thoroughly considered, list of suggestions for wives, partners, girlfriends, stepmoms, grandmothers, aunties, moms. Mother’s Day gift giving is not terribly creative. It’s extremely gendered, even Victorian. We think we’ve put together some subversive suggestions to help you think outside the box. True, not every suggestion will suit every woman. But every woman […]
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Video: Our first Manuma Salon conversation
A few weeks ago we inaugurated an occasional series of salon-style conversations with fascinating people in design and sustainability, hosted live on the Manuma Facebook page. A recording of our chat with Mary Ruth Shields, fellow Hartford-area fashion social entrepreneur, is now available on YouTube – and you can watch it here: […]
Upgrade your beverage for Earth Day with durable, reusable straws
The last year or so has seen a number of documentaries, news stories, and campaigns re-emphasizing the problems we have created for ourselves with our addiction to "disposable" single-use plastics: shopping bags, food packaging, and especially drinking straws. Most people don't really need them, although they are convenient. If you have a long commute, or […]
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For Earth Day, the why in Manuma
I realized recently that my fashion schooling was punctuated by several significant events– disasters, really– that mark the intersections of my values system as a citizen of the world and as a fashion designer. They were landmarks on the map that lead to me to build Manuma. Animesh Basnet […]
Diane Keaton’s color theory
I don't want my house to have a lot of color because people are so much more interesting. They are the color. Subscribe to the theory? Share on your social timeline. Images: Country Living Quote: Home Accents Today
Fresh Eire: Contemporary design from Ireland
This will not be the typical St. Patrick's Day-themed design post. There will be no reference to the following: claddagh rings, shamrocks, leprechauns, potatoes, cartoon policemen, Aran sweaters, alcoholism, anything green. I want to talk about examples of cool, modern Irish design. Mourne Textiles Shaggy Dog handloomed wool cushions This loopy weave was shown […]