I'm Mary Rios, a.k.a. Village Weaver. My hobby and passion is hand weaving. I work on a floor loom with shuttle and thread, creating fabric. Color and fiber texture are what keep me planning the next project! In 2000 I learned the mechanics of weaving at the Bloomfield Birmingham Arts Center in Michigan and have studied in workshops under well respected nationally and internationally known weavers.

My goal is to make a piece of fabric that feels good and has a usefulness such as a towel or in wearables. Handwoven material is nothing like most everyday commerical fabric. It offers a hand and servicability commercially woven fabrics today simply cannot compete with. I work primarily in natural fibers either plant or animal such as cotton, linen,

hemp or wool. Natural fiber breaths, absorb and feel so wonderfully different. Depending on the weave structure, you will literally see the fabric dance with movement.Weaving’s components of art, science and math and skill create the final piece of fabric.

I have worked a fair amount with rayon chenille. I have honed a good combination on the mix that produces a scarf or throw with a beautiful, soft, luxurious hand. My favorite animal fiber is mohair. To me, living in Michigan, nothing feels better in the winter than mohair around my neck. Believe me, this isn't the scratchy stuff we think of as kids.

The traditional handcraft of weaving is painstakingly time consuming. A loom can take days to set up. It would not be uncommon to have many hours in threading a loom, not to mention the days of planning on paper, putting the thread on the beam, and this all happens before a shuttle ever passes through my warp threads!

Handwovens truly are a rare luxury. Each piece I make, whether it's a humble cotton dishtowel or silk fabric, is planned with careful consideration and woven with skill for a product that can be enjoyed for many years.

I work on many different looms and fiber - I also teach classes in my home studio.