May 15-18, Golden, Colorado
We’re thrilled to invite you to WARP’s 2024 Annual Meeting, where members will gather for learning, camaraderie, and networking. This year’s meeting will be held in Golden, Colorado May 15-18th. Golden is directly west of Denver, Colorado, at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. In addition to an exciting lineup of speakers from the region’s textile community, we have a number of fun networking opportunities including our annual Welcome Circle, live auction and fashion show, international vendor marketplace, and discussion groups. Learn more and register here:
The WARP Annual Meeting is open to members only. If you are not yet a WARP member and would like to attend, we welcome you to join. If you are interested in attending this year’s meeting, please join WARP today!
Meeting schedule
Wednesday, May 15th @ Denver Marriott West Hotel
Conference check-in will open at the hotel on Wednesday afternoon. It is a WARP tradition to start the Annual Meeting on the first evening with a Welcome Circle where everyone introduces themselves briefly. The 2024 Welcome Circle will be held on Wednesday at 7pm in the hotel.
Thursday, May 16th @ jefferson unitarian church
The program will begin on Thursday morning with presentations delivered by Lynda Teller Pete (keynote), Donna Brown, the 2024 Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship Recipients, and International Marketplace Vendors. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served on-site and shuttle transportation to and from the conference hotel will be provided.
Navajo tapestry weaver Lynda Teller Pete is originally from the Two Grey Hills, Newcomb, NM areas of the Navajo Nation, and she now lives in Denver. Weaving is a legacy in the Teller family. For over seven generations, her family has produced award-winning rugs in the traditional Two Grey Hills regional style. Along with her weaving, Lynda is collaborating with fiber art centers, museums, universities, fiber guilds and other art venues to educate the public about Navajo history and the preservation of Navajo weaving traditions. Lynda and her sister Barbara wrote Spider Woman’s Children, Navajo Weavers Today and How To Weave a Navajo Rug and Other Lessons from Spider Woman. Lynda’s Keynote presentation is entitled, Enduring Beauty: Weaving a Diné Family History.
Donna Brown is a fiber artist and passionate natural dyer from Denver, Colorado. She has over 30 years of experience natural dyeing and teaching in venues across the US and abroad including Penland School of Crafts and John C Campbell Folk School. She is the former owner of the Dyeworks – a natural dye company. Donna is an active Denver Botanic Gardens, Chatfield Farms volunteer who helped start the Janice Ford Memorial Dye Garden and contributed to an endowment to start the Cory Brown Memorial Dye Garden at the John C Campbell Folk School. Donna’s presentation, Growing a Natural Dye Garden, will tell the story of the Janice Ford Memorial Dye Garden, including a slide tour of the garden and a discussion of the research used to decide which plants to grow and the colors they produce.
A highlight of the Annual Meeting is learning about the work of the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship recipients via their presentations. The scholarship assists applicants ages 35 and under to attend the WARP Annual Meeting. Preference is given to students or recent graduates, but those pursuing non-traditional career paths related to WARP’s mission are also encouraged to apply. This year, the scholarship includes a complimentary 2-year membership with WARP, Annual Meeting registration costs, room and board, and travel expenses (up to $500 for domestic travel and up to $1000 for international travel). Applications are open for the 2024 scholarships until March 17th. Please click here to view details & to apply.
Friday, May 17th @ jefferson unitarian church
Friday’s program will feature presentations by Julia Gomez, Marilyn Murphy, Jill D’Alessandro, and Megan Osborne. The evening activities will include a fashion show featuring YOU and your “textile that tells a tale” and a much anticipated highlight: the annual live auction. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served on-site and shuttle transportation to and from the conference hotel will be provided.
Julia Gomez is an acclaimed Colcha Embroidery artist from New Mexico. Julia will open Friday’s program with her presentation, A Stitch Out of Time: A story of Colcha Embroidery in New Spain. Julia is among the few artists who spin Churro wool and weave sabanilla backing cloth for colcha embroidery. Since retiring in 2002, following a 36-year career teaching home economics in the Santa Fe public schools, Julia has devoted herself to colcha embroidery. She has participated in Spanish Market for eighteen years. Among many honors, she won Best of Show in 2010. Julia loves teaching children about hand-dying, hand-spinning, and hand-weaving.
