Weave A Real Peace - WARP

26/05/2026

✨ FREE & OPEN TO ALL! ✨

Discover incredible handmade textiles, fiber art, weaving supplies, apparel, jewelry, home goods, and more at the Canadian Artisan Marketplace during the 2026 WARP Annual Gathering in Guelph, Ontario!

Meet talented Canadian artisans and vendors from across the country, shop one-of-a-kind handmade goods, and experience the creativity and craftsmanship of the textile arts community — no conference registration required!

🛍️ Free admission
📍 University of Guelph University Centre, Guelph, Ontario
📅 June 25 5:30-9:30pm

Whether you’re a weaver, maker, textile lover, artist, or simply curious, everyone is welcome. Bring your friends, family, and fellow craft lovers!

Come celebrate Canadian textile arts and support amazing independent artisans. 💛


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24/05/2026

⏰ Don’t miss your chance to join us in Guelph, Ontario for the 2026 WARP Annual Gathering this June 24–28!

Registration closes June 1, and some of our Friday field trip experiences have limited space and are filling quickly.

From visiting touring fibre farms and alpaca operations, to a day trip to Niagara Falls, this year’s Gathering offers so much more than workshops and presentations. Bring your family, explore southeastern Ontario, connect with fellow textile lovers, and immerse yourself in vibrant artisan communities, museums, cafés, galleries, and rural fibre traditions. Want more ideas of what to do in the region? Check out our blog post with suggestions at: https://weavearealpeace.org/having-fun-in-ontario-june-24-28-2026/

Whether you’re excited about textiles, culture, food, nature, or community, there’s something for everyone at this year’s Gathering.

Secure your spot today at: https://weavearealpeace.org/2026-annual-gathering/

Weave a Real Peace (WARP) is a networking organization of weavers, academics, and interested supporters who value the importance of textiles to communities around the world.

18/05/2026

✨ Spotlight: Terra Experience ✨

For more than 20 years, Terra Experience has partnered with Mayan artisan families across Guatemala to create beautifully handcrafted textiles, doll clothes, and accessories rooted in tradition, culture, and fair trade values. 🇬🇹

Led by Lynn Persson, Terra Experience is especially known for its fair trade 18” doll clothes designed to fit American Girl dolls, including handwoven “mini-huipils” and traditional outfits made by artisans from different Guatemalan villages. Each purchase helps support artisan families and contributes to keeping children in school. ❤️

Discover more in their WARP ADC listing: https://weavearealpeace.org/terra/
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Each Monday, we introduce you to a different artisan business from WARP’s Artisan Direct Connect (ADC)—a directory of members preserving traditional techniques, supporting communities, and shaping a more ethical textile future.

✨ Features like this are just one of the many perks of being a WARP member! Not a member yet? Join us and become part of our global textile community.

👉 weavearealpeace.org/join

15/05/2026

Only TWO more weeks to register for in-person attendance to WARP’s 2026 Annual Gathering this June 24–28 in Guelph, Ontario.

Join a vibrant community of artists, regenerative fiber farmers, sustainability innovators, scholars, makers, and textile lovers from across the globe for five days of learning, inspiration, and connection as we explore the theme "Cultivating Connection: Land, Fiber, and the Human Thread"🌿🧵

https://weavearealpeace.org/2026-annual-gathering/

A special highlight of this year’s Gathering is keynote speaker Naomi Smith, an award-winning Indigenous artist, maker, and educator whose work explores ancestral beadwork traditions, Indigenous resilience, and the ongoing impact of colonial histories through the story of beads.

✨ Explore the future of sustainable and regenerative fiber systems
✨ Visit local farms, mills, museums, and artisan marketplaces
✨ Meet fellow textile enthusiasts who care deeply about how land becomes cloth — and cloth becomes culture
✨ Experience WARP’s beloved Fashion Show, Live Auction, and Cloth & Conversation gathering

Whether you weave, spin, sew, collect, research, farm, or simply love textiles, this is a gathering unlike any other.

📍 Guelph, Ontario, Canada
📅 June 24–28, 2026
⏰ In-person registration closes June 1
Register now and join us in cultivating connection through fiber, community, and shared creativity.

14/05/2026

What happens when travel becomes connection, cultural exchange, and direct support for artisans around the world? 🌎🧵

Join WARP next Thursday, May 21 for Continuing Textile Traditions: Impact of Textile Tours, a free panel discussion exploring how textile tours are transforming the way travelers engage with craft communities and Indigenous textile traditions.

https://weavearealpeace.org/warp-events/continuing-textile-traditions-textile-tours/?occurrence=2026-05-21

Hear firsthand from travelers whose journeys introduced them to extraordinary artisans, rural communities, ancestral weaving techniques, and the stories woven into every handmade piece. From meaningful cultural exchange to supporting women artisans and local economies, this conversation will explore the lasting impact these experiences can have on both visitors and communities alike.

Whether you’re a textile enthusiast, traveler, artist, maker, or simply curious about ethical and community-centered tourism, this event is for you.

