Material Culture: A Weaving Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Fiber Craft Holiday Market Nov 21, 2023

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 ~

Merry and Mindful: A Very Festive Episode on Giving Dec 01, 2021

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.

Call for Submissions for December Episode Nov 10, 2021

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.

Finding your Voice in Saori Weaving with Lisa Shobhana Oct 20, 2021

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 media@weaverhouseco.com.

Gratitude, Tradition and Navajo Churro Wool with Nikyle Begay Oct 13, 2021

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 media@weaverhouseco.com.

Call for Submissions for Portland Textile Month Sep 16, 2021

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

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.
email us the voice memo at media@weaverhouseco.com. 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.
listen to the pod, to see if we share your recording!

On Being: A Culture of Connectedness Sep 01, 2021

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 media@weaverhouseco.com.

Call for Submissions for Season 2 Aug 18, 2021

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

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.
email us the voice memo at media@weaverhouseco.com. 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.
listen to the pod, to see if we share your recording!

Please email us at media@weaverhouseco.com!

Intuitive Growth: A Conversation with Ashton Zager Jun 02, 2021

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.

Healing in Community: A Conversation with Bryana Bibbs May 05, 2021

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.

Woven Confessionals: A Conversation with Crossing Threads Mar 31, 2021

You can feel something different in a piece of art when it's created with a sense of authenticity and passion from the artist. What would it mean to be courageous in fully showing up to tell our stories? In this episode of Material Culture, we talk with the sister duo behind Crossing Threads - Lauren and Kass Hernandez, who started weaving together in 2015. They share with us about their journey as co-creating and running a business together as sisters - as well as what they've learned about setting boundaries and facilitating a creating process that feels good for everyone involved. Topics discussed include: creating in times of great pain and tension, making your own process work for you, taking the time to slow down and resist the culture of hustle, and their experience as Filipina women exploring their identity as children of immigrants.
You can find more of Lauren and Kass's work at their website crossingthreads.co, or their instagram @crossingthreads.
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 also sponsored by Silver Spun Goods, a woman-owned American sock brand that produces socks spun with pure silver. You can find them online at silverspungoods.com, and for a limited time enter code MaterialCulture for 20% off your order.

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

Embodied Image: A Conversation with Stephen Hamilton Mar 03, 2021

How does our connection to resources inform how we create? What does it mean to imagine a future where we can make sustainably - and uplift everyone involved in the creation of textiles and the images they depict? In this episode of Material Culture, we talk with weaver, woodworker and painter Stephen Hamilton, who forages from all kinds of different sources for his eclectic work. He shares with us about his experience in Nigeria with Yoruba religion and its affect on his work, as well as natural dyeing and the impact he hopes to have through his art. Topics discussed include: agency of those being portrayed by art and culture, creating with a limited budget, the importance of remembrance and ancestors, and being resourceful by treasuring the materials you use.
You can find more of Stephen's work at his instagram @theartofstephenhamilton, or his website itanproject.com.
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.

Created Comfort: A Conversation with Shenequa Brooks Feb 02, 2021

How does the community that builds us into who we are impact how we create? How can we hold the people we cherish close to us in times like these - and what does it mean to find connections in art and textile language? In this episode of Material Culture, we explore these questions and more with weaver and artrepreneur Shenequa Brooks. She shares with us about her Carribean-American heritage and how it's influenced her work, as well as her time in Ghana and how practices there impact her weaving and life now. Topics discussed include: the bond of sisterhood formed through braiding, breaking generational curses, functionality of textiles to commemorate community, and finding the strength to not always need to be strong.
You can find more of Shenequa's work at her website at shenequaabrooks.com, or her Instagram @she_ne_qua - you can also catch her work featured later this year in the book Yarn, Thread and String of Uppercase Magazine.
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 Silver Spun Goods, a woman-owned American sock brand that produces socks spun with pure silver. You can find them online at silverspungoods.com, and for a limited time enter code MaterialCulture for 20% off your order.
Thanks to Philadelphia-based musician Michael Myers for the use of his song, Weave off the album This is Only Light.

Good Tension: An Introduction to Material Culture Jan 08, 2021

What does it mean to create? How do art, textiles, and culture connect us by a common thread between people groups, places and time? How can we honor the people who have gone before us in all kinds of making, and help create a better future for artists? In the Material Culture podcast, we are attempting to explore this, starting this episode with a conversation with Weaver House founder, Rachel Snack. Topics include: the sacredness of the act of creation, stories being told about cultures through craft, balancing being an artist and running a business, and what it means to lift one another up in light of injustice and inequality. Join us as we embark on something special - learning how to create together, with one another in mind.
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.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Material Culture: A Weaving Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected