About Hilda de Weever and de Weever’s Wovens

Hilda weaving

In 2019, Hilda de Weever celebrated her 40th year in business.

De Weever’s Wovens grew in her backyard studio in the picturesque Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.

Her Aylesford studio is a circle of large windows that shed light on shelves of colour and racks of completed designs.  As the weaver’s loom beats a hypnotic tune, creations mature from mere yarn.  Hilda is an artist whose patterns and colour combinations have evolved into a rich reflection of fashion and an enhancement of the human figure.

Spools of yarn

In 1971, when Hilda attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSDCC), she chose weaving as an elective.  It soon captured her imagination. There she developed her own style of “overshot” weaving from traditional threading patterns.

cones

When she finished her studies, she continued weaving as a hobby until she found a position with the Scott Hunter Fibre Arts Group in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, in 1976.

Two years later she returned to Nova Scotia to start her own business and raise her daughter in an environment nurturing for both.

  • Shuttle
  • Hilda's hand
  • Weaving
  • Shuttle and bobbin
  • Warp and weft
  • Sewing machine
  • The shuttle
  • Knitting machine
  • Looms in the studio
  • pedals
  • Pedals

Hilda has enjoyed considerable exposure and acclaim through various exhibitions and shows, including “A Celebration of Textiles,” an exhibition of handwoven yardage by 20 Nova Scotia hand weavers presented by the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax; and “All the Colours of the Rainbow – Wearable Art” with Holly Carr at the Ballroom Gallery in Halifax.  Hilda was also a co-founder of the former Weave Shed Crafts Cooperative of Wolfville, which had its roots in her backyard studio.

Jan de Graaf and Hilda de Weever in the studio in Aylesford, Nova Scotia
Jan de Graaf and Hilda de Weever in the studio in Aylesford, Nova Scotia

Hilda and her husband Jan de Graaf have traveled across Canada to various juried shows to sell their creations and get feedback from their customers.  Visitors are also welcome at their Aylesford studio. Many are drawn there through their brochures which are distributed at tourist bureaus.

At de Weever’s Wovens, custom fitted clothes are a specialty. Quality is a priority, as is colour.  And as Hilda says, “The end product should be affordable and look nice on someone.”

Haiku for Hilda

Patterns in her mind
Beat out a ceaseless rhythm
And flow on the loom

©Sharon Laska, 1997