![]() ![]() They were usually either looms that had been passed down in their families, or looms that they themselves had built. There was just one thing missing: the looms.Īt that time, there were only a few people in the area who had looms in their homes. Finally, the group of enthusiastic local weavers were ready to learn their craft and get to work. Sources of weaving knowledge and instruction came on board (most notably Rachel Brown of Taos, as well as a few local weavers with ancestral knowledge). ![]() Burns Mercantile building in Los Ojos, which housed Tierra Wools for 36 years). A local wool source was ready and waiting in the flocks of sheep raised in the area. And, like each handmade loom from the Colonial era onward, each of the Tierra Wools looms has its own story…Īs the idea for Tierra Wools began to pick up steam in the early 1980’s, the aspiring weavers worked hard to put all the necessary pieces in place to launch their venture. The looms used at Tierra Wools are modeled after this ancient design. These Colonial-era looms can be found today in museums and historic sites around New Mexico, and a few also remain in the homes of weaving families in the northern part of the state. Resourceful craftspeople often fashioned the looms using whatever materials were on hand: heavy rough-hewn beams, sinewy willow branches from the banks of waterways, homemade pulleys and cranks, and hand-carved gears. The quality of construction ranged from very fine to very crude. Over the centuries, the original European loom design was refashioned and replicated in homes throughout Mexico and what is now the Southwestern United States. The Rio Grande loom is a counter-balance floor loom whose ancestors were brought to the the North American continent from Spain in the 1500s. At Tierra Wools, we create our weavings and teach our classes on the Rio Grande Style walking loom. ![]()
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