Family Roots: Fiber Boot Camp

Carol Dekle-Foss

Hello everyone! I'm very excited to introduce you to my dear friend Sharareh, or Shery for short. I met her over a year ago in a metal smith class and instantly fell in love with her work. Her jewelry designs embrace her family traditions and culture yet have a unique modern feel. She incorporates different techniques in expressing her style and has created a niche for her designs. I thought of her immediately for our fiber boot camp because she utilizes a special Persian fabric in some of her work called Termeh.

For this boot camp I challenge you to look at your very own family traditions using textiles, see what inspires you and create something unique. Feel free to leave a comment here with a link to your design. I would love to see what you come up with!

I asked Shery to tell us a little more about herself and what inspires her. Shery's answer:

A beautiful hand woven Termeh bag with Zardozi embroidery,
passed down to Shery from her mom.

"All my life I have had a passion for making jewelry. Early in my life making jewelry for my friends became more than a hobby. I learned how things are made by repairing my friend's jewelry. It has been especially interesting growing up in Persia where history and culture intrigued me. How old things are, 200, 300 years in Persian antique shops. My grandmother had coins from an ancient empire. Since beginning my new life in the United States in 2007, my handcrafted jewelry has found a niche. I have been taking classes, most recently copper enameling, so we will see how I incorporate this with metal engraving that I've been experimenting with."

Thank you Shery for telling us more about yourself and revealing what inspires you!

Ready for a heavy dose of inspiration? Here are some more of Shery's beautiful designs.

Domed sterling silver charm with Termeh paisley

Sterling silver bracelet 

Etched paisleys with Termeh earrings

Shery made these earrings to represent her love for Iran.
The top pair are etched in Farsi, My love Iran

Beautiful sterling silver and rose quartz paisley necklace
with bezel set Australian pink opal

Gorgeous Sterling silver domed paisley ring

Etched brass domed earrings with intricate bead detail

Here is a You Tube video that Shery has provided for us so we can learn more about this amazing textile and it's origins. 

I've also pinned a few examples of Termeh, both machine and handwoven here on my Inspiring fibers Pinterest board.

Shery gave me this beautiful piece of Termeh a while back. I never used it for fear of not doing it justice. It measures about 4 inches square.

 With Shery's fabric, I took our fiber boot camp challenge and made this bracelet.

Brass, sterling silver and enameled flowers accent the intricately detailed Termeh fabric.

I hope this post has inspired and encouraged you to look at what textiles your family has held dear and create some unique designs that may someday become cherished family heirlooms.

Thank you Shery so much for sharing your beautiful creations and letting us know what inspires you! You can visit Shery's facebook page here to see more of her beautiful work.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial day! Let's honor all those who have sacrificed serving in the Armed Forces. 

Thank you for reading!