Woven Stories

Woven Stories is a shop ("bricks and mortar" and online) where customers can find handwoven and hand-crafted textile goods from Gent, Belgium and beyond. The shop serves as an outlet for weavers, designers and fiber artists from Gent and from weaving communities "beyond." The shop will provide also custom weaving, sell specialty yarns, repair looms and will buy and sell used looms. The overriding

philosophy behind Woven Stories is that everything in the shop has a "story" behind it. That could be a story of the weaver or designer; a story about the item's design or the technique used to make it; the country or culture from which it comes... Each item is linked, virtually, to its story, which is posted with photos on Wovenstories.be. They are accessible, of course, at the online shop but also from i-pad kiosks in the shop on Baudelostraat 11, Gent, Belgium. We want to drive interest in the craft, raise awareness of various weaving techniques and cultures from which the goods originate and increase the customers' perception of the value of the goods. All of this by presenting the stories behind the goods on the website and on Ipads in the shop and by having the owner actually weaving in the shop on Baudelostraat. We travel to various parts of the world, searching for interesting and well-crafted handwoven items and handcrafted textile goods. The underlying designs can be very traditional or contemporary but inspired by tradition. The goal of each trip, for example Ethiopia in July, is to identify not just goods that are of interest but also weavers and designers who:
- have real "stories" behind their work.
- operate in a socially and ecologically responsible
way.
- deliver FAIR TRADE, handmade, products.