Fiber artist Kristin Bergsten has been weaving since she was 6 years old. “I was at home sick, and my mother went to the Woolworth’s Five and Dime. She came back with little kits to make potholders.” Born in Evanston, Illinois, Kristin was living at the time with her adoptive parents in Iowa city, where her father taught law. In 1973, she came to North Carolina where her mother worked as a statistician in public health.
She graduated from the Haywood Community College Fiber Productions Craft program in 1985 and has been weaving and sewing handwoven items and fine textiles for over 35 years. “I am fascinated with color and pattern, bright and colorful art books. I take inspiration from everything around me – flowers, leaves, fabric and paint swabs.” Ninety percent of her products use cotton thread. Her collection of vibrant colored thread (many in her handwoven baskets) decorate her Chatham County home and studio, where she has lived for 10 years.
Kristin has “woven” together a successful lifestyle of jobs in retail and her craft. “I had to learn to multitask.” Kristin has spent the past 25 years exhibiting at the North Carolina State Fair and has won Best of Show ribbons on multiple occasions. She is a member of the Triangle Weavers Guild. Kristin offers a variety of hand woven functional utilitarian products including pot holders, hand towels, bread cloths, blankets, and tablecloths, ranging in price from $32 to $350. Her weavings are available at the NC Crafts Gallery in Carrboro.
Throughout the year, Kristin is available by appointment at her home and studio in Briar Chapel. “I am a very visual and hands on person. I hope that folks can experience the excitement that I do in the colors and patterns of my woven art.”
More information about Kristin Bergsten can be found on her Chatham Artists Guild gallery page.
