Material Culture: Using Ancient Traditions to Create a Better Future Podcast

Textile and photo by Lisa Shobhana The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. We’re all part of a common thread – forever connected by the material language of touch, a tactile sensibility. The podcast is a part of Weaver House, a yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school located in Philadelphia, PA. The Weaver House creates heirloom textiles…

Textile and photo by Lisa Shobhana

The Material Culture podcast explores narratives of weaving, (text)iles, art, manufacturing, history, and the people, workers and artists whose stories create the framework and understanding of living with cloth. We’re all part of a common thread – forever connected by the material language of touch, a tactile sensibility.

The podcast is a part of Weaver House, a yarn shop, textile studio and weaving school located in Philadelphia, PA. The Weaver House creates heirloom textiles as homage to craft tradition and the dialect between maker and loom. Their woven practice is grounded in the idea of growing a tangible language, to regain tactility and a hand-making consciousness within the home and in relation to the body. They teach mindfulness and mediation throughout all of workshops, and believe that weaving can be therapeutic and healing.

Oct. 13: Episode 1: Gratitude, Tradition and Navajo Churro Wool with Nikyle Begay

Have you ever thought about where wool first starts off – the sheep itself? In this episode of Material Culture, we talk to Navajo shepherd and weaver Nikyle Begay to hear all about not only the process of raising sheep and processing wool – but also the deep spiritual connotations that has within Navajo culture. This episode is complete with beautiful stories of family, tradition and what it means to live in connection with your materials. Topics discussed include: the origin of sheep, yarn and roving production, connection to our ancestors and our traditions, and living in gratitude and appreciation for all parts of the process.

Oct. 20: Episode 2: Finding your Voice in Saori Weaving with Lisa Shobhana

Lisa Shobhana is a knitter, weaver, designer, and instructor who has taught hundreds of people how to knit. She is the author of Yarnplay and Yarnplay At Home. Her designs have appeared in a number of books, including Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘N Bitch. She has been a featured guest on HGTV’s Knitty Gritty. She is also an intuitive and astrologer who has written horoscope columns for numerous magazines and websites. She’s into dogs, meditation, chanting, animism, ancestral lineage healing, art, literature, film, delicious food, good wine, beautiful shoes, things made by hand, and craft as a spiritual practice.

Oct. 31: Episode 3: Interview with Orquidia Violeta
Orquidia Violeta is a Salvadoran-American textile artist. She combines mixed techniques — sewing, embroidery, knitting, weaving, appliqué, beadwork, dyeing, painting and drawing — to tell colorful stories on diverse salvage materials.