“I had the pleasure of interviewing Roderick for my research for Amish Quilts: Crafting an American Icon about his role as a quilt dealer in the 1980s. Although Kiracofe and Kile did not specialize in Amish quilts, they bought and sold many of them, and convinced corporate buyers of their significance. In fact, the first substantial article I read about the Esprit Amish quilt collection was by Michael Kile, published in the 1983 Quilt Digest. The accompanying images of Esprit’s corporate headquarters filled with Amish quilts helped me build my argument about Esprit’s vital role in the promotion of quilts as art objects.”
Janneken and I at AQSG Seminar 2014, Milwaukee. Image courtesy of janneken.org.
I was so pleased when my friend and colleague Janneken Smucker agreed to write the "quilt history" essay for the book. She is doing an amazing job as part of the next generation of quilt historians. I have always enjoyed following her writing and projects. Be sure to include her newest book, Amish Quilts: Crafting an American Icon, in your quilt library.
Her blog post about Unconventional & Unexpected really captures what I hope people take away from U&U as she concludes: "I hope you join me in looking, reading, and thinking, and then behold these quilts as completely unexpected, yet just what you’ve been looking for."
Read her blog post here.