Weavers’ studios from Florence to Shelburne Falls open to the public on Oct. 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FLORENCE—The Working Weavers organization will host its fifth Studio Trail tour on Saturday, Oct. 14, and Sunday, Oct. 15, with eight weavers from Florence to Shelburne Falls and Conway in between opening their studios to the public for demonstrations and sales.

Studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We are weavers dedicated to bringing handwoven textiles into the future,” said Paula Veleta, one of two founding members of Working Weavers. “Our mission is to make cloth visible again by producing and selling high-quality textiles as well as by presenting the process and the people who make weaving their livelihood. We picked October for the Studio Trail because it’s fall foliage season—a nice time of year to drive from one end of the Valley to the other.” 

The organization’s website at workingweavers.com offers suggested routes for traveling to the various studios and interesting stops along the way, including restaurants, pubs, inns and local attractions. The information can be easily printed from a PDF on the site.

Trail stops span from Shelburne Falls south to Florence. The following is a list of participating weavers and their locations: 

• Tonya Grant, 8 South Cooper Lane, Shelburne Falls. New this year, Grant specializes in drawloom weaving, creating complex patterns and images within a damask fabric. 
• Emily Gwynn and guest weaver Lisa Bertoldi, 124 North St., Shelburne Falls. Gwynn’s business, Hands to Work Textiles, focuses on heirloom-quality table linens and other household textiles and is influenced by both traditional and mid-century Scandinavian design. Bertoldi specializes in durable, absorbent kitchen towels in cotton and linen.
• Lisa Hill, 156 Elmer Road, Conway. Hill, the master weaver behind the business Plain Weave, is a teacher, designer and writer who works out of her 1840s barn in Conway.
• Scott Norris, 20 Wilder Place, Florence. Norris, of Elam’s Widow, weaves exclusively hand-dyed fine linen for table and kitchen use.
• Chris Hammel, 221 Pine St., Studio #315, Florence. Hammel is a scholar, teacher and master weaver who directs the Hill Institute and operates her studio, Ekphrasis Defined Designs, where she creates exquisite textiles for use in the home or to wear.
• Veleta and her guest Megan Karlen, 221 Pine St., Studio #338, Florence. Veleta, of Studio 338 Handwoven, produces woven fabrics in her studio at the Arts & Industry Building in Florence, using her intricately designed textiles to create adornments for the home and body. Karlen’s work is in direct relation to her desire to see more beauty in the world.

Veleta, of Florence, said most of the professionals in the Working Weavers group are handweavers who use traditional wooden looms with no mechanization.

“Weavers open their studios, often inside their own homes, and welcome the public to see how cloth is made,” Veleta said. “They invite you to touch, explore and experience hand-woven cloth and are happy to speak with you at length about their tools, materials and processes.” 

“It’s something all of us use, but we take it for granted and don’t realize how it’s produced,” she explained. “During the tour, we offer information on the history of woven cloth. It’s connected to human existence and has a very old history. We like to bring it to peoples’ attention again.”

Visitors can purchase high-quality handwoven goods directly from the weavers, including newcomers to the trail, Grant and Karlen.

One optional tour feature is called the Trail Pass. Each pass is $2 and is stamped by each weaver along the route and turned in at the last studio as entry into a drawing; the winner may choose from a selection of handwoven items or a $100 gift certificate that can be redeemed with any of this year’s Working Weavers.

The Trail Pass helps fund scholarships and more ways to enter a drawing. 

Veleta and a colleague, Marilyn Webster from Conway, founded Working Weavers in 2016, and in 2017, they hosted the first Studio Trail, modeled after pottery tours that are hosted in the Valley.

The tour typically generates about 1,000 visitors.

For more information, contact Veleta at paulaerk@comcast.net or 413-320-0808, or visit the website at www.workingweavers.com/

The post Working Weavers Organization to Host 2023 Studio Trail appeared first on Beetle Press.

I am always available to help organization leaders promote an event. In October 2022, I helped the Working Weavers raise awareness about the 2022 Studio Trail tour.

The Working Weavers organization will host its fourth Studio Trail tour on Saturday, Oct. 22 and Sunday, Oct. 23, with 10 weavers from Florence to Shelburne Falls and Conway in between opening their studios to the public for demonstrations and sales.

Studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We are weavers dedicated to bringing handwoven textiles into the future,” said Paula Veleta, one of two founding members of Working Weavers. “Our mission is to make cloth visible again by producing and selling high-quality textiles as well as by presenting the process and the people who make weaving their livelihood. We picked October for the Studio Trail because it’s fall foliage season—a nice time of year to drive from one end of the Valley to the other.”

The organization’s website at workingweavers.com offers suggested routes for traveling to the various studios and interesting stops along the way, including restaurants, pubs, inns, and local attractions. The information can be easily printed from a PDF on the site, and guests can also RSVP if they choose.

Trail stops, from Shelburne Falls south to Florence, are at these weavers’ studios:

• Peggy Hart and Western Mass Fibershed, 8 Martin Road, Shelburne Falls. A production weaver who mass produces her cloth on mechanical looms, Hart is the founding member of the Western Mass Fibershed and author of “Wool: Unraveling an American Story of Artists and Innovation.” She designs, produces, and markets blankets.
• Emily Gwynn and guest weaver Lisa Bertoldi, 124 North St., Shelburne Falls. Gwynn’s business, Hands to Work Textiles, focuses on fine table linens influenced by both traditional and mid-century Scandinavian design.
• Sue McFarland, 49 Conway St., Shelburne Falls. McFarland’s studio, in the former Lamson Cutlery Factory in Shelburne Falls, features chenille tapestry scarves.
• Lisa Hill and guest weaver Trish Colson-Montgomery, 156 Elmer Road, Conway. Hill, the master weaver behind the business Plain Weave, is a teacher, designer, and writer who works out of her 1840s barn in Conway.
• Scott Norris, 20 Wilder Place, Florence. Norris, of Elam’s Widow, weaves exclusively hand-dyed fine linen for table and kitchen use.
• Chris Hammel, 221 Pine St., Studio #315, Florence. Hammel is a scholar, teacher, and master weaver who directs the Hill Institute and operates her studio, Ekphrasis Defined Designs, where she creates exquisite textiles for use in home or to wear.
  Paula Veleta and her guest, Judi Bajgot, 221 Pine St., Studio #338, Florence. Paula, of Studio 338 Handwoven, produces woven fabrics in her studio at the Arts & Industry Building in Florence, using the intricately designed textiles to create household adornments such as wall hangings and pillows.

Paula said one of the Working Weavers mantras is, “Making cloth visible again.”

“It’s something all of us use, but we take it for granted and don’t realize how it’s produced,” she explained. “During the tour, we offer information on the history of woven cloth. It’s connected to human existence and has a very old history. We like to bring it to peoples’ attention again.”

Most of the professionals in the group are handweavers who use traditional wooden looms with no mechanization. “As weavers, we’re really interested in the process. There’s a lot of steps to weaving and designing a fabric,” Paula said.

She noted that, typically, a weaver will use a computer program to design a particular pattern for the fabric, and then create it on the loom in a painstaking and time-consuming process.

“When it’s all completed, it could be ten yards long. It gets cut off the loom and wet-finished—basically washed and dried—and then it’s made into things like linens, pillows, hand-hemmed kitchen towels or blankets with finished edges,” she said. “We have to think about all the different aspects of creating cloth.”

In 2016, Paula and a colleague, Marilyn Webster from Conway, founded Working Weavers, and in 2017, they hosted the first Studio Trail, modeled after pottery tours that are hosted in the Valley.

The Studio Trail was also held in 2018 and 2019, going on hiatus during the height of the pandemic. “We’re excited to be doing it again,” Paula said, noting most of the original group of weavers will be involved this year.

The tour typically generates about 1,000 visitors.

For more information, or to sign up for the 2022 Studio Tour, contact Paula at paulaerk@comcast.net or 413-320-0808, or visit the website at www.workingweavers.com.

The post Working Weavers Organization to Host 2022 Studio Trail appeared first on Beetle Press.

