Professional Weaver Podcast

This week we talk with Kat Howard from New York. Kat Howard is a fiber artist who blends the literary nuances of poetry into the textural work of weaving. Her MFA background in Book Art and Creative Writing, has given her a clear voice and understanding in her practice as a sculptural tapestry weaver. She uses a variety of materials in order to address how the female body has been viewed over time. Her combination of utilizing visual art and poetry is simple, but fully charged: revealing women’s relationships to their bodies, and the roles that those bodies have played Continue Reading…

We are doing a something a little different this week. We are talking to a business that utilizes handwoven fabrics from weavers in their final product. We would like to introduce you to Jamie from Jamie and the Jones from Nashville, Tennessee. Jamie and the Jones specializes in quality craftsmanship from the ground up, focusing on raw silks, hand-worked textiles, and garments grown, handwoven, and sewn in the United States. Jamie’s background in Fashion Design and Merchandising plus her experience in traveling the world researching and learning about handwoven fabrics, the inner workings of factories and the skilled labor involved Continue Reading…

This week we talk with Joseph Young of Interwoven from California. Joseph is a weaver who specializes in contemporary Zapotec weaving. For a little background, the Zapotec are an indigenous people that have lived in the Valley of Oaxaca for at least 2,500 years. Their one-of-a-kind weaving traditions have carried on to this day, showcasing unique colors and symbolism. Joseph, fell in love with this style of weaving and dove in, learning how to create tapestries in both the traditional and contemporary style. From the start of getting hand selected wool fibers spun for warp and weft, naturally dying the Continue Reading…

This week we talk with Denise Kovnat from New York. Denise is a weaver, dyer, and self proclaimed “free-ranged seamstress” who loves painted warps, collapse techniques, and extended parallel threadings- all to make colorful, texture cloth used in garments for teaching, shows and sales. For 20 years, she has been teacher who continues to grow and explore new possibilities to bring back and share with her weaving students. She has taught at the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center in Rochester, NY, weaving conferences and for guilds in Canada and the United States. Her textural and vibrant clothing have also been Continue Reading…

This week we talk with Katie Strano of Heddle Over Heels from Southbury, Connecticut. Katie is a production weaver who creates yardage for clothing and her own wearable weaving designs. The desire to make functional beauty is amplified through her playful dyeing and weaving of dimensional and textural fabric. She also offers whimsical wall hangings that resonate joy and flow. Through her making, she continually thinks about how her impact of creation effects the environment on a larger scale. She aims to use natural, sustainable and responsible materials- utilizing vintage, thrifted, or new responsibly grown natural fibers in her work. Continue Reading…

This week we talk to Amanda James of Thief and Moth from Wisconsin. Amanda is a production weaver who creates beautiful, handwoven yardage for wearables and accessories. She uses her AVL looms to create yardage that explores the relationship between textures and colors. When she works with her clients, it is a collaborative effort to create textiles that exude comfort and style while maintaining the small surprises that come up with weaving. Her work reflects the collaborative effort she puts into the marathon of creating cloth. Consciously, the way color and pattern is placed in the textile, allows the design Continue Reading…

This Week we talk with Julia Lines of Machine in Hand from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Julia is a production weaver who creates unique utilitarian and ceremonial textiles. Her company Machine in Hand, radiates how she feels in connection to her work. Julia views weaving as a physical collaboration between herself and the loom, like playing the piano. She focuses her weaving evolution toward depicting and recording time into cloth. As a craftsperson, she questions and shares her views about the supply chain and how it relates to us in terms of value and connectivity.  Julia is another Instagram friend that I Continue Reading…

This week we talk with Lilly Marsh from Queensbury, New York. Lilly is a production weaver whose work is directly connected with her active role in the fiber shed community. She views the weaving and textile world through the lens of her PhD in American Cultural Studies at Purdue University, with a focus on American Craft in the 20th Century. Out of her studios in Queensbury and Glens Falls, New York, she produces fine scarves, shawls, and simple garments, as well as throws and blankets. Her work primarily showcases the beautiful qualities of naturally colored, regionally sourced wool, but she Continue Reading…

This week we talk with Sydney Sogol of Syd’s Threads from Durham, North Carolina. With an eye on the environment around her and her hands rhythmically working on AVL looms, Sydney brings to life wearable pieces that celebrate how nature and technology can work together to make art. She hand paints her warps with wide swaths of bold colors, pulling color palettes and ratios from her research of birds and marine wildlife. The complex weave structures she creates make the colors shimmer throughout the cloth. Her computer aided designs also serve to accentuate the qualities of the yarn she uses. Continue Reading…

This week, we are super excited to have our guests, Cecelia Frittelli and Richard Lockwood of Frittelli and Lockwood. They have been involved with textiles for decades, and just so happen to be our weaving mentors. They have been producing their line of handwoven wearables from various studios, but most currently out of the Textile Studio in Saratoga Springs, NY. Their clothing for men and women are wonderful pieces that showcase their combined talents of textile design, tailoring, and finishing touches that would make any person look dashing. When Cecelia and Richard introduce us to other people, the running joke Continue Reading…