Continuing Textile Traditions: Getting More out of WARP and What That Does for ME!
April 17, 2025
All of us know that being involved with an organization or project is far more rewarding than just passively looking on. Come and listen to three WARP members talk about how they have gotten more involved and what they get out of it, how to be giving and selfish at the same time. All have good stories to tell, and are interested in hearing yours during the Q&A as well.
Please note that if you would like to attend but are unavailable at the time listed, register anyway and you will receive a link to the recording as soon as it is available.
Panelists:
Diane Manning – Chair of the Artisan Support Grants Committee and more
“It all started when I was studying Spanish in Guatemala and spent a week in the highlands learning backstrap weaving basics from a Mayan weaver. This experience kindled an enduring passion for travel and collecting handmade artisan crafts, especially textiles.” Now retired from an international marketing career in high-tech, Diane leverages her management skills by working with nonprofits that focus on her two main passions: 1) supporting the livelihood of artisans worldwide and helping to preserve the cultural heritage their craft embodies and 2) helping girls and women in underserved areas gain better access to education and technology.
Liz Gipson – Editor of the WARP Quarterly
Liz Gipson is a weaver, writer, and educator based in New Mexico with an educational background in community development and fiber arts. Liz started her career in nonprofits and moved into publishing in all the ways that content reaches weavers. Ten years ago she launched Yarnworker.com as a space to support rigid-heddle loom enthusiasts. She has written four books about rigid-heddle weaving and teaches at her local University and online at the Yarnworker School. Liz has been a member of WARP since 1996 and fully supports its goals to boost the signal for culturally-based, continuous textile traditions globally and locally and create connections among individuals and organizations who feel the same.
Debbie Durham – Volunteering with WARP
Debbie’s love of the handmade developed as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa. In 1990 she managed a handcraft cooperative in Kinshasa, Zaire (DRC) which supported local artisans with physical disabilities. After completing a graduate degree in Textiles & Clothing at Iowa State U., Debbie served as Executive Director of One World Market, a fair trade business in Durham, NC. She moved to Portland, Oregon in 2008 where she created a Skills-Based Volunteer program for Life by Design NW. The organization’s mission was to engage Baby Boomers in finding their passion and purpose in retirement. She is a long-time member of WARP (since Iowa), as well as a former Board member. For information about volunteer team opportunities with WARP’s committees, please click here.
