Every so often someone asks us how, or more pointedly, why we started The Tempestry Project.
We first started joking about recording climate data in tapestry form back in early 2017, after hearing that hackers were systematically downloading public United States government climate research in order to preserve it from the incoming administration. The joking became more serious as we thought about the ephemeral nature of modern data storage and the new administration’s animosity toward environmental regulations.
Soon we were obsessing over yarns and colors, temperatures and stitches, and finally, months later, we had the basics — KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Worsted yarn for its affordability and consistency of colors; a relatively comprehensive temperature / color system large enough to be globally applicable; an idea for stitches that wouldn’t stretch or curl too much.
All we needed was a name, which of course became self evident — temperature tapestries became Tempestries. Both catchy and made up, making us easy to find even in this ephemeral age of modern data.
And there you have it. The common personal temperature blanket, made smaller but universal. A place where fiber art meets climate education. Collaborative, corroborative, both individually meaningful and collectively undeniable. Visual, tangible, accurate, and beautiful. The Tempestry Project.
(Pictured: a family’s Tempestry story. L-R: Miami, Florida, 1976; Hutchinson, Kansas, 1980; NYC, 2006; Baghdad, Iraq, 2006; NYC, 2010; NYC, 2012)