During an exhibit in one of our galleries, David Lauren expressed interest in partnering with National Geographic Fine Art Galleries on a product that Ralph Lauren would produce and we would sell in our galleries.
After an initial meeting, we agreed upon a scarf as the product also in partnership with the Rhinos Without Borders foundation. A non-profit that fights to save endangered rhinos from poaching. Together, we would donate a portion of the sales of each scarf back to Rhinos Without Borders with the amount donated equaling the cost required to successfully transport a rhino to safety.
I based the initial design of the scarf on the famous photo by Beverly Joubert of a blindfolded rhino awaiting transport.
The design consisted of a repeating pattern of rhinos, still blindfolded as they await rescue, with a single rhino encircled to represent the one that would be potentially saved by purchasing the scarf.
The scarf itself would be silk, a renewable resource, with the pattern reproduced by hand with a textile printer.
I then envisioned that the scarf would then be included in a hand screened acacia wood box from a sustainably managed forest with a variation of the print as the cover and a message on the interior printed on velvet. We also considered numbering each individual box.
After a series of meetings and initial timelines mapped out, the project ran into scheduling conflicts within Ralph Lauren and was never completed.
