Weaving the threads of a community

Non-profit Cross Village Rug Works seeks to preserve economic, cultural vitality of area

By Kate Bassett
Harbor Light Newspaper

There is something almost indescribable about the atmosphere of Cross Village Rug Works, located in a one story, stone-faced building across from the famed Legs Inn. It is a mixture of calm and creativity that immediately draws you inside.

Perhaps it is the way light filters in and casts shadows against the tall wooden looms and antique spinning wheels, or the wall of colorful yarn that seems to be a work of art in itself. Maybe it is the old wood stove tucked in a nook full of fiber arts books that beg for quiet company or the way the room’s large wooden beams, bags of fleeced locks, and rows of finished rugs all bring you back to a time of connection to the earth and work done by hand.

And maybe it is simply because it is a place where creativity and calm, art and history, come together in all the best ways.

“We have artisans making rugs, but this organization is about so much more than that. It is about preserving the economic and cultural vitality of our community,” smiled Mandy Anderson, executive director of Cross Village Rug Works.

Recounting the history of the relatively new non-profit organization, Anderson said the idea for Rug Works stemmed from visioning work done by a group of people concerned about the economic downturn in the Cross Village area.

“Cross Village had completed a Master Plan in 2004 that highlighted three areas of need: to preserve the cultural history of the area, to preserve the rural nature of the area, and to provide economic opportunities to residents.”

The idea of starting a rug works was one born from the history of the area, she said, pointing to a grainy black and white photo of a woman, weaving intently.

“Cross Village is actually the longest continuously settled place in Michigan, and its connection to textiles dates back to Native Americans who created mat reeds with cattails and used dandelion fluff to weave. In the 1930s, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) actually started a rug works in Cross Village to help with exactly the same thing we are trying to do.”

Citing a huge underemployment rate—the 2000 census showed Michigan’s unemployment rate hovering at six-percent while Cross Village’s was a staggering 17-percent—Anderson said one of the organization’s biggest goals is to help preserve the downtown and provide income opportunities without introducing big industry to the area.

“We are targeting artisans whose incomes fall within certain poverty guidelines,” she said, adding that most of the apprentices who have been trained thus far had never worked in fiber arts.

“Anyone interested in receiving training simply needs to send us a letter of interest. We require our artisans to agree to a two-year commitment, and after that, they can do whatever they wish with their new skills. We have looms that can be taken home so that moms, for example, can work while caring for their children.”

The economic impact of Cross Village Rug Works will—and already has—extended beyond its artisans. Anderson said all the rugs that have been created to date use Michigan fiber, and the bags of wool that are purchased to make yarn are sent to a mill in East Jordan.

“We are in the business of value-added agriculture. We start with a base product, and add value to it as it goes through each step in the process. We have 200-pounds of yarn waiting to be dyed (Rug Works is now hosting a class at North Central Michigan College in fiber dying),” Anderson said. “The mill in East Jordan was able to expand their business because they knew we would be using their services.”

“This is just one example of how we want to be partners with local businesses,” she added. “Three Pines Studio (also located in downtown Cross Village) has already been doing amazing things to draw people to this area, and we hope to do workshops that compliment their efforts. We are also donating some of our rugs to other non-profit organizations. We are already providing a punch needle rug to the Little Traverse Bay Humane Society and to SEENorth to auction off for their efforts.”

In addition to the economic impact Rug Works hopes to make—its current goal is to be a self-sustaining economic engine with up to 30 artisans by 2011—the organization also wants to play a key role in education and cultural preservation.

“Our outreach efforts will include workshops for adults and children alike,” Anderson said. A special workshop was already conducted for middle school students in Harbor Springs, and special school curriculums will be developed over time.

“It is really good for kids to have the opportunity to use their hands and create something, and also to see a product in all stages—not just sitting completed on a shelf in a store,” she said.

With some of Rug Works artisans being Native American, Anderson said watching them unfold a connection to the past has been inspiring.

“This is one of my favorite pieces,” she said, holding up a small, colorfully woven sampler. “The artisan who created this researched some of the geometric designs that were used by the Ottawa (Odawa), and re-created it. Another one of our artisans has worked with quill boxes, and has a strong sense of the color schemes that were historically used in weaving in our area.”

Many of the completed rugs in inventory now were woven with fleeced locks. The soft white, gray and black rugs have a natural and warm feel to them.

“We are also going to be doing a lot of punch needle rugs. We sent some of our artisans to a nationally known training school and they are now certified instructors themselves. They had to create these while they were being trained,” she said, pointing to two beautifully detailed rugs depicting a night scene with a black bear and a crane beneath a full moon.

The exciting thing about punch needle rugs, Anderson added, is the opportunities to customize them.

“We will be able to take photographs of peoples’ cottages, boats, pets, anything they wish really, and turn them into a beautiful work of art.”

By this spring, Rug Works will have a variety of border samples and customizable examples for customers to work from as they design their rugs.

“We are hoping that will be a huge part of our work, and I think once people see how beautiful these rugs are, there will be a big demand for them,” Anderson said.

The organization officially opens its doors sometime around Memorial Day, however, call ahead tours and show room visits are welcome now. Once their “store front” is open, Anderson said she hopes to have someone working a loom and punch hooking on site daily, so that anyone who walks in experiences that feeling of art as it is created.

“Rug Works has already come so far,” she said with a smile, walking into the back end of the building, where fleece will be washed and dried, where yarn will be dyed and designs are created.

“This space was finished completely by volunteers,” she said. “There is an amazing and diverse board of directors and incredibly dedicated volunteers that believe strongly in this project.”

Rug Works has received numerous grants from local foundations, including a grant from the Hestia Women’s Giving Circle and a $10,000 from the Petoskey Harbor Springs Community Foundation. While the organization currently relies entirely on community support, its goal is to be self-sufficient within the next three years, through sales in both its showroom and an Internet site that will maximize exposure for its gallery and special orders.

The expenses for this year— which include hiring and training artisans, completing work on the building, and purchasing necessary production materials, will hover around $100,000. With an operating budget increase over the next three years to account for more staffing and additional production materials, the total fundraising goal for Rug Works is $200,000.

“There were very good economic studies done to ensure the financial viability was there for Rug Works, and an excellent business plan was created. This is an organization that has been well planned for success. So much solid groundwork had been laid by the time I was hired,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who joined the Rug Works staff after moving back to Harbor Springs (where she grew up) from Alaska in the summer of 2008, clearly has a sense that the organization is a perfect fit for the area.

“Cross Village Rug Works was set up in a way that truly will help all facets of the community, and particularly some of the areas that are struggling. One of the reasons I am so excited to welcome people into our doors is because I don’t think you can fully appreciate that reality until you see what is happening here for yourself. There is something about this place that is really amazing.”

In one corner of the room, a loom that Anderson’s own grandmother used is waiting to for an artisan to sit and weave in its strings. In another area, there is a loom that was being stored in the house the Andersons moved into when they first arrived in Harbor Springs.

“It feels like I’m in the right place,” she said with a chuckle. Standing in that space, surrounded by fibers and rugsin- the-making, there was a sense that Cross Village Rug Works itself is in the right place, at just the right time.

Although Cross Village Rug Works will officially open this spring, anyone interested may call for a tour. For more information or to make a donation, contact Cross Village Rug Works (231) 526-7849.

This is part of the January 28, 2009 online edition of Harbor Light Newspaper.

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