In May, I started introducing fiber reactive dyes to our local fabric enthusiasts here in Iowa City. The venue where I’ve been teaching is Home Ec Workshop, a charming fabric & yarn shop/knitting circle/coffee shop and space for classes and equipment rentals, owned and operated tirelessly by two young women, Alissa Weinstein and Codi Josephson. Alissa is shown in the second picture below- she’s the one with the fabulous fiber-ous hair. In the second group of pictures, Codi and I team teach screenprinting and handpainting, with screenprinting one session and handpainting the screenprinted fabrics a second session. Codi has extensive experience teaching all age groups, having worked at UAY (United Action for Youth) here in Iowa City for a number of years. In watching Codi and Alissa, I recall the intense, never-ending amount of energy that running a new business entails. They seem to have the magic formula. Their clientele is a marketers’ dream, with many young people, families, and a host of us older ones, all attending knitting breakfasts or buying lively printed fabrics or taking classes. If stores are magical because they give us an environment to immerse ourselves in, then they have found that magic.
But back to classes: I will continue teaching basic dyeing and printing classes one or two times a month. And I’ll also be doing powerpoint presentations on my work to quilt guilds in the coming year.
Codi setting up a screen for exposure.
Washing out (above) and printing. We’re using fabric pigments, which do not drip and are very forgiving for novices.
