Stories, Tapestry Weaving
Customer Feature: Michelle Dixon

Inspiration
Let’s Talk Looms: Where Do You Weave?
Welcome to our second #letstalklooms Monday!
Let’s Talk Looms is a new blog/social media series by Mirrix Looms. Every Monday we’ll post a new weaving-related discussion topic that we’ll talk about here in the comments on the blog, on Ravelry, Twitter (with hashtag #letstalklooms), Instagram and Facebook!
The Mirrix Blog
Ravelry
Twitter (#letstalklooms)
Instagram (#letstalklooms)
Facebook Group
Facebook Page
Today’s question: Where do you weave?
Deals, Tapestry Weaving, Uncategorized
The Ditch-Your-Frame Tapestry Loom Sale
Are you ready for a loom upgrade? For THREE days only (Thursday July 9th, Friday July 10th and Saturday July 11th) we are offering a brand new basic tapestry loom package for up to $50 off.
With a loom, heddles, some gorgeous hand-painted silk and a tapestry needle all you need is some warp (and maybe some more weft, we love using the silk for shimmery, colorful accents) and you are all ready to get started weaving.
These are big savings you definitely won’t see again for a long time!
This package includes:
-A 12″ Little Guy, 16″ Big Sister or 22″ Zach Loom
-6 Skeins of Hand-Painted Silk
-A 5″ Tapestry Needle
-A Roll of 100 Texsolv Heddles
Click here to get the package and save while you can!
Please take the time to read the terms and conditions below
Terms & Conditions:
Cannot be combined with any other offers
Only one loom package per customer
Mirrix Looms reserves the right to deny, or change any discount
Expires at midnight on July 11th, 2015
Only valid at mirrixlooms.com
This deal is only valid for purchases of this loom package on July 9th, 10th and 11th, 2015. These discounts CANNOT be applied to orders made previously.
Looms purchased as part of this deal will begin shipping on July 14th and cannot be expedited
Tapestry Weaving
8 Reasons to Choose a Mirrix Loom for Tapestry
If you’ve ever tried to weave tapestry on a loom not intended for weaving tapestry, you understand how frustrating it is to not have the kind of tension necessary to weave a tapestry that will not look like something you imagine might have emerged from weaving day at summer camp. Tapestry is a demanding medium full of must have requirements. If you give her what she wants, she is as lovely as can be. But if you deny her the simple requirement of a dedicated and worthy tapestry loom, she can be quite the adversary. Forget even selvedges unless you are some kind of magician. Forget evenly spaced warps. And if you have an inferior shedding mechanism or none at all, forget your sanity. It’s bound to march off to the wistful world or potholder looms while slashing the warps on your inadequate loom with a sharp and deadly scissor.
Good tapestry looms are necessary for weaving tapestry. Period. Four harness jack looms don’t work. Rigid heddle looms don’t work. Flimsy portable wooden tapestry looms don’t work. Little home-made frames work for about two rows and then you might as well just stop because it goes downhill after that and you won’t be hanging that thing on anyone’s wall.
So what are the exacting requirement of a good or even great portable tapestry loom? (The same requirements apply mostly to a floor loom but since you won’t be hauling a floor loom around the house or to your next workshop which is necessary to be called a portable loom, we will leave them off this list. Okay, here comes the list.) We are talking portable looms here.
Bead/Fiber Combination
Save With a Loom Weave-Along Package!
Interested in learning to combine beads and fiber on a Mirrix Loom? We have the perfect way to get started!
Next week, our 17th weave-along will begin. A weave-along is a free online class where participants receive weekly emails with instructions (written, pictures and video) for each step of the weave-along project. For this weave-along, we will revisit our fabulous (and famous) Tapestry/Bead Cuff Bracelet Project. In it you will learn the basics of weaving on a Mirrix, how to combine beads and fiber, a few tapestry techniques and how to finish this gorgeous bracelet. You can learn more about the weave-along and sign-up here.
If you haven’t yet purchased a Mirrix yet, we have a special loom package available just for this weave-along that includes everything you need to get started (besides basics like a good pair of scissors). You’ll save $20 on the package and get a free 10-dent coil that is perfect for this project. It’s a great deal and the perfect way to get started making beautiful, handmade bead and fiber creations!
