Carrie Weiss, owner of Black Swamp Seat Weaving, LTD, was taught to weave by her grandmother at the early age of 15.
Her grandmother patiently taught her to take pride in her work, weave the best she possibly can, and to continually challenge herself.
After 45+ years, she continues to do this to this very day.
Over the years since Carrie first began weaving, she has expanded her abilities to include ALL forms of weaving, such as, hand cane, blind cane, cane webbing, rush, splint, and wicker.
She works on weaving projects for individuals, museums, refinishers, upholsterers, interior decorators, and many others.
Carrie also treats every project with the care and meticulous attention it deserves, while taking on some of the most difficult projects.
Every project is a challenge that she is confident she will complete.
Not only does Carrie care about the finished project and the happiness it will bring her customers, but she also loves what she does, and it shows.
(11/05/TC)
Antiques by Futura–Founded by John and Carol Bessone in 1992, is now operated by son Robert and daughter Regina. Boasting a 10,000 square foot showroom full of Antique and Vintage furniture and decor that we’ve been collecting for well over 30 years and have available for purchase.
We also have a full-service repair and refinishing shop with a complete seat weaving room to take care of your chair caning needs. We do Cane, Rush, Danish cord, Rattan Wicker, and Upholstery repair as well as Refinishing and Restoring Furniture of all types. Local pick-up and delivery are also available.
Call or email today for your chair caning, upholstery or refinishing job appointment. When you come for that appointment, be sure to peruse the antique furniture in the showroom, you’ll be glad you did!
(2/01/23)
Richard Saunders is the author of five books on antique wicker furniture, a former wicker furniture restoration specialist, and one of the only certified wicker furniture appraisers in the country.
Richard and his wife Paula, relocated from California to Savannah, Georgia several years ago. Richard has over 45 years of hands-on experience in repairing and restoring wicker furniture and writing about and appraising antique wicker furniture.
One of Richard’s books, Collecting and Restoring Wicker Furniture — was the first book published with a how-to chapter on wicker repair. Several other books explain the history of the wicker furniture industry, give general pricing estimates, illustrate the different types of wicker furniture, and show examples of manufacturing methods and company warehouses.
Thinking of selling or throwing out your old wicker furniture? STOP! Don’t throw out a potentially valuable and irreplaceable piece of our American wicker history.
Before you toss your wicker–get an appraisal from Richard first! His appraisals include historical information, notes on style and design, dating the piece, and either proving the manufacturer or giving a likely manufacturer of the piece.
Richard provides certified, fee-based wicker furniture appraisals at $35 per piece. His appraisals can be used to establish the value of your wicker pieces for a variety of purposes:
- establish family heirloom/inheritance value
- estate resale value
- resale value
- insurance value
- moving damage claims
- and even court cases if necessary
Richard Saunders is one of only a few appraisers whose appraisal certification specialty is antique wicker furniture. Certified appraisals are given only after a physical inspection or through a series of good-quality photos sent to him via email or postal mail.
Contact Richard today for an appointment so you will be knowledgeable about your wicker furniture.
Mr. Saunders is also offering BRAND NEW copies of WICKER FURNITURE: A GUIDE TO RESTORING AND COLLECTING (Crown Publishers; 1990), which has been out of print for many years.
This is a 245-page, large-format paperback book that includes an 8-page color photo section, hundreds of black and white photos and lots of fascinating information on antique wicker furniture. It’s a perfect addition to anyone’s personal or seatweaving business reference library.
This book went out of print several years ago but Richard has a limited supply of NEW copies which he purchased from the publisher’s warehouse. He would be happy to personally sign your copy, just ask. The price of this special book is $30.00, which includes shipping and handling.
Contact Richard today to order your signed book, WICKER FURNITURE: A GUIDE TO RESTORING AND COLLECTING or to get your wicker piece evaluated and appraised for its proper value.
Directions to his shop will be given when your appointment is booked.
