Welcome to the web site for the Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association (MAFA). MAFA is a non-profit organization whose objectives are to promote education in the fiber arts, to plan, organize, and conduct conferences, and to facilitate communication among member guilds.
MAFA represents nearly 60 guilds from 8 states and the District of Columbia in the Mid-Atlantic region. Our member guilds are located in NY, PA, MD, VA, NJ, DE, DC, NC, and WV. Individuals become automatic members through membership in a participating guild.
Associate membership is open to commercial enterprises, institutions, organizations, schools and individuals not in affiliated guilds. Associate members have the same status as guilds, with the exception of voting.
Any organized guild of handweavers or related fiber activities located
in the Mid-Atlantic region may be considered for membership in
MAFA. Membership consists of timely payment of annual dues and
entitles members to participation in the biennial conference,
the MAFA newsletter, and the opportunity to apply for grants,
which support mini-conference venues.
Each guild is allowed one representative and one alternate representative to send to the two annual general meetings held in October and May.
Guilds, individuals, or organizations wishing to join MAFA should go to the Joining MAFA page for further information.
MAFA 2013 Conference -- Call for Proposals
MAFA is looking for some talented fiber teachers for 2013!
The 2013 MAFA Workshop weekend will take place at the University of Scranton on June 20-23, 2013. We are looking for instructors interested in teaching weaving, spinning, felting and other fiber arts workshops for our 2013 conference.
The format for the workshops will be a single, 16-hour (3-day) “hands-on” workshop beginning on Friday morning and ending at lunch on Sunday. Multiple proposals are encouraged.
If you would like to be considered, please send us (via email or US mail) your proposals for workshops. Deadline for proposals is February 28, 2012. Selections of teachers will be made in March 2012.
Each proposal must include the following information:
Title of Workshop
Description of Workshop content
Required level of student experience
Maximum class Size
Equipment needed by students
Equipment and facility needs for instructor
Student materials fee
Your equipment and facility needs
Your fee for teaching
Brief resume of instructor and teaching experience
Please send or email information to Judy Donovan, MAFA Education Chair, at the email OR US mail address below.
Judy Donovan
MAFA Education Chair
c/o 117 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia PA 19123
Email: education2011@mafafiber.org
President's Message
MAFA 2013 is now on the way. Dates and place have been decided. We will be at the University of Scranton in, of all places, Scranton PA. It is just off of Interstate 81. The dates are June 20, 21,22, and 23, 2013.
Classrooms are easy to get to. DeNaples Hall houses among other things the Dining Hall. To the immediate left are the dorms. To the immediate right is one of the buildings for classes. The other two classroom building are very close and very easy to get to. Nothing is far away and is much closer than the buildings were at Gettysburg.
The committee toured the classroom accepting some and rejecting others. The Dining hall is very different from when I was in college! There were various “stations” with a variety of food. We took notice of the salad bar and vegetarian foods. They seemed very acceptable to us. We were told that with notice before we arrive that they could accommodate almost any special dietary requests.
Dorms are about what you would expect. Each apartment has 5 single rooms, a sitting area, a kitchen and a shared bathroom with a shower. The kitchen has the usual things: stove, refrigerator and sink and absolutely nothing else. Some might want to have coffee before class so they would need to bring coffee maker, cups, sugar,cream etc. There are ovens in several locations but I do not expect we will be baking anyway. Don’t forget to bring soap, bathroom glasses, etc. These are college dorms and they supply nothing with the exception of linens i.e. sheets and towels. if you want your own sheets and towels be sure to bring them. The towels are not the largest I have ever seen.
Everything is handicap accessible. If something special is needed in either a classroom or dorm it can probably be arranged. There will be a place to indicate such on the registration form.
Every building that we will be using has elevators and air conditioning. That is a must for us! We are negotiating with some summer school students to help us move our looms and wheels into the classroom building. This will be a MAFA expense. They will not be taking our things into the classroom itself but rather just inside the main door. The times they will be available will be set so you will need to arrive during those times to have help. The same applies for leaving. This is a new idea for us as far as I know so we will see how it goes. Dorm access will be on your own.
Instructors are in the process of sending in their proposals. Those who are accepted will have their information in the brochure. At a later date, the minimum number of students per class will be determined by the Board. The final acceptance of instructors will be determined by class registration numbers for that class.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: We have had good success with small classes so you should register early. The brochure will be on the web site (mafafiber.org) on December 1, 2012. Registrations will be accepted January 2, 2013.
That is all I can think of to relay. If there is something I have not thought of you can contact me at president2011@mafafiber.org and I will be in touch.
May all of your projects come out well!!
Mickie Schneider
President
MAFA
MAFA By-Laws May 2008 (pdf version)
