Brooklyn, New York
TEXTILE DESIGN
Keep the most valued things close to you.
The Crossroads Scarf is born from memory, both historical and personal. Black eyed peas were brought to America in the 17th century by enslaved Africans. Their heroic journey across rough seas and strange lands saw them braided into hair and woven into necklaces — they were both food and tokens.
Now a staple of the American South, they are eaten traditionally on our founder’s birthday, New Years Day, to bring forth the bounty of the year to come. Black eyed peas have always been a symbol of good luck and wisdom, memory and potential.
A scarf’s beauty is in its versatility - used to shroud, swaddle, wrap, and adorn. The Crossroads Scarf design interweaves the colors and symbols of the diaspora. The deep red hue imitates colonial objects printed with madder and depict life in West Africa, while the hair pick iconography draws on the adinkra symbol for beauty.
Like the humble peas that inspired this design, the Crossroads Scarf contains connection to our ancestral past, and the seeds of prosperity for a bountiful future.
