Of the Valley’s “Stairs and Stripes” area rug is hand-loomed in Mexico. (Photo courtesy Of the Valley)
Katie Brents and Madeline Vaiden met as students at Virginia Commonwealth University and stayed in touch after Vaiden left Richmond for Los Angeles in 2014 to work in the fashion industry. The two had often talked about collaborating on a project.
Katie Brents and Madeline Vaiden in Mexico (Photo courtesy Of the Valley)
This summer, they spent three weeks in Mexico together, landing in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, where they scoured markets and asked for introductions to artisans who could work with them. Upon their return to the U.S., they launched Of the Valley (ofthevalley.me), an online shop selling handmade rugs and textiles. Though Brents still lives in Richmond, the women say that, thanks to technology, it has not been too challenging to run a joint business from opposite coasts.
The venture combines Vaiden’s education in fashion design and art with Brents’ background in Latin American history and Spanish. Brents has traveled extensively in Latin America and shared some of the traditional, handmade textiles she had purchased with Vaiden. “We had this idea that it would be cool to go to Mexico and see what we could find,” Vaiden recalls. “As a freelance designer, I have been working with different brands and factories, but that is so different from working with an artisan, when it is just one person or a few people making something from start to finish.”
Of the Valley currently features naturally dyed wool rugs and pillows that are hand-woven on looms using traditional Zapotec designs. The women are working on adding their own modern designs soon. “The [artisan] we are working with is excited to do custom abstract designs using these age-old techniques that have been in the family for generations,” Brents says. “We have had a crash course in Zapotec weaving and materials. [Along] with making the website, it has been a busy few months.”
The Big Score
You know that rush you get when you nab a great deal? That’s what Susan Aumen hopes you’ll feel after shopping on her new website, Big Score Auction.
A longtime collector and the former owner of Ralph’s Warehouse, Aumen hopes to offer Richmonders a chance to preview items in person during an open house before bidding for them online. Winners can then pick up their items from Aumen’s warehouse at a designated time.
“I like that it will be local, personal and in person,” she says. The auction site is not yet live, but would-be buyers can register at joinbigscoreauction.com to be notified of the first sale.
Aumen hopes to launch in late February and plans to offer a new auction every other week. “It will be like a good estate sale, but … I have already gone to the trouble to weed through the clutter,” she says.
