We were lucky to catch up with Alexandra Forby recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alexandra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I sometimes feel like an outlier when it comes to this question as so many tend to put off their dreams and start their creative journeys later than they want. I, however, tend to look back and think I rushed into it too soon, though that may have to do more with the business side of being an artist than the creative side. Going to an art and design school for college may make it seem like I was always on this path, but at the time art was what I was known for at school and that made it feel like just the logical next step. I don’t know if I realized I was really choosing to be a professional artist, or the reality of what that meant. After graduating, I didn’t immediately start with a creative job, I was an administrative assistant. It was a desk job and I was ill prepared for it. Though I’m so thankful for the job, the income, the experience it taught me, I soon realized it was not a position I could stay in very long. I was itching to create, work with my hands, and stop feeling drained at the end of every work day, but I don’t think I was ready to become a creative entrepreneur. I just didn’t have the business savvy or legal know-how to go it on my own. Nor did I really have the knowledge about my craft at the time. I was learning all of it on the job. I was a painting major in school and decided to start weaving textiles, which very quickly became my business. If I could go back and convince myself (which probably would have been impossible as I was very head strong), I would suggest trying to find a creative job under someone else or a company first to learn important trade and business skills. It’s the same advice I give all my interns now. I still feel like I’m always playing catch up either in my weaving proficiency or business or sales. I don’t really know if there was any other path for me and I don’t regret my business at all, I love what I do, but I do wish I had a few more years of experience before getting started.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hey! I’m Alex. I started my weaving business, Daughter Handwovens, about 7 years ago in Savannah, GA. I use traditional weaving techniques to create home goods like hand towels and throw blankets and wearables like scarves and tops. I think weaving is an endlessly interesting process and I am always impressed by the ingenuity of people past and present who have created beautiful complex weaving structures. Sharing this craft with others and helping bring these traditional hand made items to people’s homes is a great joy of mine. Over time I’ve learned more and more about the amount of waste and cheaply made items made by poorly paid workers that flood our markets and I hope that one woven item at a time I can inspire people to make wiser and more beautiful choices with their money.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In today’s world money is power and no matter how much or little of it you have what you give your money to fuels the supply. We are also a culture that has slowly lost the idea of delayed gratification, wanting what we see when we see it. Dollar stores and dollar sections help to feed our impulsive buying habits and 1 day shipping has made us an impatient people. So what can society do to help creatives and artists? Be thankful, be patient, and be inspired. We take so many things for granted and have forgotten to be thankful for the everyday pleasures. We take art and design for granted because things can be reproduced by machines in alarming rates. Creating beautiful things takes time, learning the skills to create beautiful things takes even longer. Artists are not machines. They need time to live, be inspired, create, share. Competing with poorly paid laborers and machines can force artists to cheaper and rushed designs. When society chooses to fuel the fast and cheap the creative ecosystem suffers. So I’d urge society to choose to delay a purchase to save up for something longer lasting, artisianally made, rather than the impulse or trendy buy. Then the power of your money will fuel humans, artists, rather than corporations and tyrants.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

When starting my business the mission was to inspire and share my love of home and the beauty of this slow process, weaving, with women. I love being home, making it a place of invitation, of community, and of rest. For a long time a felt society’s pressure to not give in to the female stereotypes of homemaking and “women’s craft”, but over time I’ve learned to embrace my love for these things and not be ashamed that I love cultivating my home more than making a name for myself in business or politics. At the same time, being a Christian, I’ve seen how many people will see the work I do and think I am giving in to a different stereotype – “women belonging at home”. But this is also not actually the biblical view of women. Take the Proverbs 31 woman, often misquoted and misunderstood. This woman is an entrepreneur, a go-getter, and leader in her household, a provider. She is also creative, generous, kind, considerate. We can be both, we can love both, we are not so easily defined.

Contact Info:

• Website: daughterhandwovens.com
• Instagram: @daughter_handwovens
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmsHEor0y26aSL5-AfBrqg

Image Credits
All photos are by Jordan Petteys