FEATURED MEMBER
Maggie Silva
Raynham, MA
How long have you been a member of Weaver's Word?
I’ve been a member from the beginning year.
How long have you been weaving?
I've been weaving and teaching for 25 years. I've also written several instruction booklets and give a few lectures on both basketweaving and Northeast Indian Sweetgrass Baskets.
(Here is a 6" round "petticoat" basket with cherry staves and base.
Handle is cherry overlaid with ivory, ivory ears and knobs, and an ivory "petticoat".)
Do you remember your very first basket and do you still have it?
Yes, I do! It was a small reed market basket and I use it every day. It is filled with clip clothespins that I use for clamping rims on Nantucket baskets.
Who has influenced, encouraged, or mentored you the most along the way?
I am mostly a self-taught basketmaker. Having taught primary children and children with special needs, I began to teach my friends after making 3 baskets. I have learned by doing! My husband, Ed, a retired cabinet maker, and Dave Brown of DELS have always been there for me as I try to develop new and different designs. I laugh at Dave when I present a new ivory design, because I get the same look as I get at home from Ed and my son, Jim! Early on in my second career my husband made my moulds and bases. Then when he retired again, my son, Jim, took over. Jim makes my original moulds and turns my bases and lids. He is an accomplished woodturner with his own portfolio.
Who would you most like to meet in the basket weaving world and why?
Nap Plank because he does the most amazing miniatures. I have also met Fred Ely and seen his incredible one-of-a-kind baskets.
What basket weaving guild(s) do you belong to?
Northeast Basketmakers Guild, Penn-Jersey Basketmakers Guild and the North Carolina Basketmakers Association.
What is your favorite type(s) of basket to weave?
Nantuckets--especially miniatures
What is your favorite weaving media?
Cane and wood
How often do you weave?
Every day
Where do you weave? Do you have a dedicated area to weave and store your supplies?
I have a studio in my home where I teach and weave. I've included a picture taken in my studio.
(Students in class)
If you could attend 2 conferences/seminars/conventions/retreats in the next year, what would be the top 2 on your list?
NCBA and the AMB in Michigan
Do you have a sales outlet for your baskets? (festivals, fairs, consignment shop, website, basket parties, word of mouth, workshop, etc)
I sell to Hills of Nantucket, a shop on Straight Wharf. I also have a website and a few of my baskets are on Etsy.com.
Do you have a website where you promote your baskets?
My site is www.basketryetc.com which was designed by my son Jim. We are in the process of updating the site but who knows when it will be finished...........
Share with us either a weaving tip that you find helpful or an interesting bit of weaving trivia:
Because I pack as I weave, my husband and I developed a "packer" which I hold in my left hand as I weave. Based on the old "fat pencil" for primary children, this is a turned wooden handle with a sharp nail-like piece of metal at one end. With the packer I always have pressure on the weaver to insure nice, tight packing.
(Bicycle Basket)
Tell us a bit of "non-weaving" related information about yourself.
What else do you do, besides weaving, that adds to your enjoyment? (family, pets, hobbies, recreation, favorite vacation spot, etc.)
I enjoy genealogy (4 Mayflower lines which make me a 'Swamp Yankee'.); collecting antiques (I can never move--too much stuff!); collecting Indian Sweetgrass baskets (over 500 and counting); collecting Scottie items (Dundee is my 9 year old Scottish Terrier); and reading, gardening, Red Hatting, traveling etc., etc., etc.
If you have any comments or questions for Maggie, you can reached her via email @ maggie@basketryetc.com
Maggie, Thank you for taking the time to share a little bit about yourself with the Weaver's Words community.
Bonnie Krist
