The first thing I noticed at Fern’s textile craft studio was the abundance of natural light in the scented suite. Inside, the space is filled with weaving rugs, crochets, punch needle cushions, embroideries and houseplants. This is where Jessica Fern Facette and her local textile artist friends take deep dives into weaving, hold crafting workshops and finding peace within.
“The tranquility I feel when I weave is the best feeling. It’s therapeutic, slow and kind of addictive,” smiles Facette as she works on a tea towel collection for Royal Bison.
Facette started crocheting as a teenager in her busy family kitchen, where her dad sewed welder beanies and her mom ground stained glass. After taking a weaving class in 2004, Facette became inseparable with looms, and continued to study in Alberta, Los Angeles and Hualhuas, Peru. She sells her hand woven items once a year at Royal Bison, and started to teach textile craft in 2017 due to popular requests.
“The best moment in my teaching is seeing people get into the zone. I love being in that space, and seeing their movements become more natural keeps me imagining that they’re in the same peaceful flow as I always do.”
To Facette, weaving is not only about textile, but it connects people together. Throughout the years, the instructor team at Fern’s School of Textile Craft kept expanding as artists with different talents joined in. While some of the artists live outside Edmonton, Facette and the team design seasonal classes in small batches. The school currently offers workshops on handwoven heritage brooms, tapestry weaving, intro to punch needle, crochet and tufting.
“Almost 20 years into weaving, I’m still discovering so many new possibilities in this art form,” says Facette. “I’m thinking of adding more self reflection into my work now. It’s a new field for me, but my intuition says give it a try, and I never refuse those intuitive thoughts.”
Shop Fern’s textile workshops and supplies in store at #1602 10350 122 St. or online at fernsschoolofcraft.com
This content was produced to support the Edmonton Made community. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Edify staff.
