by Rosa Cartagena
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"Continuing to push boundaries, Wood is on the cutting edge of craft arts, which fine art institutions have only recently embraced. Tufting, an intensive process of rug making, has skyrocketed in popularity in the last five years, thanks to Philly artists Tim Eads and Tiernan Alexander, who founded the teaching and supplies company Tuft the World. (It’s also a huge TikTok trend.) Wood began experimenting with the fluffy medium during pandemic lockdown and last year she was on the jury of Tuft the World’s TuftCon.
“Qualeasha is carving her own path, [taking] this 100-year-old craft and really doing something with it that has never been done before,” said Eads."
Have you heard of rug tufting? It’s the newest crafting craze taking over social media.
Tufting is the way soft, fluffy rugs are often made and you can learn to make your own at a workshop in South Philly. PHL17’s Alex Butler went to “Tuft The World” to check it out.
Eads uses the AI software DALL-E, similar to ChatGPT (they are made by the same company, OpenAI) to type in parameters for an image request. For example, Eads asked for a geometric pattern loosely based on paintings by Bridget Riley, the British artist known in the 1960s for creating optical effects with line patterns.
The software generates many versions of what it thinks Eads is asking for. He chose one of DALL-E’s images, a squared spiral in black. Its imperfectly aligned lines create a slightly dizzying effect.
Publish date: May 25, 2023
New to this year is the MNYK Artbox, which will feature interactive art demos and performances all summer long. Week three on June 15 is Artbox Demo: Tuft the World.
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Publish date: May 12, 2023
FOX 29's Sue Seiro chats with Tim Eads, an artist at Tuft the World, about rug tufting.
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Publish date: May 1, 2023
Rug crafting company’s commitment to sustainability inspires foray into making recycled shipping supplies.
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Publish date: April 18, 2023
A West Philly company has set out to prove that art is all around us — even underfoot. Tuft the World is a textiles supplier that helped launch the trend of rug tufting, which refers to making a rug with a "gun" that punches yarn through a backing material in the form of a loop.
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Publish date: April 10, 2023
Soon after my partner and I started our rug-tufting supplies business in 2018, I realized the huge amount of waste we were producing. And it bothered me—a ton.
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Publish date: April 3, 2023
Tim Eads and Tiernan Alexander didn't set out to fall in love with tufting. Five years ago, the Texas-born, Philly-based husband and wife duo were doing their usual creative work—making ceramic pieces and fiber art, plus running a screen-printing and cut-and-sew tote bag business.
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Publish date: March 25, 2023
The first-ever tufting convention, or TuftCon, is happening this weekend in Philadelphia.
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Publish date: March 24, 2023
Tufting rose in popularity during the height of the pandemic. Now, Philly’s TuftCon will celebrate the craft in person.
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