Welcome
to the
caravan library
The Iaia Library documents the evolution of craft through migration, trade, and exchange. Its three sections explore the histories of materials, the stories of singular artifacts as evidence of cultural encounter, and the future of shared making.
Shan Shan Lim’s work moves between painting, textiles, and object—each shaped by her experiences...
Smooth, luminous, and quietly powerful—mother of pearl, or nacre, is far more than a decorative shimmer.
An emerald from Colombia. A ruby from Burma. A spinel from Afghanistan. Gold shaped by a Persian-trained craftsman in India...
A block of stone holds both weight and memory. Every mark left on its surface begins with pressure and patience.
At first glance, it is only a bowl—pale ceramic, painted with seated figures and a line of Persian verse. Yet
I first met Electra Simon during our London Craft Week event at ISHKAR, where she worked as...
Gold doesn’t rust, tarnish, or fade. It’s one of the few materials that survives almost unchanged across millennia...
Long before gold was worked in Egypt or Europe, it was being cast in the highlands of Colombia.
Among the treasures uncovered at Sutton Hoo—a royal burial site in Suffolk dating to the early 7th century—few objects...
Smooth, luminous, and quietly powerful—mother of pearl, or nacre, is far more than a decorative shimmer.
A block of stone holds both weight and memory. Every mark left on its surface begins with pressure and patience.
Gold doesn’t rust, tarnish, or fade. It’s one of the few materials that survives almost unchanged across millennia...
An emerald from Colombia. A ruby from Burma. A spinel from Afghanistan. Gold shaped by a Persian-trained craftsman in India...
At first glance, it is only a bowl—pale ceramic, painted with seated figures and a line of Persian verse. Yet
Long before gold was worked in Egypt or Europe, it was being cast in the highlands of Colombia.
Among the treasures uncovered at Sutton Hoo—a royal burial site in Suffolk dating to the early 7th century—few objects...
Shan Shan Lim’s work moves between painting, textiles, and object—each shaped by her experiences...
I first met Electra Simon during our London Craft Week event at ISHKAR, where she worked as...
The Index
- Interviews In Conversation with: Shan Shan Lim
- Material Mother of Pearl
- Artifact The Mughal Jigha
- Material Hard Beauty
- Artifact A Bowl, A Story
- Interviews In Conversation with: Electra Simon
- Material 22kt vs. 18kt Gold
- Material Seeds
- Artifact The Poporo Quimbaya
- Artifact Sutton Hoo Buckle