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GUILD HISTORY
Beata I. Fergin wrote, “The Hand Weavers’ Guild of the Inland Empire was organized May 23rd of
1948 by fifteen women and men as charter members.”
In the late 40s and early 50s meetings were held at members’ homes. In order to apply to join the
guild at that time you were expected to submit 3 finished pieces that showed you had acceptable skill
as a weaver, you must have a guild member sponsor you, and you must be voted in by a majority of
the membership.
The third Pacific Northwest Weaving Conference was held in Spokane, May 26 - 28, 1967, at the
Davenport Hotel. One of the opening events of the conference was a style show of fashions and
accessories made of handwoven materials. Approximately 118 garments and 12 accessories were
modeled by women from all over the state.
By 1968 the guild was meeting in a variety of public places, such as the Corbin House, the REA
building, Finch Arboretum,and the Inland Power and Light Company building.
By summer of 1979 The Inland Empire Hand weavers’ Guild was mailing out a newsletter on
stationery designed by B. Carsrud, a simple graphic of 5 heddles with a warp end centered in each
eye. The news for June was that the Ninth Biennial Conference of the Association of Northwest
Weavers’ Guilds (ANWG) was to be held June 14-17, 1979 on the campus of Whitworth College.
Space for all interested guilds was a concern, as the number of associated guilds had increased from
forty-six to fifty-nine between June of 1977 and the time of the conference in 1979.
Between 1979 and 1981 the name was changed from Inland Empire Weavers’ Guild to The Spokane
Handweavers’ Guild and the group was granted state nonprofit status as a public benefit corporation.
In 1982 an ambitious Guild Project was undertaken. A large 8 foot by 16 foot wall hanging was
commissioned by the Spokane Art Commission for the new City Hall. Titled “Barnacles & Fans,” the
piece was a marine inspired mural designed by Ken Weaver, a noted Atlanta fiber artist. Mr. Weaver
designed and supervised the weaving and installation. Guild members donated the labor, materials,
weaving time and installation. Many hundreds of hours of weaving, construction, and wall painting
were contributed by 29 Guild members. There are 250 Barnacles and 12 Fans covering the wall on
the lobby level of the City Hall. It is an imposing and unusual piece and is open to viewing daily.
The project for 1984 was a large 10 foot by 10 foot wall hanging woven for the Council Chamber in
City Hall. Introduced June 1984 at the general meeting, this project was finished and ready to
transport by March 1985. B. Lukins supervised the design and 20 guild members in the Finn Weave
Workshop donated the weaving of 63 large square panels in 27 colors representing Spokane as the
Heart of the Inland Empire, surrounded by lakes,rivers, streams, hills forest, fields and mountain.
D. and B. Roark organized the assembly, mounting and transportation of the completed piece to the
NW Conference in Eugene, Oregon, where it won top honors. They also returned it to Spokane and
mounted it in the City Hall. Our Guild has a scrapbook devoted to this unique project.
In the nearly 60 years that this organization has existed, American handweaving has seen several eras
of fashion pass. Through them all, handcrafters continue to meet, to work and to study. The real
history of this Guild lies in the information stored in the mind and home of each person who has ever
been a loyal and dedicated officer or committee member, without whom our volunteer group would
cease to exist.
(These time line highlights are based on writings by P. Lersch, long time guild historian, which are
stored within the guild scrapbooks. Many other core members have been generous with comments
and additions to these records. B. Lukins has been especially helpful with information and support.
P. Daniels has been ever willing to verify photos. Many other long time guild members have had a
hand in building this history.)
J. Olsen,
Guild Historian/Archivist
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