Little Fool Handwoven Textiles

In 2008 I moved from Raleigh to Richmond, VA to attend graduate school for Fibers at Virginia Commonwealth University. There I honed techniques in weaving, dyeing, and surface application. I graduated with a Master of Fine Art degree in 2010, with a desire to use the techniques I developed for my artwork to make beautiful and sumptuous textiles that would grace the body, experienced through touch and movement rather than by sight alone. I squeezed a second loom into my studio and started weaving scarves. Little Fool Handwoven Textiles and my blog, “little fool…(a small business romance)” is a labor of my love for the unique qualities of handwoven cloth, for the touch of exquisite materials, for exploration and experimentation. In creating a scarf motif, I work with shape, color, and pattern to complement and enhance the beauty of structure in my finely woven cloth. During the design process, I consider the look of the cloth as a whole, and just as importantly, the different ways in which the piece will reveal itself when worn bunched around the neck, or draped over the body. When a design is translated from a drawing on paper to painted threads, it comes alive. Each scarf is a discovery. I am inspired by the great textile traditions of many cultures, as well as the natural and constructed environment through which I travel by bike and foot every day in my sweet little city of Richmond, VA. In my travels abroad, I have woven tapestry and dyed with indigo in Oaxaca, witnessed the making of Kente and Adinkra cloth in Ghana, and pored over great stacks of Ikat-dyed textiles in the markets of Istanbul. These experiences from journeys both around the world and around my city return with me to my studio, and I work with great respect for the weavers and craftspeople that have come before me. Making wearable textiles, with their ability to bring joy, comfort, or delight to the person that owns them is an incredibly fulfilling way to share my skills and the traditions of weaving by hand. I hope that you, too, can feel the love, warmth, and history woven within each Little Fool scarf.