Native Print Blankets for a Cause by SoulCrafts

It’s still been so hard to get over the festival vibes after the Oregon Eclipse Gathering! There were over a hundred vendors and I got rather excited to collect business cards and peruse their goods to share with all of you. Denim will always be at my core but I really have such a passion and a huge appreciation for independent designers, especially those who use sustainable materials in their creations. I still have to go through all of the cards I collected and figure out the best way to share them all here, but I’ll start with one that helped us out considerably during the cold nights at the event!

The Oregon Eclipse Gathering, held August 17th through the 23rd to celebrate the total eclipse on August 21st, was held on the Big Summit Prairie in Oregon, which is high desert land. Because of this, it was super hot during the day, and quite cold at night! My husband and I were well prepared with an air mattress in a Uhaul van and some very soft, cushy sleeping bags that normally keep us toasty during other festival events. We also wore sweats to bed, but as temperatures dropped to the low 40s, high 30s (in Fahrenheit) at night, we still felt ourselves waking up shivering. After the first night of this, we remembered a vendor we walked by the day before that was folding up and sorting blankets to present for sale in their tent. We went back to find them again, not remembering the vendor’s name! We finally found them. SoulCrafts, a vendor selling mostly beautiful clothing items, had these amazing handmade navajo print blankets, and we immediately snatched one up which really proved helpful on the next several nights.

SoulCrafts, as was labeled on the vendor tent, or SoulCraftCreations on Etsy, crafts “unique ethically made tribal and Native inspired creations from the heart.” All jewelry, hats, clothing, and accessories are made at their studio in Nevada County, CA, but these beautiful blankets are handcrafted in Ecuador by an indigenous family in a “pristine mountain town.” Made from a blend of Alpaca and acrylic, they are meant to last and are machine washable (with the recommendation to hang dry), and are oh so warm! When we purchased one, we were told they are meant to be worn right up against the body, although we layered it on top of our sleeping bags for the time being. They are also double sided, so you get two beautiful designs and color combinations for the price of one! The best part though, is that 8% of blanket sales go directly towards local community projects in Ecuador. Just look how gorgeous these works of art are…some look like they belong on a wall as a tapestry!

“Our creations are inspired from nature. We use mostly recycled & organic materials , and different items found in our trips in nature.”

“We Love to play with our imagination to create and bring to life all kind of beautiful crafts.”

SoulCrafts also offers baby blankets. These beautiful designs also come as shawls too (seen below), which also can double as baby blankets.

I definitely want to come back and grab one of these gorgeous shawls for outdoor get-togethers, or for this upcoming winter (if California blesses us with one this year)!

Shop SoulCrafts on Etsy here!