Formation, 1948
In the winter of 1947/1948, a group of six weavers who referred to themselves as the "Kingston Amateur Weavers," began learning to weave under the instruction of Mrs. Bannister (first name unknown). Following World War II, Mrs. Bannister moved to Kingston, Ontario with her husband, who was a member of the military, and opened a fibre shop on Brock Street. At the back area of her shop, she kept a number of looms which she used for private lessons.
The Kingston Amateur Weavers were happy with the instruction they received from Mrs. Bannister, but felt isolated from other beginner weavers. Reflecting on her experience learning to weave, Ida Merriman, a member of the group, wrote that she “felt we were missing a great deal when we did not have contact with other weavers,” going on to say there “seemed to be so many problems that needed discussion, and I personally felt that I was taking too many of my problems to Mrs. Bannister when I knew there were other people in Kingston who could help me."
When Mrs. Bannister informed the group that she was moving to Toronto in 1948, the Kingston Amateur Weavers decided to organize a formal club to share their interest in, and knowledge of, weaving. The purpose of the club, in Merriman’s words, was to provide its members with “mutual help” in their weaving pursuits. The Amateur group compiled a list of everyone in town who had expressed an interest in weaving and phoned them, asking them to attend a meeting at J. Mackenzie-Naughton’s home on the corner of Barrie and Union Street to gauge interest in the idea of forming a club. On April 5, 1948, the Kingston Hand-weavers Club was officially established, and Ida Merriman was named its first President. In its first year, the Club had thirty-seven members who each paid a $2.00 membership fee.
The formation of the Kingston Hand-weavers Club corresponded with a broader revival of hand weaving in Ontario, which was encouraged by the Ontario government. The Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers formed in 1939 and, in the early 1940s, it was estimated that 850 weavers were active in Ontario (though this number was likely much higher). This rose to 1200 by the end of the decade. In 1948, Frank Dubervill of the Ottawa-based newspaper The Evening Citizen described how the Ontario Department of Education sponsored the creation of the Home Weaving Service in Toronto in 1947, which taught the art of weaving and inspired the creation of hand weaving organizations across the province. Weaving was deemed “significant in social terms as well as cultural and economic” and was “intended to reintroduce a creative activity into the lives of many [and especially those who wished] to do parttime revenue-producing work in their homes." The Ottawa Valley Weaver’s Guild was soon established in 1949, and the province-wide Ontario Handweavers and Spinners (OHS) was founded in 1956, prompting the creation of fibre arts guilds throughout the province.