'Island Weaver' Now Part Of Village At Winona Fabric
Posted
Daniel Riordan-driordan@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE - An Arizona transplant, Lauri Hoover choose the Village at Winona as the place for her first business venture.
This week she opened The Island Weaver at 807 E. Canal St.
It's a creative fiber studio and yarn shop.
A grand opening event will be held in May, but the store is currently fully operational.
Classes on weaving, knitting and spinning will be taught there. Yarns and supplies also will be sold.
Hoover has been weaving for 20 years. She moved to the area in November with her husband, Alan.
She raised and sheared sheep to get wool. That allowed her to know the process literally from beginning to end.
She's also showed her skills at folk art festivals across the country.
Hoover said she wants to combine the artistic nature of what she does while also showing its functionality.
Things like dish towels, rugs and clothing are some of the things that will be created at The Island Weaver to show how weaving and knitting can be an artistic outlet as well as one that can save you time and money.
"There are so many ways to do things with fiber," said Hoover.
She's brought in her daughter-in-law and Winona Lake native, Lydia Hoover, formerly Lemaster, to help with the store.
You may also find her two grandchildren, Titus and Isabele, in the store from time to time.
To make The Island Weaver kid friendly, part of the 1,300-square-foot building has a kids section where kids can play.
There is also a sitting area where people can knit or weave and socialize.
Besides the open knitting, Hoover also plans to have "porch projects" overlooking the canal as the weather gets better.
Hoover said she wanted her studio to be a place where people could come together, socialize and enjoy each other's company while also creating.The two-story building features a showroom and sales floor on the first floor while the second floor will be where classes are taught.
The Island Weaver is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For more information on classes or the store, call 574-268-YARN or visit www.theislandweaver.com
