March 28, 2024

Of warp and weft

How Nathan Hamilton crafted a living

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In 2016, Nathan Hamilton of Creston took a leap of faith and opened a quaint weaving studio and rug shop on Maple Street appropriately named “Thrums Up.” The fringe edge of a rug, or thrums, is what inspired its name.

After less than a year in business, Hamilton did what many first time store owners do – he closed its doors. However, Hamilton never stopped weaving, or believing that he could make a go of it.

Hamilton’s absence on Maple Street has left some people wondering where he’s disappeared to, but Hamilton has been growing his business at Creston Farmers Market and partnering with local businesses such as Create Creston and Dirt & Gloss, where he displays and sells his woven wares. He attributes his success to the sense of community he sees in Creston and said, despite not having his own storefront, this year has been his best yet.

The beginning

It has been nearly six decades since Hamilton was first introduced to weaving as a 12-year-old while vacationing with his family in Mount Pleasant.

“I just thought it looked fascinating,” said Hamilton.

Over the years, Hamilton admired the work of other weavers and periodically self-studied the craft. However, in the early 1980s, he found himself married with two small children and in need of a new career.

“A lady in town had a loom. It was was what I wanted to do, so I tried it,” he said.

On his century-old loom, Hamilton and his then wife Robin started a small business called “Ruggedly Yours.” The couple traveled the folk art scene from Vermont to Texas selling their rugs but attempted to focus on wholesale orders to expand their business and keep their children grounded in one location.

Hamilton said trying to meet the needs of the wholesale market was difficult and maintaining consistency in their hand-dyed wools used in the rugs was challenging. While his wife focused on perfecting the batches of dyed wool; for Hamilton, it wasn’t working and it stifled his creativity.

“We spent more time kind of trying to work than actually doing something,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Hamilton and Robin saw some success in their efforts and realized rug making could become a viable business when their rugs were featured in a 1987 edition of  former magazine Country America.

“The Judds were on the cover and we were the centerfold,” he said.

Hamilton said the article gave them a lot of attention, but it was toward the end of their run of their business.

“I wanted to do what I am doing now ... so, I quit,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said it was also difficult to be profitable before the e-commerce for independent makers was available.

“If you didn’t do traveling shows and things like that, you basically had no outlet,” he said. “By the time all was said and done, a show would cost $1,000.”

With booth rents, hotels, travel expenses and two small children to care for, the Hamiltons decided it was time to close up shop in the late 1980s.

A year after dissolving their weaving business, Hamilton and his wife divorced, but his love for weaving remained.

Revisiting a first love

For Hamilton, weaving has always been his passion. Creating works of art for others to enjoy is what he loves. So, five years ago, he decided to give the business another shot.

In 2014, Hamilton found an old loom at an estate sale and purchased it for $300.

“It’s my main loom. It’s still what I do everything on,” he said. “Big looms are hard to find and terribly expensive.”

Since moving his studio into his home, where he has a handful of looms, Hamilton is able to invest more time and money into the actual product.

Hamliton’s rugs are made from strips of anything ranging from feed sacks to wool military blankets and denim and cotton blankets. He compares the process to that of making a quilt.

“Instead of using square pieces, I’m using strips. It’s all a matter of how you lay it out. It’s a matter of art and color,” said Hamilton.

Now that Hamilton has full creative control of his business, Hamilton experiments with a different colors and combinations. In recent years, he has partnered with local batik and tie-dye artists, Rodney and Rachel Phillips of Creston.

“The response has has been great. People tell me I’m very good,” he said.

While he has nearly 100 rugs ready for a home, he also is commissioned to make custom woven rugs. Within some commissioned rugs, Hamilton has included sentimental textiles provided by his clients, such as clothing, feed and seed sacks or blankets, which he tears into strips and weaves into the work.

Events

Hamilton’s rugs are on display 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays at Creston Farmers Market in McKinley Park, and he will have a large display at the Prairie Art Exhibit Sept. 7 to Oct. 7 at Henry Wallace Country Life Center, 2773 290th St. in Orient.

For more information