Sarah Edmands Martin

DESIGNER

Associate Professor
University of Notre Dame

Designer, artist, and scholar working at the intersection of visual communication design, critical fabulation, and media aesthetics. 


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Association for Craft Producers: Nepali Cart Line

Cotton textiles product line 2013
Fair trade cotton textiles product line for the Association for Craft Producers featuring the repeating motif of reimagined local Nepali fruit carts .






Concept


Working for the fair trade organization Association for Craft Producers on-site in Kathmandu, Nepal, this line was developed to sell products for the not-for-profit company. While providing design, marketing, creative strategy, and technical services to low-income Nepali craft producers, I also created this commercial linen line that blends traditional craft with modern design and technology to suit market trends.
product development
wood block 
screen printing
pattern design
sewing
embroidery

exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum
part of the ACCelerate Festival
Client

Association for Craft Producers







    Early mornings in the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal, saw the narrow neighborhood streets fill with produce vendors and fruit carts. Textural and rickety, the carts overflowed with a vibrant selection of brightly colored fare: mangoes, bananas, lychee fruits, dates, and figs.

    Inspired by these retro models of bicycles, rickshaws, and carts, the Nepali fruit cart motif adds flavor to the trending fixed gear road bike and vintage transportation craze. The wheel, abstracted and patterned, is further used as graphic element, adding versatility to the motif application.  

    Originally a set of woodblocks and a screen print pattern designed for boy bedding and textile, the line expanded to include dish towels and bags, perfect for the hip and younger parent. This line also incorporates embroidery, pops of trim, and scrap fabric.


































































    The Association for Craft Producers is a Fair Trade Organization in Nepal that supports low-income artisans with design, marketing, and technical services. Designs blend traditional craft with modern aesthetics to offer a flexible program for creative collaboration. 

    Learn more about the Association for Craft Producers here.





















    Part of the Association for Craft Producers’ mission is to provide various benefits and programs for the welfare of their workers, in addition to conservation of the environment.

     Learn more about the Association for Craft Producers here.