Guild History
From its earliest beginnings, the Northwest Arkansas Handweavers Guild has provided teaching and learning opportunities for its members and outreach to the wider community, including demonstrations for both children and adults.
Image from Arts and Crafts in the Ozarks by Bonnie Lela Crump
The Northwest Arkansas Handweavers Guild is not the only, or even the first, weaving organization to be formed in the area. However, it is the one that has survived and thrived to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding in 2024.
The Northwest Arkansas Handweavers Guild is not the only, or even the first, weaving organization to be formed in the area. However, it is the one that has survived and thrived to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding in 2024.
The Guild was formed April 5, 1949, at a weaving studio and shop in West Fork, Arkansas, by fourteen weavers. The earliest members were teachers of weaving, as well as artists and craftspersons, and that attitude of sharing was evident from the beginning.
In 1954, the Guild held a multi-day workshop at the home of the then-president, Blanche Elliott, on the War Eagle River in eastern Benton County. On the last day, friends were invited to see the work and an idea was born. That fall, other artisans were invited, along with the weavers, to show their work. Displays were set up in the house and in surrounding houses and stores. This was the first of what would become the Back to the Hills Arts and Crafts Festival, which has now grown to become its own well-known entity: the War Eagle Arts and Crafts Fair.
Robert Barnes, one of the Guild founders and the first president. Barnes designed the original NWAHG logo. Photo used with permission.
The Guild continued to hold workshops and many of its members were active participants in the War Eagle Fair and the Clothesline Fair held at Prairie Grove and other venues. By the late 1960s, membership had begun to decline and it was decided to cease meeting on a regular basis. The Guild’s small library, which was established in 1954, and its small treasury were donated to the Weaving Department at the School of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. November 1968 is the last meeting for which there are formal minutes. However, we believe there were informal meetings after that time.
In the early 1970s, a group of weavers and others formed the Arts and Crafts Union, later Arts and Crafts Guild, and opened a shop in Fayetteville representing weavers and other local craftspersons. The shop sold supplies, offered classes and served as an outlet for sales. This group formed the nucleus of the reborn Northwest Arkansas Handweavers Guild.
In 1977, the Guild began meeting again on a regular basis, elected officers, readopted the bylaws of the original Guild and has been actively supporting weaving and weavers ever since.
Brass plaque commemorating the Guild founding and founders. Photo by Sue Artiga.
The Guild is a regular participant in weaving demonstrations for both children and adults. Since 1987, it has been part of the annual Sheep-to-Shawl, now called Fiber to Fashion, at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Springdale; Fall Festival at Hobbs State Park; and Family Day at Rogers Historical Museum. Such events remain an important part of the Guild’s outreach activities.
In 1986, Guild members undertook a major group project in making a Friendship Coverlet. In 2009, a different group created another coverlet, both of which are now part of the Guild collection. Community projects have included Scarves of Human Kindness which resulted in many warm scarves donated to the Salvation Army and items for Ronald McDonald House.
2024 marks the Guild’s 75th anniversary. The primary focus of this year of celebration will be mini-exhibits at area libraries accompanied by programs and demonstrations and a major historical exhibit at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.