Convergence 2008: It’s about the People

July 17, 2008

People: the best part of being at Convergence in Tampa. I loved seeing old friends, meeting new people, and talking to Schacht dealers. Mostly, though, I relished the familiarity of gathered fellow weaving enthusiasts who are my community-at-large. I feel at home with and invigorated by this group that is involved, passionate, creative, generous. Here’s a partial list and some news about some of the people who stopped by the Schacht booth: Syne Mitchell, host of Weavecast and editor of her new on-line weaving magazine, WeaveZine. Syne was attending Convergence for the first time and used the opportunity to interview all of the loom makers at the conference, including our very own Barry Schacht. Look for this feature in an upcoming installment of Weavecast. We are so fortunate to have these two venues. They are giving weaving a new platform that reaches out to new weavers. Syne is doing a fabulous job and I encourage you to lend your support to her important work. Rita Buchannan is retiring from teaching, but that doesn’t mean she’s not involved in weaving of some sort. Her exquisite woven boxes, bags, and vessels were sited in several shows. Her other passion, gardening, is where she likes to spend much of her time these days. Pam Howard, a weaving teacher at the John C. Campbell Folk School and owner of Yarn Circle, is always a delight to see and chat with. Her passion for teaching weaving was a reminder of how important it is to have great teachers. It is enthusiasm like Pam’s that creates new weavers who are so vital to our continued growth. Madelyn Van der Hoogt editor of Handwoven magazine and author of numerous weaving books (her newest, “The Best of Weaver’s: Overshot if Hot” was just released by XRX) and Liz Gipson, Handwoven’s managing editor and occasional host of Knitting Daily TV stopped by the booth to chat. Both were in attendance to converse with subscribers and look for editorial material. They are always seeking great new ideas and projects, so here’s my encouragement to you to submit articles and project designs to the magazine. BTW. They had a few pages mocked up of the re-design of Handwoven, debuting with the September issue. I think you’ll find the new look a refreshing change. Peggy Osterkamp, author and publisher of several handy and informative weaving titles, stopped by the booth to tell us about her latest project, a beginning weaving book. Look for it in the year to come.Tina Ignall, of Vav magazinet. I love this Swedish magazine and enjoyed chatting with its editor. Look for a project by yours truly to appear in 2009. Linda Cortright editor, publisher and just about everything else of Wild Fibers magazine. I don’t know if Linda would call her magazine The National Geographic of fiber, but it’s how I would describe it. Subscribe today. You’ll love the stories, pictures, and learning about fiber growing and the people who do it around the world. Polly Leonard. Creator and editor of Selvedge magazine, the beautifully-produced and informative textile magazine from England. I always look forward to each issue. Check it out. You’ll notice that the above is heavy on editorial folk, but as a past editor, I guess I’m a little prejudice. Also, I feel that publishing is critical to keeping us informed and helps create our weaving community…Links:
www.interweave.com
www.wildfibersmagazine.com
www.selvedge.org
www.folkschool.org
vavmagasinet.se
www.weaving.cc
www.weavecast.com
www.weavezine.com

Featured Products