Honorary Lifetime Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(11/1/24/CK-TC)
Silver River Center for Chair Caning is operated by two chair nerds on a mission to cultivate and inspire a reverence for a worldwide chair caning legacy.
Our vision is to promote an enthusiasm for the craft through education, published work, restoration, and travel. Be on the lookout for our instructional manual to be published in 2023! Also, see our article in Mother Earth News (August/September 2021).
We aim to dispel the myth that chair caning is a dying art. We want to empower everyone to learn to restore their own chairs. So we expanded our chair caning restoration business into Silver River Center for Chair Caning, the nation’s only chair caning school and museum. We teach small classes at our shop in Asheville as well as regular classes at John C Campbell Folk School, Penland, Arrowmont, and the Island Farm.
Silver River is an official education center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Memberships include The SeatWeavers’ Guild, The Furniture Society, The American Craft Council, The River Arts District Association, and we are a heritage member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild (Brandy is a 4th Generation Chair Weaver). We are proud to honor a family tradition, the craft, and all chair nerds (past, present, and future) with Silver River Center for Chair Caning.
Visitors to Silver River can–
- See daily demonstrations on an incredible variety of chairs with woven seats.
- Take classes from beginner to advanced tutorials, volunteer, or apply for apprenticeships.
- Take a self-guided tour d’ chairs and read about the material, history, and process of 8 styles of chair seat weaving. A permanent collection of historical chairs is on display as well as rotating exhibits including #canespotting and Historic Western North Carolina Chairs.
- Enjoy the reference library and educate yourself on ancient and global traditions.
- Bring their family heirloom in for restoration by our seat weaving experts
- Donate their chair for student practice
- Purchase restored chairs for sale
- Get advice on their chairs
- Quickly become total chair nerds.
NOTE: Due to the “Pandemic Pivot” as well as persistent overuse injuries, we are stepping away from MOST restorations. We still love to weave chairs, we just have to be more selective with what we bring in. Our main goal is education through classes, both in-person in our shop and at craft schools across the country, and online.
We shoot videos for YouTube and we are building an online school for on-demand learning from the comfort of your home. We travel to speak and demonstrate at museums, craft shows, schools, woodworkers associations, etc.
As such, our restoration waitlist is often 6 months-1 year out. Restoration inquiries should be emailed to [email protected] and should include photos of the chair attached to the email. Classes at the moment in 2022, are by appointment only, call or email to schedule.
Corporate & Board Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(4/1/NCHG)
The Crooked Rim Chair Caning & Seat Weaving, located in Massillon, Ohio, is a home-based business owned and operated by the husband and wife team, Jeff and Robbin Huss.
Robbin has been weaving baskets and chair seats for over 30 years and Jeff has been weaving for over 15 years.
The Crooked Rim offers traditional 7-step hand cane, fancy cane patterns, pressed cane, woven patterns, natural and fiber rush, seagrass, splint, reed, and Shaker tape.
Pictures of your project can be sent via text or email for a rough estimate. A final quote will then be given upon physical inspection of the chair.
If you want to learn to cane your own chair seats, we also teach FREE classes in Cuyahoga Falls at the Quirk Cultural Center alongside Master Caner Janet Noall.
Contact us today for caning class schedule dates and times or to make your seatweaving repair appointment.
Members of The SeatWeavers’ Guild Inc.® (TSWG)
(11/4/TC)
Step-In-Time-Antiques is a home-based business specializing in hole-to-hole chair caning, pressed/machine/spline cane, and binder cane in various patterns (e.g. herringbone, New England Porch Weave, Finger Lakes Fan Weave, etc.), paper fiber rush and Shaker tape weaving.
Will do some minor structural repair. Free estimates and local pickup/delivery. Good rates!
Charter Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(SUB 1/21/24)
The Chair Shop providing seatweaving since 1960, hand or pressed cane, splint, rush, Danish cord, and Shaker tape. We also do chair re-gluing and have free pick up and return and give free estimates, too.