Check out the Weave-Along 17 Loom and Kit Package here.
We look forward to weaving-along with you!
Events
Help Us Win a Grant!
For over 18 years, Mirrix Looms has been building looms and a wonderful community… a community we hope you are proud to be a member of.
It’s a long shot, but we are hoping to get a $100,000 grant from Chase to help our company grow. From a physical retail store to offering more classes and having representatives at more shows, we have lots of ideas of how to spend the money!
We’d love for you to show your support for Mirrix by helping us get the 250 unique votes to qualify.
Click here to vote and thank you for being an integral part of Mirrix!
Inspiration
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
Almost 19 years ago my mom started Mirrix. She was a professional tapestry weaver simply looking for a better portable loom. It turned out a lot of other people were looking for that same thing. When mom started Mirrix I was 11 and didn’t have much of an interest in parental business ventures. As long as she was still always around when we got home from school, I was happy. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I really became aware of her success and her accomplishments with Mirrix. There she was, this artist without a business degree, running a successful business on her own. That pride has only burgeoned since.
My mom and I were always close. Like other-mothers-probably-hated-her-for-it kind of close. She was always my favorite person in the world, and she will continue to be until I have a child of my own (sorry, hubby, mom wins).
When I was a freshman in college I got this idea in my head that my mom should run for State Representative. For some reason she listened to my crazy idea and that summer we ran her campaign together. We did nothing the normal way. We rode our horses to the town hall to register her as a candidate playing Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved” from a CD player perched on my saddle. We had magenta signs and glittery bumper stickers. We made t-shirts with puff paint. We knocked on nearly every door in our district. She lost the election by a few votes, which broke my heart. But it turned out there were some issues at one of the polling stations and a recount was called. I was back at school on the day it happened. I had just arrived home from class when I got a call from a friend. “I just saw your mom on TV. She won the recount.” All she said during that interview was, “My daughter is going to be so happy!” That day she became the first female Democrat to ever win her district.
During that campaign was when we realized that we work very well together. Our strengths and weaknesses played off each other perfectly during that campaign, as they do today running Mirrix.
Years later, after graduating from college, living abroad and having my first real-world job; I started working for Mirrix. At the time I didn’t know if it would be a long-term just or if it was just a placeholder while I figured out what I really wanted to do. It became clear fairly quickly, though, that working for Mirrix was what I wanted to do. Now that I’m at an age where I’m beginning to think about having children myself, I’m happy to know that my job will offer me the flexibility to be available to my future kids in a similar way to how my mom was available to me, and I’m happy to imagine that one day my kids will look up to me the way I look up to her.
When I grow up, I want to be just like her.
Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mother and to all of you mothers out there who have loved, cherished and inspired your children in similar ways or in totally different ones.
Side Note: While I do hope to be able to be a work-at-home mom someday (hopefully with a nanny, so I can actually work), in no way do I disparage the lifestyles of mothers and future mothers who have found and will find different ways to balance work, life and motherhood.
Events, Uncategorized
Mirrix Looms Ambassador Program
Today we are excited to announce the Mirrix Tapestry & Bead Looms ambassador program!
This program hopes to unite Mirrix Looms (both the company and the products) with talented bead and tapestry weavers from around the world. By connecting these gifted artists, quality weaving equipment and the networks of both, the hope is to simultaneously increase awareness of each ambassador and of Mirrix products.
Unlike our Social Market for a Mirrix program, Mirrix ambassadors will not be chosen through an application process. We will be seeking out ambassadors ourselves, looking for artists around the world who fit our criteria.
Each ambassador will have a unique role, but you can expect instructional blog posts, project ebooks, inspiration and more from these amazing artists.
We will be profiling our first ambassador soon!
If you do have a suggestion for an ambassador (or think you’d be a good one yourself), you can fill out the form below and we will keep the information on file.
Bead Weaving, Bead/Fiber Combination, Tapestry Weaving
Bracelets, Bracelets, Bracelets
For #throwbackthursday we’re looking back at some old bracelet projects from around Claudia’s studio. Looking through these projects makes me want to take the rest of the day off and head to my loom! For more inspiration, visit our free projects page!