Both Debbi and I have been collecting books about Korean art, handicrafts, and culture for years, but for the most part we’ve found them in Korea and lugged them back home. When we set out to write 100 Thimbles in a Box, we did some research to document our impression that there are relatively few…
When I think of a thimble, I imagine a metal cap that fits on my finger with indentations to help stabilize the needle I might be using. Not so the Korean thimble! Traditionally and even today, they are made of natural materials (often layers of stiffened paper) and then covered lovingly with brightly colored silk…
I love animals. Nearly all of them, with the exception of the annoying insects (mosquitos, flies, and gnats, I’m talking about you), rats and some snakes. I even like what’s been voted the world’s ugliest animal – the unfortunate blobfish. You can’t hate something that has to go through life looking like that. It wouldn’t be…
Walking around Seoul on our recent trip in May, I was struck by the way in which one bumps up against traditional images all around this very, very modern city. You don’t have to go into a museum or a handicraft shop to be reminded of the long cultural history of Korea. And the biggest…
The very first time I went to Korea in 1985, in connection with my son’s adoption, I spent a week there and had a chance to explore. Never having been there before, it was all absolutely new and fascinating to me. My most vivid memory of that trip, other than the time spent at Eastern…
Those of you who don’t know us — and maybe even more, those of you who do — may be wondering how two not-so-young Caucasian women became experts enough in the subject of Korean handicrafts to write a book about it. And then to get someone, other than ourselves, to publish it. And a very…
