Contemporary Craft is planning its first Weave-a-Thon event on November 17, 2023 from noon to midnight. During this 12-hour event, weavers will design and weave dish towels, which will then be available for sale in CC’s Store beginning the following day. Part-fundraiser, part-production studio, and part-party, this event reaches across all areas of CC’s operations.
How it works…
Participating weavers are current and former students and instructors in the weaving program at CC. Each weaver signed up for 1-hour increments of time (or in some cases all 12 hours!). At their designated time they will begin weaving a dish towel on their loom. As each towel is completed, it will be tagged while still on the loom indicating which weaver made the towel. The following day a team of volunteer sewers will finish the ends of the towels and they will immediately be available in the Store at CC. Each towel will sell for $40 and the weaver will receive a $20 artist commission.
This sounds wild! Why are you doing this?
Great question! Thanks for asking! The idea for Weave-a-Thon was inspired by our Climate Awakening exhibition. Several staff members at CC began using cloth napkins and dish towels at lunch to reduce their use of disposable paper products. Other staff members wanted to follow suit, and were sad that we didn’t have handwoven towels in the Store.
At the same time, our weaving students were looking for more opportunities to weave and remain a part of our vibrant fibers community. Thus the idea for Weave-a-Thon was born. We would pre-warp nine of our looms and invite people to weave dish towels from noon to midnight. That is 108 weaving hours! Within the first 24 hours of registration being open, over 80 of those weaving hours were spoken for. Guess what the most popular time slot is? 10pm-midnight!
This sounds amazing! How I can support Weave-a-Thon?
Once again, great question! There are many ways you can support the Weave-a-Thon event and support your favorite weaver.
Sponsor a Weaver
Each weaver will be collecting sponsors. Sponsors can give a donation per weaving hour, or can donate a flat amount. The weaver who collects the most donations will receive a free workshop at Contemporary Craft. Just select the weaver of your choice from the drop down menu.
Sponsor the Event
If you don’t know a specific weaver but would still like to sponsor the event, that would be amazing! Click below and make your general donation.
Donate Food & Drink
We must keep our weavers fed and hydrated throughout the day! We welcome donations of food and drink for our weavers.
Buy a Dish Towel
All of the dish towels that are woven will be available in Contemporary Craft’s Store on Saturday, November 18. These will make wonderful hostess gifts for Thanksgiving and will be used and loved year round!
Come to Weave-a-Thon
Please come to Contemporary Craft to see the weavers in action and cheer them on. We will be open to the public until 9pm.
Send a Message to a Weaver!
Submit a message of encouragement for your favorite weaver. We will print out all of the messages and hang them throughout the Weaving Studio during Weave-a-Thon!
What will my donation support?
All of the proceeds from Weave-a-Thon will support the growth of our Fibers Studio and Weaving Program through the purchase of a 12-harness Macomber loom. This loom will provide the opportunity for weavers to vastly expand their skills and explore more complex weaving structures and patterns.