Servicing all 5 boroughs of metro New York City, NJ, also greater Poughkeepsie area Millbrook, Rhinebeck, Cold Spring, greater White Plains, NY area. Call 1-800-980-8344 for details and ask for John.
(8/3 TC)
Herard Seat Weaving is located in Waterville, serving central and mid-coast Maine. We can bring new life to your cane, rush or wicker chairs, benches, and rockers. Every piece from antiques to modern and contemporary chairs can be renewed with a hand-woven seat.
Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(4/01/23)
Welcome to Seats on the Beach. We are a small family chair caning and seat weaving business, providing chair caning and other seat weaving services primarily in Charleston, South Carolina, and other regional sea island areas.
We work with most weaving media, rattan strand hand caning, press cane mesh, fibre rush, pre-twisted natural rush (which is a good substitute for cattail rush and bulrush), Danish cord, Kevlar cord, and twisted seagrass.
We provide basic chair repair services of replacing broken rails and rungs and tightening loose joints. We also provide minor touch-up staining and refinishing but we are not skilled in full refinishing.
We do not do upholstery and wicker but will occasionally rewrap wicker joints on a chair-by-chair basis.
Call or email today for an appointment and to discuss your chair seat weaving needs! Visit our Facebook page for more photos of our work.
We are a proud Cottage level member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(11/26/TC)
Saggy Bottom Girls Caning has moved location! In August 2022 we moved our residence and business from Greenwood, Indiana to Salem, Alabama! We are now offering our chair seat weaving services in and around the Salem, AL area, which is 1 1/2 hours south of Atlanta between Columbus, GA and Auburn, AL.
We specialize in cane, fiber rush, seagrass, flat reed, binding cane, and others. We are a home-based family business and I personally weave each chair. We also work with local restoration companies should your chair need structural repairs.
I started this business several years ago as a way to spend time with my dad. People began asking me to fix their chairs with saggy bottoms and that is how the business began.
This is also how I came up with the name. It’s a play on the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” starring George Clooney, and my Saggy Bottom Girls Caning seemed like an interesting twist to their Soggy Bottom Boys band.
Business Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(4/01/23)
GRAHAM CLAN CANING CAN CANE YOUR CHAIRS!
We provide these chair re-seating services: Hand Cane, Pressed Cane, Rush, Shaker Tape, Danish Cord, Splint, Reed and Porch Weave. Other types of re-seating quoted upon request.
Graham Clan Caning has very competitive prices with excellent craftsmanship, so call or email us today to schedule your appointment!
Cottage Members of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(10/01 TC)
Jim’s Chair Caning, (a father & daughter team), offers hand caning, mat caning, Danish cord, rush weaving, hickory bark, fiber rush, and Shaker tape weaving, also minor chair repairing.
Pick-up and delivery service is available, too. We are located just West of High Springs and Gainesville, FLORIDA (home of the GATORS).
Cottage Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®
(12/30/MO-TC)
Jeannie’s Chair Caning Shop formerly of upstate New York (2012) and now restoring chairs in Virginia, has 40+ years experience in furniture restoration and seat repair.
Home-based location offering expert work in hand caning, blind caning, pressed cane, rush, splint, Danish cord and specialty weaves. Customer base extends from as far as Maryland, Richmond, Outer Banks and Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Also offering some furniture repair and refinishing. With pick-up and delivery available in the Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Norfolk areas. Contact for appointment and directions to the shop.
(5/1/23)
Chair caning expert Helen Cribbs, owner of Chairs Caned in Delaware, OH (2019 new city location) provides experienced and fair-priced handwoven and pressed cane, plus wide binding cane in several patterns. (I now refrain from taking on wicker & fibre rush).
I have been in this business for over 30 years and since I work from home so my pricing stays reasonable. When possible, I offer pick-up and delivery within a reasonable distance from my shop.
