Shortly after moving to Beekman Farm, we heard tell of an open house just outside of town at a place called Thistle Hill.   As if we needed any additional reason to go, when we heard the host was a person named Rabbit Goody, our attendance was a foregone conclusion.   (We were raised to never pass up the opportunity to talk to someone who has gone through life with the name Rabbit.)

Thistle Hill Weavers is owned and directed by Rabbit Goody, a nationally known textile historian and founder of the Textile History Forum.  Thistle Hill is a custom weaving mill that specializes in creating accurate reproductions from document patterns and 17th, 18th, and 19th-century weavers’ drafts.  Working closely with designers and individuals, the company creates carpets, fabrics, and trims in short custom runs.

Carpet, fabrics, and trims from Thistle Hill are installed in museums and historic sites across America, from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, from the Henry Ford Museum to Lincoln’s Birthplace, as well as at international sites, including historic trust properties in New South Wales.

In addition to working on private homes and historic sites, Thistle Hill Weavers has extensive experience producing custom costume and set fabrics for the film industry.  Recent projects include set and wardrobe fabrics for The Chronicles of Narnia, Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Academy Award winning movies There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men, as well as the Emmy Award winning HBO miniseries, John Adams.

When we found out that Rabbit got her start by weaving scarves for the likes of Gucci and Bergdorf Goodman, we knew we had to work with her to create the first item for the Beekman 1802 Haberdashery.

Learn more about Rabbit and her work at http://www.thistlehillweavers.com