Curated By You: Raven Stralow aka Paloma Projects Makes Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit

At the beginning of the 20th century women were still not allowed to paint anywhere apart from their family homes, their male contemporaries were portraying a far wider repertoire of subject matter, from nudes in brothels to plein air landscapes, needlework and sewing however were very much the realm of women’s expected pass times. Emancipation meant not only did it become possible to see the inner workings of a woman’s mind through her art in a gallery space, women were starting to lean in to take the double prize- to be mothers and get onto career ladders (minus cross stitch, as time became scarce). Today we see a slow shift from aspiring 9-5 corporate jobs to women choosing work which allows them more flexibility and meaning. Sewing, weaving, embroidery are the ‘new’ creative empowering tools which no longer define a woman’s boundaries, but quite on the contrary open up new communities and with them opportunities that enable change and unity. Today we talk to Raven Stralow, an NYC therapist who runs a Lavender farm and a sewing blog by the name of Paloma Projects.

Tell us a bit about yourself and why you sew.

I am a psychotherapist and life coach in NYC. I also own and operate a small Lavender Farm. Sewing is my self care. It’s how I relax, disconnect, and unwind after a long day.

My home is my farm. I get to live a life where I have a lovely office in Manhattan, and the rest of my time I get to spend on a farm, tending to my lavender, and in my studio sewing and creating things.

Can you talk us through a failure or a setback in your business that you learned from or an experience that helped improve your business.

Running a farm is hard! Bad rains and bad weather can delay plans for up to years. When we bought our farm we had a timeline for when and how things would get done. The learning curve is so steep whenever you are doing things for the first time. Having consistent, weekly meetings is key to staying on the same page and adjusting plans accordingly. Otherwise you risk miscommunication and that can cost your time, effort and money.

Name a book that you’ve recently read which inspired you and why?