Marilyn Murphy is an advocate for the preservation of vital craft-related communities, traditions, and knowledge around the world, and a lifelong supporter of textile makers and artists. She is currently a partner in Clothroads, an organization dedicated to supporting sustainable opportunities for Indigenous textile artisans, and was previously president of Interweave Media, owner of Chicago’s Weaving Workshop and the founder of the Textile Arts Centre in Chicago. Marilyn serves as board president for the nonprofit Andean Textile Arts, is a selection and standards committee member for the acclaimed International Folk Art Market, an advisory council member for the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising, and a mentor and advisor to many in the global textile community. Based in Fort Collins, CO, Marilyn is herself an accomplished textile artist and maker.
Jill D’Alessandro joined the Denver Art Museum as director and curator of the Avenir Institute of Textile Arts and Fashion in 2023. Prior to joining the DAM, Jill served as the curator in charge of costume and textile arts at The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. During her 21-year tenure in San Francisco, D’Alessandro developed over 25 exhibitions on a diverse variety of subjects, ranging from world textile traditions to twentieth- and twenty-first century fashion design. Serving as a curator of global textile collections has greatly informed her worldview and Jill is expressively interested in the study of textile arts as a vehicle to draw connections across cultures.
Megan Osborne is the Collections Manager and Assistant Curator of the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising at Colorado State University. She has curated many exhibitions including Walking in Beauty: Designs by Orlando Dugi, 2019 and Mr. Blackwell: Inspiration to Innovation, 2022. In addition to her curatorial work, Megan is responsible for the daily management and care of artifacts in the Avenir Museum Collection. She directs an active volunteer program and facilitates research with undergraduate and graduate students and visiting scholars. Megan will speak from the local institutional perspective of Denver’s unique contribution to textile arts.
Saturday, May 18th @ colorado school of mines
Colorado Weavers Day
On Saturday, we have the fantastic opportunity to join the local textile community for Colorado Weavers Day. The CWD program is extremely aligned with WARP’s interests, featuring presenters who are intimately involved in local fiber production and textile education. WARP Vendors will be able to continue doing sales during CWD and transportation from the conference hotel will be provided. Please learn more about the program and register for Colorado Weavers Day separately here. The CWD program is $65 for the daylong program. Colorado Weavers Day presenters include:
- Jane Levene, owner of Jefferson Farm Products Paco-Vicunas farm
- Cei Lambert, artist, entrepreneur, and educator at Colorado State University
- The Mountains and Plains Fibershed
- Bethany Chaney, Director of the John C. Campbell Folk School
Sunday, May 19th
While we have no official WARP program scheduled for this day, we have created a list of local points of textile-related interest for anyone who wishes to spend a day exploring the area. WARP’s room block at the Marriott Hotel includes the discounted room rate through Sunday evening for anyone wishing to stay an additional night. Please click here to view the list of local points of interest.
WARP’s International Marketplace will be open at select times throughout the conference.
Additional details
Meeting Location: All events will take place in Golden, Colorado. We have a block of rooms at the Denver Marriott West Hotel, located at 1717 Denver West Marriott Blvd, Golden, CO 80401. The WARP program on Thursday & Friday will be held at Jefferson Unitarian Church (JUC), located at 14350 W 32nd Ave, Golden, CO 80401. Colorado Weavers Day will be held at the Colorado School of Mines, located at 924 16th Street Golden, Colorado, 80401. We will provide transportation shuttles between the conference hotel and the meeting locations on the program days: Thursday, Friday, and also for Colorado Weavers Day on Saturday.
Meals: WARP’s meeting registration includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thursday and Friday, and breakfast on Saturday. The Colorado Weavers Day registration includes lunch on Saturday. Provided meals will accommodate most dietary needs and you will have the chance to specify when completing the meeting registration form.
WARP’s Annual Auction: We are gearing up for our much anticipated annual auction! This year we will have a live auction during the Annual Meeting in May, and also an online silent auction in October. For both auction events, we are seeking gently used or new ethnic textiles and clothing. We also include books, baskets, handmade jewelry, textile related handmade pictures, and other items related to WARP’s mission. Please check your drawers, closets, and studios for treasures that you would like to donate. If you are attending the Annual Meeting, you may bring your auction donations with you. For those who are not attending in person, but would like to make a donation, please email us.
