Spring 2027 · Marshall, North Carolina

March 25-28, 2027

4 days · 8 students per session · $2,400

Come spend four days with me in my studios in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where we’ll move through the entire process of creating a handwoven backpack, from our first experiments with color at the loom all the way through sewing the final stitch.

This workshop brings together two parts of my practice that I love most: weaving expressive, one of a kind cloth and figuring out how to turn that cloth into something beautifully made and useful.

The workshop is intentionally small, with just eight people in each session, and designed to feel immersive, generous, and a little bit like settling into the studio together for a few days.

There will be a lot of color and yarn, making, good conversation, shared meals, experimentation, and the particular kind of camaraderie that happens when a small group of people spends a few days making things together.

Color + Cloth

When you arrive, your four shaft loom will already be warped in wool and ready to weave.

We’ll begin with an overshot threading as our framework, but rather than approaching overshot as a traditional pattern to follow, I’ll share the much more intuitive and painterly way I use it in my own work.

We’ll play with color, pattern, texture, repetition, interruption, and composition, with an entire wall of wool yarn to work from. I’m building a full spectrum of color for these workshops, with gradients within each color family, so that we have the freedom to really dig in and play.

Having access to this much color is something I’m especially excited to offer. It means you can try a strange combination just to see what happens. You can shift a red slightly warmer or cooler, put five greens next to one another, change your mind halfway through, or discover a color you never would have thought to buy for yourself.

We’ll spend time experimenting before settling into the cloth that will eventually become your backpack. I’ll share how I make color decisions as I weave, how I respond to what is happening in the cloth, and how I use the structure of the loom as a place to improvise rather than something that has to dictate the finished piece.

We’ll work alongside one another and look closely at what everyone is making. My hope is that each person develops a piece of cloth that feels entirely their own.

Cloth + Construction

Once our cloth comes off the looms, we’ll move into my sewing and production studio and shift from weaving to construction.

Using my own backpack design and pattern, I’ll take you through the process I use in my studio to turn handwoven cloth into a finished bag.

We’ll cut our cloth, work through each component of the backpack, sew on industrial machines, and move step by step through construction, hardware, hand tools, assembly, and finishing.

I’ll share the techniques, details, and little problem solving tricks I’ve developed through years of making these backpacks.

By the end of our four days together, you’ll leave with your own one of a kind handwoven backpack, beginning with color and yarn on the loom and ending with an object you can actually carry out the door.

But I hope you leave with something beyond the backpack, too. I hope you come away with a more playful relationship to weaving and color, new ways of making decisions at the loom, and a sense of permission to use structure as a place to begin rather than a set of rules.

Our Four Days Together

Days One + Two: Weaving, Color + Cloth

We’ll spend our first two days together at the looms.

We’ll begin by getting comfortable with our pre-warped four shaft looms and the overshot framework we’ll be working from, and then start exploring color, pattern, texture, repetition, and composition.

There will be time to sample, experiment, change direction, and begin finding your own visual language within the cloth. From there, you’ll develop and weave the piece that will eventually become your backpack.

By the end of our second day, our cloth will come off the looms and we’ll get ready to move into construction.

Days Three + Four: Backpack Construction + Open Studio

For the sewing and construction portion of the workshop, we’ll divide into two groups of four.

Each group will work closely with me in the production studio as we move through cutting, sewing, hardware, hand tools, assembly, and finishing.

Working in groups of four gives everyone much more individual attention during this more technical part of the process, as well as plenty of time at the machines and tools.

The groups will rotate between morning and afternoon sessions over Days Three and Four. When your group isn’t working with me in the production studio, that time is yours.

The weaving studio will remain open, so if you’d like to keep experimenting at the loom or spend more time weaving, you’re very welcome to do that. Or you can take the opportunity for a little breathing room, explore Marshall, walk along the river, have a long lunch, or simply rest after two full days of weaving.

I want there to be some spaciousness built into these four days, while also giving everyone the option to keep making if that’s where they want to be.

By the end of Day Four, we’ll bring everything together and finish our backpacks.

An Immersive Studio Workshop

I want this to feel like more than simply coming to class each day. For the four days we’re together, the weaving studio will be yours to settle into and work in.

Each student will receive a key to the building for the duration of the workshop, with access to the weaving studio in the mornings before we begin and in the evenings after our scheduled time together.

If you wake up wanting to weave for an hour before we begin, or find yourself wanting to stay at the loom a little longer at the end of the day, you can.

Your loom and our wall of color will be there for you throughout the workshop, including during your open studio time on Days Three and Four.

Independent studio access is for the weaving studio and looms. Our industrial sewing machines and specialized construction tools will be used during the small group sessions with me.

My hope is that having this extra time and access gives the workshop a little more spaciousness and lets you follow your own rhythm while you’re here.

Experience Level

Beginners are absolutely welcome, and no previous weaving experience is required.

Your loom will be warped and ready for you when you arrive, and we’ll begin with the basics before moving into color, pattern, and experimentation.

Basic familiarity with a sewing machine is recommended, but you do not need experience with industrial sewing machines or backpack construction. We’ll move through the construction process together, step by step.

More experienced weavers and sewists are very welcome, too. There will be plenty of room to experiment, push your ideas, and make the work your own.

What’s Included

Your $2,400 tuition includes:

• Four full days of instruction

• Your own pre-warped four shaft loom, ready to weave when you arrive

• Morning and evening access to the weaving studio for the duration of the workshop

• Open studio time during Days Three and Four

• Access to our full wall of wool yarn and color

• All weaving materials

• My backpack design and pattern

• All materials and hardware needed to construct your finished backpack

• Use of the sewing and industrial sewing equipment during our construction sessions

• Shared lunches

• Light breakfasts

Travel and lodging are not included.

Marshall + The Studios

We’ll be working in my two studios at Marshall High Studios in Marshall, North Carolina, a former high school overlooking the French Broad River that is now home to artists and creative spaces.

I’m especially excited to welcome you here, to share the place where I make my own work, and to give you some time to experience this little mountain town that I love.

After registration, I’ll send you more information about coming to Marshall, including travel and lodging recommendations, what to bring, and other details to help you plan your stay.

Registration + Payment

Tuition: $2,400

Tuition is paid in full at registration and reserves your place in the workshop.

Each session is limited to eight students.

Cancellation Policy

Because these workshops are very small and require significant preparation in advance, including preparing and warping a loom for each student, tuition is nonrefundable.

I know that life can be unpredictable, and occasionally illness, injury, family emergencies, or other unexpected circumstances make it impossible to attend. If you need to cancel and I’m able to fill your place from the waitlist, I’m happy to refund your tuition, less a $250 cancellation and administrative fee.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to fill a cancelled place, particularly as we get closer to the workshop date.

Because tuition, travel, and lodging may be nonrefundable, I encourage you to consider travel insurance or refundable travel arrangements if you’d like additional protection in the event that illness, injury, or another unexpected circumstance prevents you from attending. Please check individual policy terms carefully to make sure the expenses and circumstances you want covered are included.

If I need to cancel the workshop, your workshop tuition will be refunded in full. I’m not able to reimburse airfare, lodging, or other travel expenses.

Come Make With Me

You don’t need to arrive with a perfectly developed color palette or a plan for what your cloth should look like.

Curiosity is much more important.

We’ll start there and figure it out together.

I’m so excited to open up my studios, pull out all the yarn, and spend four days making with you here in Marshall.