Sunday, June 12, 2011

James Koehler's looms for sale

James Koehler's death on March 4th, 2011 still seems a little shocking three months later.  His memorial service has happened, his studio has been emptied, and his apprentices are trying to help each other with the questions we would have asked James.  This is what happens when somebody dies.

James' student looms and most of his studio contents have been sold but there are three of his personal looms left which have to be sold.

This loom is a 56 inch (weaving width) Macomber which is selling for $1800 (there is no need for me to tell a bunch of weavers what a great deal that is!).  I believe the bench (which has a slider) is separate.  This loom is in fantastic shape and if I didn't already have a Macomber (and if I had any more space for looms which I don't unless I take to sleeping under them), I would purchase it myself.  It is an 8 harness loom with a double back beam, one of them sectional.

This is a huge Shannock that James acquired recently.  I don't know the weaving width, but it is somewhere between 80 and 100 inches. James was interested in trying vertical weaving again, but had not used it yet when he died.  I don't know a price for this loom, but I suspect it would be negotiable.

And this loom caused me much angst and indecision.  I very much wanted to purchase this 100 inch (weaving width) Cranbrook, but since it is bigger than my car and my studio is about 180 square feet, eventually I had to decline.  This was James' main loom for many years.  All the tapestries I saw him weaving were on this loom.  It has 6 harnesses though James only has 4 installed.  I believe it comes with several reeds.  There is a long sliding bench which is extra.  It has locking treadles and James wove at it standing up (notice it is up on 2 by 6's). It is in beautiful shape and has the added bonus of being used by a master weaver for at least 20 years. I don't know the final price for this loom, but trust me, it is criminally low.  This particular loom is no longer made (and hasn't been for decades).


If you are seriously interested in purchasing one of these looms (or there is also some of his hand-dyed yarn left), you can contact me at the comments section of this blog or through my website.

I am hoping that someone who loves weaving and will appreciate the master who wove on these looms will purchase one of them and continue to love them for many years to come. And if you buy the Cranbrook, can I come and visit it? (kidding, I'm just kidding on that last bit-- mostly anyway)



6 comments:

  1. Rebecca, are you certain that you can't squeeze it in somewhere???? You may be sorry later on.It would be wonderful to keep weaving on the loom of a dear friend. I hope that it goes to a home where it is loved. Debbie.

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  2. That Macomber is just the sort of loom that I would love to be able to home - width, harnesses, back beam. Sadly, I'm in the UK and also don't currently have a good place to put it. It would be such a dream, though.

    Good luck with finding warm and weaverly homes for all this wonderful equipment.

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  3. Dear Rebecca,
    Such a sad time for you and James' students. Have all of you taken as much of the dyed yarn as you want? I wouldn't want take what, to my mind, ought to remain with you all but if there is some available, I am interested. As I live so far away, I'm not sure the best way to go about this but will wait upon your advice.

    Many thanks,
    Christopher

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  4. Thank you Christopher. I'm not sure if you are the Christopher I am thinking of, so can you go to my website and email me from there so that I can reply? Another apprentice is taking care of the yarn sales and I can give you her email address. Thanks! I did get a small amount of James' yarn and hope to weave a small tapestry with it one of these days.

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  5. I can only dream that I could buy one of his looms. In the meantime this picture of me was taken alongside James last year at a visit to his studio.

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  6. The Shannock is 11 feet wide with 8 foot weaving width, 4 feet deep, and 7 feet tall. James' family is asking between $6 and $8,000 for this loom. It is virtually new and in mint condition.

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