Weavers’ studios from Florence to Shelburne Falls open to the public on Oct. 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FLORENCE—The Working Weavers organization will host its fourth Studio Trail tour on Saturday, Oct. 22 and Sunday, Oct. 23, with 10 weavers from Florence to Shelburne Falls and Conway in between opening their studios to the public for demonstrations and sales.

Studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We are weavers dedicated to bringing handwoven textiles into the future,” said Paula Veleta, one of two founding members of Working Weavers. “Our mission is to make cloth visible again by producing and selling high-quality textiles as well as by presenting the process and the people who make weaving their livelihood. We picked October for the Studio Trail because it’s fall foliage season—a nice time of year to drive from one end of the Valley to the other.”

The organization’s website at workingweavers.com offers suggested routes for traveling to the various studios and interesting stops along the way, including restaurants, pubs, inns, and local attractions. The information can be easily printed from a PDF on the site, and guests can also RSVP if they choose.

Trail stops, from Shelburne Falls south to Florence, are at these weavers’ studios:

• Peggy Hart and Western Mass Fibershed, 8 Martin Road, Shelburne Falls. A production weaver who mass produces her cloth on mechanical looms, Hart is the founding member of the Western Mass Fibershed and author of “Wool: Unraveling an American Story of Artists and Innovation.” She designs, produces, and markets blankets.
• Emily Gwynn and guest weaver Lisa Bertoldi, 124 North St., Shelburne Falls. Gwynn’s business, Hands to Work Textiles, focuses on fine table linens influenced by both traditional and mid-century Scandinavian design.
• Sue McFarland, 49 Conway St., Shelburne Falls. McFarland’s studio, in the former Lamson Cutlery Factory in Shelburne Falls, features chenille tapestry scarves.
• Lisa Hill and guest weaver Trish Colson-Montgomery, 156 Elmer Road, Conway. Hill, the master weaver behind the business Plain Weave, is a teacher, designer, and writer who works out of her 1840s barn in Conway.
• Scott Norris, 20 Wilder Place, Florence. Norris, of Elam’s Widow, weaves exclusively hand-dyed fine linen for table and kitchen use.
• Chris Hammel, 221 Pine St., Studio #315, Florence. Hammel is a scholar, teacher, and master weaver who directs the Hill Institute and operates her studio, Ekphrasis Defined Designs, where she creates exquisite textiles for use in home or to wear.
• Paula Veleta and her guest, Judi Bajgot, 221 Pine St., Studio #338, Florence. Veleta, of Studio 338 Handwoven, produces woven fabrics in her studio at the Arts & Industry Building in Florence, using the intricately designed textiles to create household adornments such as wall hangings and pillows.

Veleta, of Florence, said one of the Working Weavers mantras is, “Making cloth visible again.”

“It’s something all of us use, but we take it for granted and don’t realize how it’s produced,” she explained. “During the tour, we offer information on the history of woven cloth. It’s connected to human existence and has a very old history. We like to bring it to peoples’ attention again.”

Most of the professionals in the group are handweavers who use traditional wooden looms with no mechanization. “As weavers, we’re really interested in the process. There’s a lot of steps to weaving and designing a fabric,” Veleta said.

She noted that, typically, a weaver will use a computer program to design a particular pattern for the fabric, and then create it on the loom in a painstaking and time-consuming process.

“When it’s all completed, it could be ten yards long. It gets cut off the loom and wet-finished—basically washed and dried—and then it’s made into things like linens, pillows, hand-hemmed kitchen towels, or blankets with finished edges,” she said. “We have to think about all the different aspects of creating cloth.”

In 2016, Veleta and a colleague, Marilyn Webster from Conway, founded Working Weavers, and in 2017, they hosted the first Studio Trail, modeled after pottery tours that are hosted in the Valley.

The Studio Trail was also held in 2018 and 2019, going on hiatus during the height of the pandemic. “We’re excited to be doing it again,” Veleta said, noting most of the original group of weavers will be involved this year.

The tour typically generates about 1,000 visitors.

For more information, or to sign up for the 2022 Studio Tour, contact Veleta at paulaerk@comcast.net or 413-320-0808, or visit the website at www.workingweavers.com/.

The post Working Weavers Organization to Host 2022 Studio Trail appeared first on Beetle Press.