Photo by Caroline Williford
Several weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall, Swannanoa resident Melanie Wilder was sitting outside when she noticed geese flying overhead.
“I started to wonder how they are doing,” says Wilder, a fiber arts instructor at Warren Wilson College. “Can they recognize the places from above they would have always come to? Is the water safe for them? Are the flooded fields safe for them?”
These questions inspired an in-progress wall hanging she calls “The Flying Geese.” It’s the first thing Wilder has created since the storm washed away her entire inventory at Local Cloth, a fiber arts nonprofit in the River Arts District.
“What was lost was years of growing and efforts in making, spinning, weaving, dyeing, etc.,” says Wilder.
To support Wilder and other fiber artists who lost supplies during the storm, Local Cloth will host the Big Fiber Giveaway at the Folk Art Center from November 8-10. According to nonprofit administrator Courtney LaCaria, the event will feature yarn, fabric, dyes, tools, and other donations collected from individuals, guilds, and groups around the country. (An entire truckload came from a fellow fibershed in New York.)
“The first two days are saved for the folks who have lost supplies and fiber due to Hurricane Helene,” says LaCaria. “The third day is for anyone in the fibershed region in exchange for a donation.”
Wilder hopes the supply drive helps local fiber artists get back on their feet. After all, our world depends on it.
“The textile industry is a major contributor to water usage, chemical waste, and greenhouse gas emissions,” she explains. “Putting our buying power into not only supporting the locally-made economy but clothing that does not have a large carbon footprint is more important than ever.”
The Big Fiber Giveaway happens November 8-10, 10am-3pm, at the Folk Art Center (Milepost 382, Blue Ridge Parkway). For more information, visit localcloth.org.