Several furniture refinishers and upholsterers in Dayton, Columbus, and Tipp City, Ohio, keep me busy honing my craft.
Visit my website, where you will find several patterns for the DIY chair seat weaver. The 7-Step Strand Caning pattern is especially detailed with diagrams. All are free to download and use.
(10/25/TC)
Stephen Ambrose -“The Chair Seat Weaver” is a 4th generation professional chair seat weaver. After a recent move in early 2021 from York, Pennsylvania, where he lived and worked for many years, Stephen is now providing chair seat weaving services in Hanover, PA.
Stephen uses natural materials in the hand-weaving techniques of hole-to-hole cane or lace caning, press-in cane fabric or spine caning, and also does handwoven splint seats.
Stephen takes on minor furniture repair too, so if your pieces need some TLC in that area be sure to inquire about those services.
“Please call or email and I’ll get back to you to schedule your appointment and give directions to my shop. Looking forward to meeting you!” – Stephen Ambrose, The Chair Seat Weaver.
To put a face with the name, check out this Youtube video! Stephen’s chair caning talents were featured on the local TV station where he used to work as a broadcasting engineer before retiring!
Steve Ambrose-Retired Broadcasting Engineer now Chair Caner
A few years ago, ABC27, a local broadcast station in Pennsylvania, did a spot on Steve on their newscast, too.
Steve Ambrose, Pennsylvania Seat Weaver on ABC Channel 27
(10/22/TC)
BeSeated.ca has been providing seatweaving services to Canada’s national capital area for over fifty years.
NEW OWNER & NEW LOCATION: In 2019 Michael Freen acquired the business from Pierre Amyotte, the previous owner, and relocated Be Seated to Ottawa, Ontario.
We provide quality repairs to furniture woven in a variety of materials, including hand and pre-woven cane, Danish cord, rush, seagrass, reed, splint and rawhide.
We also carry seatweaving supplies for customers who would like to repair their own furniture.
Please have a look at our website for a full list of supplies and services we have available and check out our Instagram for photos of our latest work.
Proud Cottage Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.® (TSWG)
(Sub-2/18/25)
Cane and Able is a repair and restoration service that for over ten years has worked in the local community offering individual attention to each project.
Customers are private clients, local museums and area antique dealers in Monmouth County. Services are woven and pressed cane, fibre rush, natural rush, Shaker tape, and splint weaving. Also chair repair, part replacements and duplication, stripping and refinishing. Free estimates, pick-up and delivery additional.
Charter Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.® (TSWG)
(4/1/23)
V.R. Weaving has over 27+ years of experience doing cane, fiber rush, splint wood seats, Danish cord, and teaching classes.
Most reweaving can be completed within two+ weeks. Pick-up and/or delivery in the DC area, Richmond, and others for an additional fee.
(12/12 TC)
Harry Johnston, owner of HSJ’s SeatWeaving has been serving the greater Canton, Ohio area since 2009.
Services that HSJ’s SeatWeaving provides are the following designs and/or patterns:
- Seven step hole to hole cane in traditional hexagon, diamond and other patterns
- Chair backs in snowflake and spider-web designs
- Pressed cane
- Paper fibre rush
- Wide binding cane in herringbone and other patterns
- Danish cord
- Basket weave for chair seats
We provide the services of caning and seat weaving and also have the ability to stain and repair chairs if needed.
Contact today to discuss your project and set your appointment to get TLC for your cherished piece.
We do quality caning at reasonable prices!
(8/05/TC)
For 30+ years, Karen Scott, owner of H P Basketry and Caning LLC located in Duncan, OK has woven baskets and provided chair caning services in the area and well beyond.
This quality business includes all types of chair seat weaving; hand caning and pressed cane webbing, Shaker tape and rattan in many patterns.
Wicker repair, basket repair, and minor structural repairs are also included, as is customer advice about the best stains and finishes to use on their heirlooms.
(6/23)