Hosted by the ICAA Southeast Chapter
The understanding of process – how things come into being – is the guiding question in all of the work at Thistle Hill Weavers. When working with historic settings, the goal is for soft furnishings to look as if they have always been in place. How we get there is the fun part, but it requires patience, participation, and difficult choices.
In this lecture, Rabbit will discuss the decisions that go into making an interior installation look as if it has always been part of the architecture, how they work through history to get it right, the struggles - including the lack of surviving examples, and the process for recreating historic textiles for great houses.
Speaker
Rabbit Goody is the Owner, Designer, and Master Weaver of Thistle Hill Weavers, a custom weaving mill providing historic reproductions to the museum field, the film industry, designer and homeowners, and custom woven textiles to designers. In her own words:
“The odd thing was that I knew how to weave from the very beginning, as if from some past life, or like someone who can pick up a musical instrument and play without thinking about it. I started weaving when I was in my late teens, without any real instruction, but it came very naturally to me.
My curiosity and my interest in hand and early power technology was something that I developed throughout high school and college. The understanding of process – how things come into being – is the guiding question in all my work. My main academic interest is the transition from hand to powered technology in the textile industries.
I established the mill after working for many years at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, NY as the head of Domestic Arts and as Assistant Curator for Textiles. My husband refers to our weaving as “Heavy Metal Weaving.” We run all Crompton and Knowles equipment that dates back to the late 1890’s and as recent as the 1960’s. These looms as well as our coner, quiller and warper are all American-made industrial textile machinery. There are very few mills still running this type of loom in this country and there are no American companies still producing textile equipment.”
Learn More about Thistle Hill Weavers
This event is hosted by an ICAA Chapter. Please check the Chapter website or contact the Chapter directly for the most up-to-date details including dates, times, and pricing.