By Tim Pompey | Photos by Viktor Budnik
Tucked away in a Camarillo business alcove is a small nonprofit that specializes in something unique — providing diverse people a chance to weave and discover their artistic talents. These individuals might be on the autism spectrum, born with Down syndrome, or have other physical challenges that limit their mobility. Welcome to Threadbender Textiles, a nonprofit that seeks to inspire confidence and artistic creativity among an audience that might otherwise be overlooked.
“We call ourselves neurodiverse because we have a lot of people who are developmentally different in how they think about things,” Angela Moore, the studio director, said of the community that the organization has built.
At Threadbender, students are supplied with the tools (including looms), textiles, materials and teachers needed to learn the processes for weaving, sewing, fabric arts and other types of artistic endeavors. Here, confidence is built around gentle persuasion, warm patience and persistent productivity. Students study a wide variety of arts, including weaving on various-sized looms, sewing and embroidery, machine sewing, fiber art, crafts, fabric collages and quilting.
Amber Zavala has been a regular at Threadbender’s loom and sewing tables for the last six years.
“I enjoy everybody being there,” said Zavala. “I’ve made a lot of new friends.” She likes the challenges and beauty of weaving, although she sews as well. “I love learning new things, new patterns,” she explained. “I do a little bit of both, but I mostly do weaving.” She is skillful enough to do intricate patterns and is proud of her reputation. “My items sell out before I can get them on the shelves.”
Monica Spooner, along with her husband, Ron, founded Threadbender Textiles to help their daughter Abby. The name comes from the animated series “The Last Airbender.” Abby was determined to be a firebender. Spooner, who is a weaver, encouraged her daughter to become a threadbender instead, and the name stuck.
Launched as a home project, Spooner invited some of Abby’s friends to their house to learn weaving. Then, in the summer of 2015, she started a summer program for weaving at Studio Channel Islands. In the fall of 2015, Kindling Studios in Camarillo began a class for developmentally disabled people who wanted to do art and entrepreneurship. Since then, the work has continued and become focused on weaving and various types of fiber art.
Moore isn’t just the studio director: She and her daughter, Julia, are part of a group of students and volunteers who weave and create other forms of art. Julia has been part of this program from its inception. She loves the chance not only to weave but to form meaningful friendships.
“I like having new friends,” Julia said. She considers herself a master weaver and creates a variety of projects. In addition to weaving, she also works with canvas, collage and watercolors.
Threadbender relies on a faithful group of volunteers to help with its classes. As Moore explains, “Most of our adult volunteers come in not knowing how to weave, and we teach them all aspects of both weaving, setting up looms and working with sewing. Since we’re good at teaching our students, we’re also good at teaching our volunteers.”
Michelle Gannes is one of those volunteers. Gannes, a former special ed teacher at the Los Angeles Unified School District, is a member of the Ventura County Handweavers and Spinners Guild (vchsg.org). She learned about Threadbender Textiles by word of mouth. Gannes found that working with the organization filled a need for meaningful post-retirement activity. She teaches weaving and various fiber arts, plus knitting and crocheting.
by the program participants.
“This is one of my favorite things in the whole world to do,” Gannes said. “Every Wednesday, I look forward to being with the gals and guys. I love these guys.”
While Spooner worked to create some teaching guidelines, Threadbender isn’t shy about finding new ways to meet its students’ needs. Where there’s an interest, there’s a willingness to dig around and discover new learning materials. Moore described this process as “organic.”
Threadbender strives to create a safe artistic space. “We work with people with diverse talents and needs, and we walk them through those needs to allow them to use their talents,” Moore noted. What’s remarkable about this program is the discovery of creative instincts among people who might not be thought of as artistic. “Once you arrange the process — whether it be weaving or sewing or art — to their abilities, then they explode into being able to create beautiful things. They have tremendous abilities. Focusing on that and helping them see that is important.”
Moore described a 50-year-old student who wanted to weave on a small table loom. She was elated to find she could make something. This student weaved scarves for veterans and a scarf for her sister. Moore described the change in her personality. “You just watched how she blossomed not only in this but in how she viewed everybody around her and herself. She just bloomed.”
So, how does Threadbender make weaving understandable? “We do almost everything hands-on,” Moore described. “We start simple. We make sure they have hands-on action for it. If they’re missing an element, we either back down or stop and move on to something else. In weaving, we don’t do a lot of explanation of structure. We make the structure. Their projects are based around small groups of repetitions until it’s ingrained, and then we add on another level.”
The objects sold in the Threadbender store include kitchen items, shawls, scarves, tote bags, baby blankets, headbands and other sewing projects. Students sell their own items and receive commissions from their sales. Customers are welcome to stop by and visit during open hours, Monday through Friday. Quarterly sales are announced in the newsletter.
Moore emphasized that “we’re building a community of like-minded people, and we’d like to support like-minded people who see that people need a space to expand and create and develop the skills to create.”
Given all the projects on display in the store, you can sense and observe just how creative and happy this small hive of busy artists has become.
Threadbender Textiles
4023 Camino Ranchero, Unit C, Camarillo
www.threadbendertextiles.org
