The quilters of Gee’s Bend have earned national fame for their vibrantly colored artworks, crafted with love and care by generations of women in Alabama’s Wilcox County. Now these geometric designs have inspired a line of clothing and home goods at Target stores.
The items, collectively known as Gee’s Bend x Target, are intended to help celebrate Black History Month in February. The line features T-shirts, quilted jackets, blankets, throw pillows, coasters, tumblers and more. Prices range from $5 to $40 on the Target website. The items are available in Target stores, as well, including locations in Alabama.
Target announced the Gee’s Bend line on Sunday via social media, as part of a Black History collection that focuses on “100% Black-owned or designed brands and exclusive partnerships.”
The Target website also mentions some Gee’s Bend quilters who are involved in the project. The Gee’s Bend line is a “celebration of strength, ingenuity and legacy, carried through as the expression of generations,” the site says. “Delia Thibodeaux translates every piece of fabric. Caster Pettway creates from the core of her heart. Tinnie, Claudia and Francesa usher the designs forward. A curation of unique, quilted bedding, clothing and stationery pieces.”
Target highlights Delia Thibodeaux as “a Gee’s Bend Quilter and namesake of her grandmother, Delia Bennett. She learned to quilt from the women in her family and, just like them, she doesn’t like to waste a scrap of fabric.”
Claudia Pettway Charley, a fourth-generation Gee’s Bend quilter and founder of That’s Sew Gee’s Bend in Boykin, touted the Target collection on Sunday via social media, saying “This Target Collection is Beyond Amazing.”
This isn’t the first time items linked to the Gee’s Bend quilters have been on sale to the public, of course. Hand-sewn items made by the quilters can be found on Etsy; Gee’s Bend pot holders are available at Kentuck’s Gallery Shop in Northport; and members of the Gee’s Bend Quilting Collective have been known to display and sell quilts at various events and arts festivals.
Items related to exhibitions by the Gee’s Bend quilters can be found at museum shops around the country, as well, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also, Macy’s has a line of Gee’s Bend bedding that mentions desig
