The Weaving Mill is an artist-run industrial weaving studio in Chicago. We make projects of our own, textile and otherwise, that respond to the practice of running a small industrial mill. We produce small runs of home textiles and apparel, and create fabric in collaboration with other artists and designers. In partnership with social services agency Envision Unlimited, we provide textile education workshops for adults with developmental disabilities and host an annual artist residency program. In all these realms, we aim to fill the space between the hand and industrially made and bring the mechanics of textile production into wider view.
WEST TOWN EDUCATION FOR TEXTILES (W.E.F.T.) is a textile education program run by The Weaving Mill in partnership with social services agency Envision Unlimited. We facilitate open-studio textile workshops in handweaving, sewing, and object design for adults with developmental disabilities. Proceeds from W.E.F.T. project sales support the program’s operation and pay the participants for their work.