mark your calendars! ? You’re invited to the first ever Fiber Craft Holiday Market in Philadelphia! Saturday, December 9th, 2023 10am - 6pm Bok Building Gym & Auditorium — 821 Dudley St, Philadelphia, PA 19148 this market boasts all things fiber craft: yarn shops, craft supplies & kits, indie dyers & spinners, handmade items, fiber art, textile wearables & jewelry, and more! with 60+ vendors, you can shop all your favorite fiber and textile related gifts (it’s the holiday season!) and celebrate the craft of handmade goods. The first 150 attendees will receive a complimenta ..read more

How does the community that builds us into who we are impact how we create? How can we hold the people we cherish close to us in times like these - and what does it mean to find connections in art and textile language? In this episode of Material Culture, we explore these questions and more with weaver and artrepreneur Shenequa Brooks. She shares with us about her Carribean-American heritage and how it's influenced her work, as well as her time in Ghana and how practices there impact her weaving and life now. Topics discussed include: the bond of sisterhood formed through braiding, breaking ge ..read more

Happy Holidays from the Material Culture Podcast! In this frenzied season of consumerism and deal after deal, what does it look like to practice generosity while still being mindful? What would it look like to give in a way that values our loved ones, without making it about monetary value, or societal expectations? How can we foster relationships that honor everything that the other brings to the table and needs, and how can we give in a way that we can feel good about? In this episode of Material Culture, Rachel and Rachel talk about the holiday season from the perspectives of business owner ..read more

current call for submission • deadline 11/24: the next episode of the Material Culture podcast will focus on topics surrounding holiday consumer practices: shopping (big or small), the act of gift giving, tactile gifts vs acts of service, and reciprocity. here’s what we’d love to hear from you — what is a gift that you’ve given or received that was special or impactful? What does giving mindfully mean to you? As a maker or craftsperson, how do you perceive the act of making an object to give to another person? to learn how to submit your written or recorded voice memo, go to weaverhouseco.c ..read more

How do you keep the joy in your creative process? How can you embrace the imperfections of weaving, letting each piece become what it's meant to be, rather than what you will it to be? In this episode of Material Culture, we talk to Saori weaver Lisa Shobhana about her creative process and way of thinking when it comes to creation and consumption - as well as what it means to reclaim the art of making as a descendant of enslaved peoples. This episode asks the question - what would it mean to live into abundance, generosity and rest, rather than always striving to make everything productive and ..read more

How does our connection to resources inform how we create? What does it mean to imagine a future where we can make sustainably - and uplift everyone involved in the creation of textiles and the images they depict? In this episode of Material Culture, we talk with weaver, woodworker and painter Stephen Hamilton, who forages from all kinds of different sources for his eclectic work. He shares with us about his experience in Nigeria with Yoruba religion and its affect on his work, as well as natural dyeing and the impact he hopes to have through his art. Topics discussed include: agency of those ..read more

Have you ever thought about where wool first starts off - the sheep itself? In this episode of Material Culture, we talk to Navajo shepherd and weaver Nikyle Begay to hear all about not only the process of raising sheep and processing wool - but also the deep spiritual connotations that that has within Navajo culture. This episode is complete with beautiful stories of family, tradition and what it means to live in connection with your materials. Topics discussed include: the origin of sheep, yarn and roving production, connection to our ancestors and our traditions, and living in gratitude and ..read more

current call for submission ~ deadline 9/29: We’re partnering with Portland Textile Month to bring you a special series of episodes in October focusing on the theme of New Traditions. As we think about New Traditions, we’re considering the questions that shape this contemporary moment and its broad implications. In this moment of rapid transformation what traditions do we preserve and build upon and what do we rethink and rebuild anew? How can we transform our textile practices, collections, materials, businesses, institutions, and educational systems to serve a more inclusive, equitable, sust ..read more

What does it mean to create? How do art, textiles, and culture connect us by a common thread between people groups, places and time? How can we honor the people who have gone before us in all kinds of making, and help create a better future for artists? In the Material Culture podcast, we are attempting to explore this, starting this episode with a conversation with Weaver House founder, Rachel Snack. Topics include: the sacredness of the act of creation, stories being told about cultures through craft, balancing being an artist and running a business, and what it means to lift one another up ..read more

How do we connect to the practice of making when we are so disconnected from the origins of materials that make up our daily lives? What would it look like to build authentic relationships with our materials, the people who produce them for us, and the world that makes fiber art possible? How can we foster a community that looks out for each other and shares in the beauty of making? In this episode of Material Culture, Rachel and Rachel dive into a conversation around Anni Albers' "On Weaving", and talk about the pressures of building a business coupled with the desire to see a more holistic v ..read more