Posts by Samantha Wilde
You May Take Everything But Hope
“Hope is the thing with feathers,” wrote Emily Dickinson in her iconic poem. “That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all -” That’s an important poetic perspective, but also a human one: “never stops–at all–” As I wove “Hope Rising” during the week…
Read MoreWeaving Redemption
My work is about redemption. I mean that in both a practical and a profound way. Think about a redemption center where you return your bottles. You bring in something you can no longer use and get some money. And that no longer useable material? Well, it’s quite useable actually, and it will be transformed…
Read MoreThe Ocean is Not Blue
I lost a friend in these waters. But they sure are beautiful, aren’t they? Another dear friend of mine, a wonderful childhood friend, the friend who welcomed me when I moved at nine years old, when I had no other friends, his ashes are scattered in these waters that surround Nantucket. Even before Nantucket was…
Read MoreBeing Yourself?
I have been wanting, for awhile, to create a dress, a jumper really, that would be my “signature” dress in the Weaving Shop. I love dresses so this makes sense. I’ve worn dresses since I was a little girl, even though for most of my life they have not been the fashion. But I am…
Read MoreHaving a heart broken–and broken open
Not everyone has the experience of being sleep deprived from having an infant while preparing for a kid’s high school graduation. (And, in my case, everything in between!) My heart is pulled w-i-d-e. But you hardly need my specific situation to have a heart that is pulled in different directions, that is being at once…
Read MoreWhat is the cost of these flowers?
What is the cost of these flowers? And what the cost of this scarf? What is the cost of these colors? And what is the cost of my work? “Sam, you are a magician. I know you listen with your inner ears and see with your inner eyes and the result is unlike any other…
Read MoreMaking the Nantucket Blues
In my weaving studio, here with baby #6 helping out when she was just a wee thing, I weave on two different looms, a Saori and a 48” Ashford Rigid Heddle loom to create the signature Nantucket Blues scarves and wraps. Nantucket Blues scarves and wraps are inspired by the fictional store, Nantucket Blues, in…
Read MoreLessons in Failure
When my high school mentor passed on, I went to her Celebration of Life. This amazing woman, my English teacher, gave me so much in so many ways over the years I knew her. Clare Nunes was wise, witty, warm, inspirational, delightful, devastatingly funny. I loved her and she loved me. One of my favorite…
Read MoreA Playroom Full of Sorrow
It took me at least ten minutes to figure out what was happening. I’d gone to the library with my toddler, to the children’s playroom. As is often the case, we found many kids and caregivers. Only that day someone else was in the room, a woman sitting on a computer and typing. She looked…
Read MoreDid we just go back to “normal?” Because it’s not working.
Do you remember in the beginning of the pandemic how deeply we wanted things to just “go back to normal?” And as certain things did, there was a sense of relief and a return from our exile. A sigh-like feeling of “Yes. This is how it’s supposed to be. I’m back in a giant indoor…
Read More