2008 Woodie Awards
The Apron Chronicles: A patchwork of American recollections
Sue Edelberg
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
| |
|
Sponsor "Team Apron," founded by Greensboro vintage store Design Archives owner Kit Rodenbough and Larice White of Artists Resource Center, is to thank for The Apron Chronicles' appearance in Greensboro. The exhibit is located in Nussbaum Center at Revolutionary Mills, 2007 Yanceyville St.
The idea for the project started when Geisel, a journalist, bought a few aprons from a thrift store in 1999 to help her write an article about vintage clothing. Aprons soon became more than just an article piece for her, and she began carrying around a large basket, collecting aprons wherever she traveled, believing that "aprons don't hold us back, they take us back."
Two years later, in the midst of her apron collecting, Geisel's apron journey "took a wayward jaunt when my curiosity of women living the disappearing Western lifestyle led me to attend one of the few trick riding camps in the nation, immerse in the subculture of rodeo queens." It was at this Miss Rodeo America pageant where she was doing respective journalism that she met Loggia, and when the two hit it off, they remained in touch long after the pageant. After sharing with Loggia her interest in collecting aprons and asking people about their "apron stories" as she went, Loggia decided to help Geisel with her slowly budding project that would become known as The Apron Chronicles.
Geisel's ***The Apron Book*** was the final product, which led to a showcase of the pictures, aprons, and stories inside it via a traveling exhibit.
"The lackluster recital of the homemaker's life - my life - inspired me to imagine a project that memorialized the embodiment of the spirit of a home through evocative stories," said Geisel in a press release on her book and project. Inside The Apron Book are fun, colorful pictures of aprons, instructions on how to make your own, pieces of advice for the home, recipes and stories from past and present apron owners and lovers.
A native of Greensboro, Geisel came to accompany her exhibit and hosted a variety of events shortly after the grand opening. Among these were book signings, a luncheon, and a talk with Geisel at the Greensboro Public Library about the history of apron styles.
The exhibit even has three of Geisel's proverbial apron baskets filled to the brim with some of her aprons, encouraging viewers to try one on for themselves.The hours of the exhibit are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.. Admission is free.
Visit Teamapron.com for more on the project's background, the exhibit, and The Apron Book. In case you can't make the exhibit, Geisel and Loggia made a catalogue highlighting the best of the exhibit itself. The book is available at Apronchronicles.com , as well as for a set of Apron Chronicles post cards.
Be the first to comment on this story