Blackberry Farm

Fine Tune those Fiber Rush Weaving Skills: Tim Smith

 

I have always had a love and a passion for crafts and the arts which runs deep within my family. My grandmother Smith made dolls and was a painter; my Aunt Gail (her daughter) was a painter and talented commercial artist; my other grandmother Boyette crocheted and was a quilter; my grandfather Boyette was a woodworker and loved to just build and make things with his hands. At 15, I spent a lot of time with my grandfather learning woodworking skills and deciding to take up furniture restoration. A good friend of my dad’s named Bill Williams told me if I like to restore furniture, I should learn to weave chair bottoms. Having a passion to pick up new furniture restoration skills, I said “Sure!”. So, I started to learn from another chair weaver. When I was 16, I recall going to his father’s apartment and weaving fiber rush seats with him while he looked after his father who was in poor health. Bill was also a member of the Village of Yesteryear (thevillageofyesteryear.com) at the NC State Fair (NC State Fair) and he told me I should become his apprentice. I jumped at the chance as I was always fond of that building and organization. After 9 years as an apprentice, Bill told me he was giving up the Village and wanted me to continue as the new chair weaver. I juried for this spot in the summer of 2011 and was a full member by 2012.

Fast forward, and many chairs and chair stories, until today; I am still a member of the Village of Yesteryear and love to teach and talk to the public about their “Grandmama’s chair”. I am often asked, “Would you repair her chair for me?”. This guided a path towards my secondary business called “Weave-N-Art” (weave-n-art.com) which continues to grow and flourish with new business. I am now 58 and find that few days go by that I don’t have a piece of fiber rush or rattan cane in my hand; spending hours upon hours weaving seats for the public in the “Man Cave” in our home.

​

In this class, my goal is to help you fine tune your fiber rush skills. I have spent years trying to figure out what works best for me, so I encourage you to take what I have to offer; but feel free to explore and learn from others as this is the reason for the Seat Weavers Guild' and the Annual Gathering.

 

If you have never woven a fiber rush bottom, I will be glad to work with you on the basics. If you just want to fine tune your skills, I will be glad to work with you on these skills as well. Do you see large spaces and gaps between your stands? Are you forming Vs in the center where the weave will not close in? Are you forming a lot of knots under the bottom with splicing? Is your rush too stiff and hard to work with?  Feel free to bring your chair or project or we can work on a stool or chair I have in the class. Ultimately, let me help you with these questions leaving you more informed as you fine tune your fiber rush skills.

​

Weave-N-Art

Owner and Craftsman: Tim Smith

Clayton, NC

https://weave-n-art.com/

Email: timgsmith@weave-n-art.com

​

Mary Beth Lodge

​

Mary Beth Lodge discovered seatweaving in 2009 and was instantly drawn to the rhythm, patience, and tradition of the work. When she attended her first TSWG Gathering in 2011, she was still early in her journey, but the community and shared passion deepened her love for the craft.

She first learned hand‑woven caning from The Caner’s Handbook, then continued to grow through Gatherings, classes, and the generous guidance of fellow weavers. Today, Mary Beth owns Caleb’s Meadow Antiques, where she restores chairs with care and respect for their history, offering most forms of seatweaving and repair.

One of her greatest joys is helping new learners find their footing. Whether through classes or one‑on‑one instruction, she loves encouraging others to discover the satisfaction and beauty of weaving by hand.

​

Sue Muldoon: Danish Cord without the Nails!

​

Sue owns Redux For You, She is a seatweaver, basketmaker, broom-maker , graphic designer, and webmaster. She is currently teaching up and down the East Coast. Author of "Weaving Step-by-Step" published in 2024. Her schedule changes often depending on her teaching, traveling and vending schedule.

​

Sue learned seatweaving as a young Mom in her 30's and had a business for a few years. Life changes had to put a hold on that as she went back inti the floral industry for 28 years in retail in wholesale. An ankle accident left her homebound for a few months and she picked up where she left off in seatweaving. Her first gathering was in 2014, where she made new friends and was inspired to keep going with her seatweaving business. It turned into a full-time event .

 

She began teaching at local venues and Sheep and Wool shows, and now teaches from Maine to North Carolina, up and down the East Coast. North Bennet Street School, CT Valley School of Woodworking, Sanborn Mill Farms, Hudson River Maritime Museum, John C Campbell Folk School and many more.Her teaching expertise expanded to basketry and broom-making. 

A member of The Seatweavers' Guild, Northeast Basketmakers Guild and National Basketry Organization, she represents TSWG on a guild forum at NBO.

​

Faith Blackwell: Fancy Cane Patterns

Faith is recently retired from a 40-year career at MassMutual Financial
Group.  She is currently the Membership chair for the Guild.

She started caning around 2009 from desire to restore a chair found in
her grandfather's attic.  She quickly discovered the peace and calm she
got while weaving that helped combat the stress of her job.  In 2014,
she "found" the Guild while internet searching to see if there were any
other 'patterns' available for caning chairs.  When she saw the Annual
Gathering was in Sturbridge, MA--basically her back yard, she
immediately joined the guild and signed up to attend.  Not realizing
that there were groups like this, she felt that she had found her people!!

Faith is very interested in different patterns, and will show the steps
to weaving a neat variation of the "star of david" caning pattern.

​

Lynn Phillips Nulicek: Our Host

​

Lynn is a former bookstore general manager who now satisfies her personal creative passions through chair weaving as owner and operator of Hank’s Cane & Rush Restoration in Aurora, Illinois. Predominantly self-taught, Lynn has mastered many of the weave patterns and the knowledge of materials necessary to sustain the art forms of cane, rush, Danish cord and Shaker tape, and their restoration. She is a board member of the Seatweavers’ Guild. Lynn is a mother and grandmother dedicated to her family and friends. She loves to garden and bake sourdough bread in between working on chairs. It is her commitment to relationships and family traditions that fosters her desire to preserve generational memories. As Lynn likes to say, “Every chair has a story to tell.”