Woven together
After a couple of years of making and selling macramé, Brittanee suddenly found herself craving something new. She tells us about finding that inspiration again, and the importance of the ever-growing fibre art community.
Hello, who are you?
Hi! I’m Brittanee, a 30-year-old living in the Colorado mountains. Mountains are definitely something my soul craves. I thrive in summer months, soaking up the warm rays of sunshine and frolicking through forests of trees and wild flowers. Occasionally you’ll find me joining my boyfriend, Mike, on a very inclined trek to the top of any given peak in the state. Talk about killer views!
Winter in the mountains is another world entirely. And I only tolerate it because Mike introduced me to the thrilling ride of snowboarding five years ago. Aside from my outdoor activities, I’m very much a homebody. A slightly extroverted introvert, if that makes any sense! I can be social when the mood strikes, but I really value my alone time and personal space.
When did you start weaving?
I really only began weaving pretty recently. I was gifted a small loom from a fellow fibre friend over a year ago, but didn’t really dive into using it much until this past spring. My fibre journey actually began with macramé – that’s what I started my business around. I always found weaving very intriguing, but at that time I was very much not into colour for some strange reason… So I stuck to growing and perfecting my skills in macramé.
After about two years in business, I found myself craving a much different vibe in the things I was putting out there. What I was doing didn’t feel authentic to me and it wasn’t bringing me the joy it once did. So I took a big break. Like several months. Totally away from Instagram and creating. I didn’t allow myself to feel the pressure to come back until it felt time to in my heart. Pretty much around the time we were all stuck in quarantine, inspiration struck hard, and just like that I was pumping out new ideas at a much quicker rate than I’d ever worked before. And a lot of that new work included weaving!
What puts you in the mood to create?
I’ve been a creative since birth and I’ve learned that inspiration ebbs and flows. When I find my inspiration is lacking, I honour that and take some time for myself. When my inspiration is flowing, I like to think my fellow fibre friends keep me in a pretty constant mood to utilise it and create! Watching those I admire hustle their hearts out always keeps the flame lit in mine. Don’t get me wrong, my passion and love for it never dies, but I’ve found life can very easily creep in and consume all of my time if I let it, you know? Especially when your creative gig is just a fun side hustle.
Quite a community has been built around fibre art. Can you tell us what it’s like to be part of this?
The fibre community is amazing! I have met so many wonderful people and made so many good friends. It’s really special because we all really believe in ‘community over competition’. Everyone is always so supportive and full of encouragement, compliments and congratulations for your successes. There’s truly no better community in the Instagram world, in my opinion.
How would you describe your creative style?
Obviously when I took up weaving, I began using a whole lot of colour! Working with colour has totally changed the game for me and has definitely helped my style evolve into what it is today. These days I create pieces with a mix of both weaving and macramé elements. And texture – so much texture! I’m truly loving creating more than ever. It’s an exciting time for me. That feeling, like what you’re doing is really unique, specifically to you as an artist and your brand, can be a really hard to achieve in this big, wide world of fibre artists! I feel like what I’m doing now, the way I combine my love for macramé and weaving, really sets me apart in the fibre world.
Do your surroundings inspire your work?
To be honest, I don’t really find inspiration from anything in particular. It kind of just comes to me. I suppose lately, I am really inspired by both bright and pastel coloured yarns! I’ve become quite obsessed with purchasing yarn in recent months, especially hand spun. It’s just so good and I love supporting another small business! As far as designs go, it just all comes from my imagination. And as I mentioned earlier, those I surround myself with keep me very inspired as well. My friends are my fuel, I guess!
