Jeanette Larson & Shawn Hoefer
Shawn Hoefer, Jeanette Larson and Elena Augustine have been working together for more than eight years as Common Threads Fiber Arts and More. It’s a synergistic studio with Jeanette weaving, crocheting and spinning; Elena dyeing, spinning, crocheting and knitting; and, Shawn spinning and crafting fiber arts tools and more out of wood.
Jeanette’s grandmother taught her to crochet when she was eight. Her aunt taught her to weave when she was twelve. However, she set these crafts aside for the most part for many years as she explored other fields including dairy management, journalism, horse training and racing, costume design, dance, and performing and vending at Renaissance Festivals.
Shawn took a different track by studying fine arts including watercolors, pastels, acrylics, calligraphy and woodworking. However, deciding that the life of a starving artist was not for him, he switched his focus to computers and attended several years of college to learn computer languages. When he found out he’d have to stay in school forever to keep up, he switched again and combined what he knew at that point to become a graphic designer and webmaster.
As a graphic designer, Shawn met Jeanette when they worked at the same newspaper – she as managing editor and he as production manager. They discovered they both had a passion for living simply. Buying a farm together seemed only natural – as did raising goats…which led to guardian llamas and to the production of fiber.
Shawn likes to say he learned to spin accidentally while covering the Wool Festival at Taos for the newspaper. The spinning lesson stuck and he left the show with several drop spindles and about a pound of fiber. Jeanette thought it was cute and offered to crochet up the yarns that he spun. She didn’t really want to spin… at least not until she found out she could crochet faster then he could spin and, therefore, needed to learn to spin, too! When Jeanette started spinning yarn, she realized that her yarns would also be fun to weave.
Elena, meanwhile, watched Shawn spin and Jeanette return to weaving with more than a little amusement. After graduating from high school at sixteen and college at eighteen, she realized what she most wanted to do was be a shepherd and fiber artist. So, as the other children moved away to pursue their careers, she stayed and learned to spin, weave, knit and dye.
After three years of spinning, weaving, crocheting and dyeing, Jeanette found a new loom she wanted to try and convinced Shawn to build her one…and then one for her friend…and then maybe a carved weaving hook which looked like a crochet hook…and, if he could carve crochet hooks, perhaps he could try knitting needles…and maybe turn a drop spindle! It grew from there.
In his woodworking studio, Shawn turns drop-spindles, nostepindes and crochet hooks. When he’s at home, he carves knitting needles and builds TriLooms. Jeanette’s studio is just upstairs from Shawn’s woodworking studio. When she’s at home, she’s often found weaving and spinning. Lena’s studio is at home near the sheep, goats and rabbits that are her charges. It is there that she spins and dyes.
Jeanette is currently the Crafts Director at the Ozark Folk Center where Shawn is also employed and where he has added a new trade to his list – broom making!
Eclectic? Perhaps. Fun? Certainly. Boring? Never! Visit us at www.laffing-horse.com.