2024 Fashion Show: Share the WARP stage on Friday night by being part of a fun and casual fashion show! Bring something wearable you’ve made, or a textile treasure you’ve brought from around the world. When you register, we’ll give you a 3″x5″ card to write out 2-3 sentences about what it is, how it was made, who made it, and so forth. Humor encouraged but not required. Limit 2 pieces per person, and it’s fine to recruit a model if you wish. Join us for this fun evening event and appreciate all our talent and taste.
Vendor Marketplace: The International Marketplace is always inspiring, and filled with textiles from around the world! This is a WONDERFUL place to purchase unique textiles directly from the artisans who made them, or from WARP members working to promote the work of artisans they work with. The vendor marketplace will be open on Thursday, Friday, and also Saturday during Colorado Weavers Day. If you wish to be a vendor, please indicate your interest when you complete the meeting registration, or email us directly.
Conference costs
Meeting Registration:
WARP Meeting cost includes speaker fees, program facility fees, and meals. This year, we have a special Student Rate! For anyone interested in attending just the Thursday or Friday program, we also have a Single Day Registration option.
Registration for the conference will remain open until May 1.
- Full Meeting registration is $380.
- Student Rate for full meeting registration is $245. (For any full-time students)
- Thursday and Friday Day Passes are $120 per day. (Includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and daylong meeting program)
- Virtual program attendance is free to members. We will be live-streaming our Thursday and Friday programs. Though there is no cost, we ask you to register so that you will receive communication and the zoom links.
Hotel reservations:
WARP has a block of rooms at the Denver Marriott West Hotel, located at 1717 Denver West Marriott Blvd, Golden, CO 80401. The hotel is about 3 miles from the Jefferson Unitarian Church, where we will have the Annual Meeting programs. Rooms are available at a reduced lodging rate until April 16. If you plan to attend the full program, please book your room for Wednesday, May 15th – Sunday, May 19th. The reduced room rate is also available to our group for one night before and after the meeting, so if you would like to arrive a day early (Tuesday, May 14th) or stay an additional night (Sunday, May 20th), you have the option. Room rates are:
- Room with 1 King bed: $181/night (Can be shared by up to 2 people.)
- Room with 2 Double beds: $186/night (Can be shared by up to 4 people.)
The costs above are for the full room, so if you are sharing the room, the per-person cost is lower. Please reserve your room directly with the hotel at our group rate by clicking here. Make sure to register promptly, as rooms are available until sold out. Communicate with your WARP roommate(s) in advance as only one person needs to make the reservation. If you need assistance finding a roommate, please email us.
Colorado Weavers Day Registration:
On Saturday, we will join the local textile community for Colorado Weavers Day. The CWD program is extremely aligned with WARP’s interests, featuring presenters who are intimately involved in local fiber production and textile education. Please learn more about the program and register for Colorado Weavers Day separately here. The CWD program is $65 for the daylong program.
Transportation:
- WARP will provide transportation shuttles between the conference hotel and the meeting locations on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There is also ample parking at Jefferson Unitarian Church & the School of Mines for those who wish to drive your own vehicle.
- The Denver Marriott West Hotel is about 35 miles from Denver International Airport (DEN). While we are not able to provide a shuttle service, the airport shuttle recommended by the hotel is the Golden West Airport Shuttle. (Phone: (303) 756-9399) About a month before the meeting, we will also email registrants to help coordinate a ride-share.
- If you wish to reserve a rental car, Budget Rent-a-car can provide a discounted group rate. When you complete the meeting registration, there will be an option to indicate that you plan to rent a car so we can follow-up with you about the group discount.
Financial Aid
Applications for Scholarships & assistantships are now closed.
Meeting Cancellation Policy: 97% of the registration fee is refundable through April 15, 2024. (WARP is unable to refund a 3% bank fee for meeting registration cancellations.) From April 16th until April 30, 2024 there will be a refund of 50%. After April 30, 2024, we are unable to issue refunds.
Photo/Video Release: WARP reserves the right to use photographs and video taken at WARP events for marketing purposes including, but not limited to, on social media, on our website, and in print and/or e-mail marketing campaigns. By registering for a WARP event, you authorize WARP to use your likeness without additional permission for these purposes.
WARP’s mission is to foster a global network of enthusiasts who value the importance of textiles to grassroots economies. Our purpose is to exchange information, raise awareness of the importance of textile traditions to grassroots economies, mobilize textile enthusiasts and create conversations that result in action.