Tatter explores the medium of textiles to tell human stories and cultivate understanding.

BLUE, The TATTER Textile Library, opened its doors in June of 2017. Serving as both an interactive, ongoing art-installation as well as an academic research library, BLUE is an ever-growing home to over 8,000 books, journals, exhibition catalogs and objects that examine and celebrate the global history, traditions, makers, craft and beauty of textiles

Open to the public by appointment, BLUE is an immersive reading and learning  space. It offers visitors an aesthetic and tactile experience in its carefully chosen hues and textures. Different from traditional libraries, the intense presence of color evokes the complex relationship between humans and cloth. The saturation reminds us not just of the cultural and economic significance of color, but also that textiles permeate all industries and aspects of human life.

BLUE is an exercise in legacy, interweaving the personal collections of three women: Edith Robinson Wyle (1918-1999), founder of the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles; her granddaughter Jordana Munk Martin, founder of TATTER; and Carol Westfall (1938-2016), renowned fiber artist and professor. As we continue to grow, we’ve been thrilled to add the collections of other kindred textile enthusiasts.

The curated books and objects converse with each other in the space, a material metaphor for the intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogues that captivate, teach and inspire. We seek to preserve, give voice to and contribute to such conversations about textiles and the ways in which they enrich our lives.