Granville Island Works - The People that make Granville Island

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Alarte Silks

At Alarte Silks, Izabela Sauer creates her unique, hand painted, hand pleated silks, from delicate chiffons to luminous satins and jacquards, scarves, shawls and ties. She started her business 20 years ago to make the world a more colorful place. She travels around the world on her 45 foot sailboat, then comes back to her Granville Island studio to paint.

Her recent work is inspired by time spent on the South Pacific Islands in the Kingdom of Tonga, from the impact of the setting sun to the contrast of a tropical blossom against oceanic blue.

Her hand pleated Shibori shawls, rich in variation, reflect an ancient past, rendering these luminous tones more dramatic when set on the body.

They yield intentions of a woman with a lively and curious personality who frees herself from every kind of obstacle to be able to trot from one end of the world to the other.