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 complimentary goodie bag. Free and open to all ~

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 owners, artists, and consumers. We also got the chance to hear from some of you about meaningful gifts you've received and what practices you've developed to be generous and conscientious of others. Topics discussed include: the fast-paced holiday expectations small businesses have to live up to, the value of a good Christmas thrift, when giving is more self-indulgent than generous, and how to get the most out of your packaging supplies.

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.

If you're interested in Jennifer Mao's "pay-what-you-wish" sales, check her out on Instagram at @jjj_mao.

Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light. 

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.com/podcast-submit.

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 profitable? Topics discussed include: healing through the pains of our ancestors, how to price your work by knowing your audience, finding your voice in weaving, and the one and only Nap Bishop, Tricia Hersey.

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.

This week's episode is sponsored by Portland Textile Month - the first of three episodes in partnership with their celebration.

Lisa Shobhana is a Baltimore-based knitter and weaver trained in Saori weaving. You can find her on Instagram @shobhana_weaves, or at her website www.everydayimaketheworldanew.com .

Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light. 

You can find more information on Portland Textile Month at https://www.portlandtextilemonth.com, and look out for our next episodes with them later this month. You can submit voice memos on this months' question to [email protected].

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 it 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 appreciation for all parts of the process.

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.

This week's episode is sponsored by Portland Textile Month - the first of three episodes in partnership with their celebration.

Nikyle Begay (they/them) is a Diné shepherd, fiber artist, as well as the Director of Rainbow Fiber Co-Op. You can find them on Instagram @navajoshepherd, or at the Rainbow Fiber Co-Op website: rainbowfibercoop.org .

Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light. 

You can find more information on Portland Textile Month at https://www.portlandtextilemonth.com, and look out for our next episodes with them later this month. You can submit voice memos on this months' question to [email protected].

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, sustainable, and connected purpose?

What is the future we want to weave and how do we build it together?

HOW TO SUBMIT

1. record your voice memo in a quiet room that does not echo. Speaking directly into the phone, instead of wearing headphones, normally produces the highest quality audio. We find this is easiest using the voice memos app on the iphone, or by downloading an audio / voice recording app on an android phone. You can also record via email, which you can learn more about here.
2. email us the voice memo at [email protected]. To make sure we see it, please write ‘voice memo recording’ in the subject line. In the body of the email include your name (or indicate if you’d like to be kept anonymous), age and city you live in. If we have multiple calls for submission listed on the website, please also note which topic you’re discussing. 
3. listen to the pod, to see if we share your recording! 

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 view to creative practices. We also got the chance to hear from some of you - we asked for community submissions, and you delivered! Topics discussed include: The preciousness of materials like flax and linen, Indigenous practices of allegiance to the Earth, the isolation caused by a culture of consuming, and the limits of relationships over social media.

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.

This week's episode is also sponsored by Weaver House - find us online at weaverhouseco.com, or on Instagram - @weaverhouseco.

Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light. 

You can find more information on Portland Textile Month at https://www.portlandtextilemonth.com, and be on the lookout for more updates about our collaboration with them next month. You can submit voice memos on this months' question to [email protected].

current call for submission ~ deadline 8/27:

What does the following passage mean to you? How does it related to your artistic, textile arts or weaving practice? How does it relate to your community, consumer habits and daily life?

On Weaving by Anni Albers / Chapter 8. Tactile Sensibility

All progress, so it seems, is coupled to regression elsewhere. We have advanced in general, for instance, in regard to verbal articulation — the reading and writing public of today is enormous. But we certainly have grown increasingly insensitive in our perception by touch, the tactile sense. 

No wonder a faculty that is so largely unemployed in our daily plotting and bustling is degenerating. Our materials come to us already ground and chipped and crushed and powdered and mixed and sliced, so that only the finale in a long sequence of operations from matter to product is left to us: we merely toast the bread. No need to get our hands into the dough. No need — alas, also little chance — to handle materials, to test their consistency, their density, their lightness, their smoothness. No need for us, either, to make our implements, to shape our pots or fashion our knives. Unless we are specialized producers, our contact with materials is rarely more than a contact with the finished product. We remove a cellophane wrapping and there it is — the bacon, or the razor blade, or the pair of nylons. Modern industry saves us endless labor and drudgery; but, Janus-faced, it also bars us from taking part in the forming of material and leaves idle our sense of touch and with it those formative faculties that are stimulated by it. 

We touch things to assure ourselves of reality. We touch the objects of our love. We touch the things we form. Our tactile experiences are elemental. 

HOW TO SUBMIT

1. record your voice memo in a quiet room that does not echo. Speaking directly into the phone, instead of wearing headphones, normally produces the highest quality audio. We find this is easiest using the voice memos app on the iphone, or by downloading an audio / voice recording app on an android phone. You can also record via email, which you can learn more about here.
2. email us the voice memo at [email protected]. To make sure we see it, please write ‘voice memo recording’ in the subject line. In the body of the email include your name (or indicate if you’d like to be kept anonymous), age and city you live in. If we have multiple calls for submission listed on the website, please also note which topic you’re discussing. 
3. listen to the pod, to see if we share your recording! 

Please email us at [email protected]!

How do you create an art business that makes money without taking the fun out of what you're creating? What does it look like to create a social media presence that's vulnerable and authentic without feeling totally exposed? What does success mean in the wake of great personal tragedy - and how can you hold immense pride and gratitude along with loss? In this episode of Material Culture, we explore these questions and more with weaver Ashton Zager - who has been weaving and teaching for years, but shares a special connection with the online weaving community after the loss of her son in 2019. She shares with us about cultivating an work and family balance, the effect of social media on mental health and business practices, and more here. Topics discussed include: imposter syndrome, the pressure for artists to stick to their "brand", deciding which opportunities to pursue, and the expectations placed on us by the internet.

You can find more of Ashton's work at her website at ashtonzagerfiberart.com, or her Instagram @ashtonzagerfiberart.

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.

This month's episode is sponsored by MishMash rugs, a women-owned business making rugs with yarn from a fair-trade cooperative in Uruguay that champions the dyeing and spinning arts of Uruguayan craftswomen. Now for a limited time use code RUGHUG for 10% off your purchase of a colorful rug at mishmash.design. You can also find them on Instagram @mishmashrugs.

Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light. 

How do you develop a practice of art making that feels distinct to you? What does it look like to use fiber art to process and pass through emotions in the wake of trauma? In this episode of Material Culture, we explore these questions and more with weaver and painter Bryana Bibbs. She shares with us about starting to create art full-time just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her work using weaving to connect domestic violence survivors in a community of healing. Topics discussed include: shame and stigma around therapy and leaving toxic relationships, the trendiness of weaving and how to make your own mark, experimenting with new materials, and continual healing.

You can find more of Bryana's work at her website at bryanabibbs.com, or her Instagram @bryanabibbs - make sure to check out "The We Were Never Alone Project" as well. 

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. Material Culture is produced by the yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school, Weaver House. If you have a question, comment or other feedback - you can leave a message for the podcast at weaverhouseco.com/podcast.

This month's episode is sponsored by Wild Hand, a Philadelphia-based yarn and fiber shop. Wild Hand is a community that believes in the magic of fiber craft: to bring together people who share a vision of an imaginative and just world. Now through the end of March use code MATERIALCULTURE for 15% off your first order at wild-hand.com. You can also find them on Instagram and Facebook.

Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light.