The story of textiles is a journey into the past!

I've been fortunate to be able to do the things I love to do, but that was a choice. At a young age, I realized that I didn't want to be chained to an office somewhere at the whim of a boss who had complete control over me. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to create a job for myself that allowed me the things I cherished the most: freedom, travel, history, textiles, color and design.

On of my journeys, I made my way to Caserta, Italy, home of the magnificent Palace of Caserta. Not many tourists know about this place and I was fortunate to have a friend , Gustavo DeNegri, who owns a textile mill in this small town, not far from the famed Amalfi Coast. His family has been in business since 1793 and is still producing magnificent textiles. So while visiting his mill, I went to see the sites in the area. This include the Palace and also a textile museum which was a tribute to the silk industry which rose up in the area. 

Caserta lies at the foot of Vesuvius, the still active volcano, not far from the ruins of Pompeii. Caserta was the silk capital of Italy in the 1800's, after moving from Genoa at the request of the King of Italy at that time, Victor Emmanuel, who united Italy. He was also responsible for moving the silk industry to Caserta, in order to support the Southern Italians who had no industry, other than farming, to sustain themselves.  

The Royal Palace of Caserta is worth a trip to the Amalfi Coast just in itself. It was the sister palace to Versailles, its more famous historical site. It was commissioned by the dynasty of the Bourbon family, who first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. One branch of the family held a throne in the Naples area, near to Caserta. Napolean was said to have designed the spectacular gardens at the palace which stretch up into a hillside with it's famed water feature. The palace is truly stunning and I would highly suggest visiting it if ever in the Naples region of Italy. I can guarantee you there won't be 100,000 people cuing up to get in, as it is not widely known among people outside of Italy. 

I love being able to travel with a purpose, and mine is to see as much as possible as it relates to fabrics and textiles. If I can combine both of these things, I am a happy camper. I'm not the type to just wander around, sipping cocktails and mingling with the throngs of selfie taking tourists who only travel to get a good story for their social media accounts. 

I like to learn something when I travel so seeing how textiles are produced is a journey into the past. The age old techniques still exist to this day and in my opinion, some of the most beautiful fabrics ever made, were produced in years gone by. It's like other crafts as well such as architecture and art. The craftsmanship and skill dating back even thousands of years, cannot be matched by today's standards. People have gotten lazy and boring. Now minimalism is the word on the street and it's just code for 'no imagination' and not wanting to spend money to produce something that will stand the test of time. 

So when I plan a trip somewhere, you can bet that there is a trip to a textile mill or a textile museum involved. That's what I love the most and am always inspired by what I see. And luckily for me, textiles are produced all over the world, so I have a long list to check off when planning these trips!