There’s a Piece of Her Mind in Every Quilt She Deconstructs
byIf there’s a provable craft gene, Rachel Meginnes may one day weave the evidence. Her paternal grandmother hooked primitive-style rugs; her maternal grandfather was…
Fiber
Crafty Heartwood Gallery Anticipated the Main Street Revival By Three Decades
byHeartwood Gallery owner Shelley DeKay arrived in Saluda in the fall of 1984. She and her husband, a journeyman carpenter, had been traveling and…
Replacing Phone Scrolling With Stitching is Perhaps Most Subversive of All
byOodles of Billboard music chart toppers are easy-to-play three-chord songs, and all of Western music is only comprised of a dozen notes. According to…
Stitching the Sewing Community Back Together Again
byIn their latest endeavor, legacy craft-gear manufacturer Diamond Brand Gear, having manufactured outdoor and mountain-lifestyle clothing and equipment since 1881, has helped launch an…
Danielle Burke on Frances Louisa Goodrich
byFrances Louisa Goodrich (1856-1944) was a Presbyterian missionary from Binghamton, New York, who came to Buncombe County — living in East Asheville’s Riceville community…
Textile Artist Grew Out of the T-Shirt Business
by“Patterns are created in everything,” observes textile artist Michael Kane. Flying birds form an unmistakable pattern; rain on a still lake less obviously so….
Beacon is Woven Into Swannanoa Valley History
byTo coincide with the release of Rebecca Williams’ documentary Blanket Town, about the Beacon Blankets Mill in Swannanoa, the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History…
Studious Textiles Go Many Fathoms Deep
byTextile artist Amy Putansu says her earliest “fiber memory” is watching her fisherman father using a knotted netting technique to knit heads for his…
Chair Maker Doesn’t Take the “Life as Art” Idea Sitting Down
by“Art isn’t just the stuff we make,” declares Pedro Esqueda. “It’s our whole life.” He’s proof positive of that, as his work expands into…
Traveling Makers Take Wing for the Festival Season
byThere’s something about the official onset of summer that prompts local revelers to step up their costume game, ascending stilts in sweeping Stevie Nicks-esque…