Iowa-based fiber artist and interior designer, Candice Luter, admits she never imagined she’d end up in the creative field. It was only after finishing college and taking a job in corporate America, that she would feel a tugging back to the creative parts of herself. “Growing up, ‘entrepreneur’ wasn’t a word that anyone was using—instead […]
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]]>Iowa-based fiber artist and interior designer, Candice Luter, admits she never imagined she’d end up in the creative field. It was only after finishing college and taking a job in corporate America, that she would feel a tugging back to the creative parts of herself. “Growing up, ‘entrepreneur’ wasn’t a word that anyone was using—instead it was ‘starving artist,'” Luter said jokingly in an interview with the Etsy blog.
Her rediscovery of her creative side came gradually, after purchasing a house and making her own custom art for the walls. In 2014, she began creating one-of-a-kind designs using remnant scraps of wood and fabric from her home studio. What started as a hobby continued to build momentum and became Candice Luter | Art + Interiors, a collection of commercial art and approachable, unique home accents.
This led to her opening an Etsy shop in early 2019 where she now sells custom wood and fiber decor. A couple of years later and her side hustle turned into a full-time job that includes a team of creative women.
“I went into this business thinking of myself: What do I want to do? What designs do I want to put out?” says Luter. “Then one day, I looked at all these women in our workshop talking and laughing with each other and I said to myself, ‘This is what it’s about.’ It’s not just about the rope art. It’s about creating this community of women that’s growing, thriving, connecting, and learning from one another across backgrounds, age, culture, and color differences.”
Influenced by her travels to Europe, Luter skillfully blends mid-century modern, art deco, and minimalist styles. “I don’t have a specific design style, though I definitely have some Japanese and Scandinavian influences, and I love boho, modern, and mid-century decor,” she notes. “Sometimes I’m drawn to a shape or I’m addressing a specific need. I try to keep a lot of different styles, prices, and sizes in mind while I’m designing new pieces.”
Her pieces include macrame-inspired art installations and more practical pieces that marry design with art, such as half-moon mirrors and unique wall hangings. Her work, commissioned for major retailers and hotel chains all over the country, is also customizable, and Luter says she often counsels her clients regarding the sizes and colors best suited for their home.
Head to her online shop here and here, and follow her brand on Instagram for more:
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Meghan Shimek’s woven wall hangings have an artistic edge to them. More like sculptures than wall hangings, her work—both delicate and textured—reveals the beauty of vulnerability. Rooted in the warm, earthy materials, Shimek’s weaving style allows the fibers to fall into indeterminate patterns. The result might remind of an abstract landscape, comprised of fiber. Born […]
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]]>Meghan Shimek’s woven wall hangings have an artistic edge to them. More like sculptures than wall hangings, her work—both delicate and textured—reveals the beauty of vulnerability. Rooted in the warm, earthy materials, Shimek’s weaving style allows the fibers to fall into indeterminate patterns. The result might remind of an abstract landscape, comprised of fiber.
Born and raised in Michigan, Shimek took to weaving later in life, after studying history and nutrition first. “I didn’t go to art school,” stressed the artist in an interview with Diary of a Smart Chick, where she describes her work experience as unique. “When my son was born, I had been working for a nonprofit. I decided to stay home with him because my salary wouldn’t cover the cost of childcare in the Bay Area. That’s when I began weaving. I would often stay up nights and wake up early to learn and pursue my craft.”
Since dedicating herself fully to fiber work, Shimek has studied tapestry and Navajo weaving, rigid heddle, and floor loom weaving. Over the years she has developed her own signature weaving style, which she now teaches others through weaving workshops across the world. “There is something so special about sharing your knowledge,” she admits, adding that the learning experience is mutual. “I learn more from my students than they learn from me. I find them to be constant sources of inspiration and I have formed close friendships with many of them.”
Apart from her workshops, Shimek also creates commissions, exhibits her more personal projects and sells her woven hangings on her online shop. “I think everyone who really connects to my work does so on an emotional level,” she admits, explaining that she puts a lot of herself into each piece. “I hope that my weavings can be healing and bring comfort to those who have them,” she notes.
With most of her pieces quite large, Shimek’s process requires her entire body, as she feels the roving through her hands. This makes the creative process much more personal and raw, reminding more of a performance than anything else. Using color, Shimek expresses her personal narrative of moments of comfort, discomfort, and uncertainty.
“I want to move my entire body while I work,” she says, adding that “it is so soothing to feel that every part of me has a role in making my work. When I sit still my back and knees ache, but when I can work on something big, my body feels free.”
Take a look at some of her recent projects in the gallery below:
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Frame-loom weaving is a method related to the traditional techniques of tapestry weaving in which a loom is used to give the weave support and tension as you work. This technique is most often used to make tapestry-style weaving and is employed in creating decorative wall hangings, but also smaller pieces like placemats and coasters. For textile master Lucy […]
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]]>Frame-loom weaving is a method related to the traditional techniques of tapestry weaving in which a loom is used to give the weave support and tension as you work. This technique is most often used to make tapestry-style weaving and is employed in creating decorative wall hangings, but also smaller pieces like placemats and coasters.
For textile master Lucy Poskitt, weaving provides the perfect mix between rigid structure and loose creativity. Working with a more experimental approach, Poskitt adheres to the belief that with the proper techniques under your belt you can confidently create and explore your own style.
“Most of my professional work is made with traditional materials–wool, linen, and cotton yarn,” she further relayed in an interview with KOEL Stories. “When I’m creatively stuck or have time to play around, I really enjoy more unusual, less traditional fibers–horsehair, leather scraps, paper, ropes and trims, wood veneer, mylar… you name it!”
Based in Victoria, BC, her work is inspired by local landscapes and lore, with the finished pieces very much nostalgic, but without crossing the line into old fashioned. Scrolling through her feed will inspire you to work your fingers around dense threads, creating pieces that are both comforting and original.
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