📅 May 21, 2026
⏰ 2:00 PM ET
🎟️ Free & open to all
💻 Register even if you can’t attend live to receive the recording!

13/05/2026

🌎✨

We’re proud to celebrate Dakota Mace (Diné), a former WARP scholarship recipient, whose new public artwork Indigenous Presence has been commissioned by MTA Arts & Design for Bowling Green in New York City: https://www.mta.info/agency/arts-design/collection/indigenous-presence

Through photography, weaving, and experimental processes, Mace explores Indigenous memory, identity, and the living histories held within the land. Drawing on the Diné concept of ałk'idáá — where past, present, and future exist in continuous relationship — Indigenous Presence invites viewers to reconsider the stories embedded in urban spaces.

Dakota’s work reflects the power of textile-informed and interdisciplinary art to preserve culture, spark dialogue, and honor community histories. We are thrilled to see a WARP scholarship recipient continuing to make such an important impact through her work.

Congratulations, Dakota Mace — and thank you for sharing your vision with the world.

13/05/2026

We’re excited to see WARP featured in tomorrow’s Fibre-Side Chat hosted by Ontario Fibreshed and the Wool & Fibre Network!

WARP Co-Founder Deborah Chandler and current board member Rocio Mena Gutierrez will join the Fibreshed Ontario for a conversation exploring textile traditions, fiber communities, natural dyes, and the power of global connection through textiles.

🧶 Tuesday, May 13
🕗 8 PM EST
💻 Hosted by the Wool & Fibre Network
Access the chat at https://www.skool.com/the-wool-fibre-network-6881

Ontario Fibreshed is doing important work to build regional fibre systems centered around local fibres, local dyes, and local labor, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of this conversation.

We hope you’ll tune in and help spread the word!

Fibre-Side Chat on the Wool & Fibre Network May 13, 8pm EST

Ontario Fibreshed hosts our next Fibre-Side Chat with Rocío Mena Gutierrez & Deborah Chandler of WARP.
WARP is Weave A Real Peace, an inclusive global network of individuals and organizations who value the social, cultural, historic, artistic & economic importance of textile arts.
Weave a Real Peace - Creating a Connected Textile Community - 2026 Annual Gathering https://share.google/jC3njJcPwHJ2mR6KD
Rocío Mena Gutierrez is a WARP board member from Mexico City. She is the founder of the brand ZIKURI & a natural dye passionate. Through her brand, Rocío unites her two passions: natural dyeing education & design. Rocío sees WARP as a way of connecting with amazing people and creating community around textiles.
Deborah Chandler spent half her childhood on a Colorado farm, living with livestock of all kinds. No one was talking about Fiber Sheds yet, but the consciousness was there. Fifty years later she is a weaver and avid supporter of WARP, a networking organization for people interested in all-things-textile-and-human-related to share their experiences and hopes with like-
minded people. Retired from teaching weaving and now author of four books on weaving and
weavers, Deborah has lived in Guatemala City for the past 26 years.
Access the chat at https://www.skool.com/the-wool-fibre-network-6881
LINK on the Calendar · The Wool & Fibre Network join for free. Live Chat costs $1 US to offset the cost for the platform.

12/05/2026

Join us tomorrow for a special Fireside Chat with WARP member Kathy McHenry! ✨

From pediatric healthcare to textile arts, Kathy’s journey weaves together creativity, social consciousness, and a lifelong exploration of color, design, and community. Raised on the East Coast with Midwestern roots and shaped by the transformative cultural movements of San Francisco during the Vietnam War era, Kathy brings a rich and thoughtful perspective to the world of textiles and craft.

📅 Wednesday, May 13
🕒 3 PM Eastern
💻 Free Members-only event
🔗 https://weavearealpeace.org/warp-events/meet-a-member-fireside-chat-with-kathy-mchenry/?occurrence=2026-05-13

If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time! Register now to join the live conversation or receive the recording afterward if you can’t attend live.

09/05/2026

Today on World Fair Trade Day, we celebrate the artisans, makers, and communities whose work deserves fair compensation, safe working conditions, and access to sustainable materials.

At Weave a Real Peace, this mission is at the heart of everything we do. We believe artisans should not only preserve cultural traditions — they should be able to thrive because of them.

That’s why we’re continuing to raise funds for WARP’s 2026 Artisan Grant Fund. The more we raise, the more grants we can award to artisans and textile communities around the world.

There’s still time to donate through the end of May and help increase the number of grants we give out this year. Every contribution helps expand opportunity, sustain craftsmanship, and strengthen fair trade in action. Help us say "Yes" to more artisans by giving today at: weavearealpeace.org/donate and designating your gift to "Artisan Support Grants."

Join us in celebrating and supporting artisans today and every day.

Pictured: 2025 WARP grantees: Sharing the Dream (Guatemala), Koperativa LO'UD (East Timor), Tunnizze Creation (Nigeria), Women's Cooperative LEPO LORUN (Indonesia)