Matti Sloman [2007, Painting + 2014, MFA Textiles]
Emily Winter [2015, MFA Textiles]
Based in Chicago, IL
The Weaving Mill’s RISD Craft Gallery
The Weaving Mill is the collaborative studio of Matti Sloman and Emily Winter. We are an artist-run industrial weaving studio in Chicago. We make projects of our own, textile and otherwise, that respond to the practice of running a small industrial mill. We design and make fabric in collaboration with other artists and designers. Working with people of diverse textile experience, we aim to fill the space between the hand and industrially made and bring the mechanics of textile production into wider view. We design, create, and finish everything ourselves in our Chicago studio.
What are some of the most important practices for your creative process?
The Weaving Mill serves as a multifaceted organization: it’s our personal studio, a design studio, a classroom, a residency program, and a production facility. The unifying practices across all of these programs is a commitment to observation, research, and dedication to using overlooked or under-utilized resources whether it be yarn scraps, machinery or physical space. Our designed objects are mostly made with scrap or deadstock yarns. Using the materials available as the foundation, we think hard about how to design towards the best application, or end use, for the fabric we make. Aside from the Artist Collaborations, projects where we throw a lot of rules to the wayside, we strive for TWM objects to be accessible and timeless, but with playful personality.
How does your current creative practice tie into your time spent at RISD?
We co-founded The Weaving Mill in the summer of 2015 after meeting at RISD while earning MFAs in Textiles.
Is there a work/body of work that you are particularly excited about sharing with us at RISD Craft this year?
This year we will be bringing a collection of throw blankets, table napkins, bath and hand towels that we really stand behind. All the objects are machine washable, something we find to be important since we want these things to be loved and used without fear of feeling precious. The table napkins in particular are exciting since no two napkins are the same yet they are unified by materiality and by color. It’s a fun play on pattern mixing and we think makes for a stylish and unique table.
Anything else you’d like to share?
We were recently profiled for a very thoughtful piece in Ignant Magazine: https://www.ignant.com/2018/01/16/approaching-the-industrial-as-an-artist-the-weaving-mill-in-chicago/
We have been included in the New City Design 50: https://design.newcity.com/2018/03/01/design-50-who-shapes-chicago-2018/
And we were featured on Chicago Tonight for the work we do in collaboration with Envision Unlimited: https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/01/10/west-town-textile-studio-finds-common-threads-community