Written & photographed by Sarah Lillegard Off the highway and along a dirt road in Butte Valley, California there is a large white house with a wraparound porch sitting at the front of forty acres. This house was built in 1860 and is now home to the Larson family and their farm business named for […]
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Weaving Expression with Gather the Universe
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish As Mary Diaz works at her loom, it’s not clear if she’s the one weaving or if it’s the large ornate spider on her arm that is weaving her. “Weaving is a great metaphor for my life, “Mary says. “To me, the spider humbly embodies the beauty in the […]
Read MoreStitching Texture and Connection with Carol Lee Shanks
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish Carol Lee Shanks has been creating unique sculptural clothing and wearable art since 1983. She curates thoughtful and intimate spaces for people to enter her world within her studio and showroom by appointment, or whenever she debuts a new collection. In a two-story building on a quiet road in […]
Read MoreExploring the Tactility of Color with BioHue
Written and photographed by Sarah Lillegard. Mid-morning light comes through a window in Judi Pettite’s studio, casting a glow on the boxes of fabric and paintings in progress. Pinned to one of the walls is an installation of dyed coffee filters, the grid of them making a spectrum of color. With a closer look, each […]
Read MoreHolding Space for Creativity at Fiber Circle Studio
Written by Amanda Fisk and photographed by Noelle Gaberman, except as noted. Tucked into the Sonoma County town of Cotati, Fiber Circle Studio is a haven of experience in the fiber arts, and a space for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding. A place where anyone can come to learn or explore the world of […]
Read MoreSoft Steps & Solid Heart at Rhoby’s Ranch
Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Paige Green “I keep getting interested. There keeps being more to learn, so I get more interested, and learn more, and the more I learn, the more I keep getting interested,” muses Rhoby Cook of Rhoby’s Ranch. Surrounded by oak and conifer trees, tucked in a valley of […]
Read MoreShifting the Impact of our Clothing: Tips from the Fibershed Community
Written by Jess Daniels with photography by Paige Green and infographics created by Fibershed The latest large-scale assessment of the systems and supply chains that get us dressed reveals that the fashion industry’s sustainability efforts have “slowed by a third in the past year” and overall are “not moving fast enough to counterbalance the harmful […]
Read MoreWeaving as a Way of Life at Oakland Fiber
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish By the time Sheng Lor was old enough to go to school, she already knew how to embroider. Born into the Hmong culture of Laos, the Oakland Fiber founder grew up within a culture that sees sewing, indigo batik and dying, and the intricacy of embroidery as highly regarded […]
Read MoreAll of Her Own Making: Designer and Fiber Artist Keyaira Terry
Written by Sasha Wirth and photographed by Paige Green Bark, seaweed, and dried artichokes might not seem like typical materials to pair with soft tufts of wool, but in the hands of designer Keyaira Marie Terry, they become transformed, coming together naturally in her modern fiber art and woven goods. “My pieces are tactile. They […]
Read MoreA Family History in Hats
Written by Koa Kalish and Carol Frechette; Photography by Koa Kalish, Lowell Downey, and Paige Green Photo by Koa Kalish In the early 1980s, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the small water-flanked town of Sausalito, lived Carol Frechette. There she lived and worked on boats, working with a sailmaker. Eventually, she started […]
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