Esther Grav

The importance of the Guild, I guess, goes back again to the social part of it. There's certain levels of skill that you can learn online, but I think the hands-on, the little tricks and techniques, you don't actually see them unless you're doing them face to face... We talk about our mistakes, not just our prized pieces, but we talk about things that don't always work out. And I think that has to be physical contact to actually see that.

Esther Grav's fibre arts journey began when she started spinning and weaving in 1977 after college. In 1983, she started a small business called What's Weft, selling materials and supplies related to fibre arts. She's been involved with spinning, weaving, natural dyeing, basketry, and many others crafts, but her main interest has been felting. 

She joined Kingston Handloom Weavers and Spinners in 1984 when she moved to Kingston. Prior to her move, she was a member of the Pine Ridge Guild, where she met Bridget Lewis. Together, they joined KHWS with another member, Barbara Heins, as the three of them happened to move to Kingston in the same year.