Guidelines for Triangle Weavers Shows
The guild holds an annual sale and exhibit at Duke Hospital during the month of December and additional shows and exhibits during the year as opportunities arise. These are open to all members and are subject to the guidelines outlined below.
Members may also choose to offer their work for sale at various other venues, either individually or as a group, and set their own criteria and standards for what can be included. These activities should not be designated as guild activities, and members should not use Triangle Weavers hang tags.
All items in the Duke show are available for purchase during designated days and times. The entry fee for the Duke show is $5 to cover costs of publication, hang tags, gift bags, etc., and a 5% commission is retained from each sale and donated to Duke Hospital. Fees and commissions for other shows will be established as needed.
All items submitted to guild shows should be original work, handmade by the member. Members should pay particular attention to copyright issues when work is offered for sale. Items may not be reproductions of pieces from any published source, including but not limited to Handwoven Magazine.
Items may be submitted to the Duke sale one time only. If an item does not sell at a Duke showcase sale, it may not be submitted in following years, although it may be entered in other guild-sponsored shows. The intent is that items in the Duke showcase be new and fresh each year so that each year’s show is exciting and different.
Emphasis in all shows will be on handwoven items made on a loom. This encompasses many weaving techniques and many types of looms. Other techniques that fall within the scope of the guild include basketry, felting, (needle felting and wet felting), spinning, and braiding (Kumihimo and split ply). Knitted and crocheted items are generally not included unless they have been felted or are made from yarn that is hand spun by the member. Non-woven techniques such as beading and embroidery can be incorporated as embellishment, and commercial fabrics can be combined with handwoven materials in items such as clothing, purses and tote bags.
All items submitted should be of the highest quality with no threading or treadling errors, no knots, even selvedges and beat, careful finishing, and appropriate edge treatments. The fiber content and care instructions should be supplied with the item where relevant, and wall art pieces should be submitted in a form ready to hang. Adherence to these standards will be verified by the exhibitions committee. Items not meeting these standards will be returned, and the submitter may make necessary modifications or withdraw those items from the show.
In addition to meeting technical standards, members submitting work should strive for maximum creative expression. While a balance of small and large items is desirable and some items may be relatively simple and correspondingly lower priced, a major goal is to showcase artistic talent. The number of pieces accepted per member depends on the space limitations of the show location and is at the discretion of the exhibitions committee. The committee may also limit submissions of some types of work in keeping with artistic goals.
Pricing of items for guild shows should be considered carefully. Underpricing handwoven goods is a particular problem since it devalues the work and undercuts others participating in the sale. The exhibitions committee will be a resource for members to assist in determining prices and will have the final say if an item is priced significantly lower than comparable work.
Guild shows and sales are a major undertaking, and assistance from guild members is essential to their success. The Duke sale in particular requires many hours of volunteer effort during the sales shifts. Those individuals selling items are those primarily responsible for covering these shifts, although other members can and do help out. If you wish to submit items to the Duke sale and for any reason will not be available to work a shift, you must contact the exhibitions committee no later than November 1 prior to the December sale.
