Published to the Town of Hillsborough August 2024
Malcolm Hester hears small differences in machine sounds at Hillsborough’s water treatment plant and can tell when one isn’t running properly. During his 27 years on the job, the plant operator has become attuned to the equipment, developing this special hearing.
“Is the shirt you’re wearing knit or woven?”
William Barefoot believes being able to answer this question is fundamental to the basics of textile weaving, and asked it regularly to his students at the Weaving Lab. After 25 years of managing the Weaving Lab at Wilson College of Textiles, Barefoot is hanging up his safety glasses for good.
Growing up in Orange County, Sarah Kimrey never dreamed of being a town clerk, but she did know that she loved history. As Hillsborough’s clerk, Kimrey is the gatekeeper of the town’s records and minutes, which date to February 1843.
Anna Stuffelbeam loves a creative challenge, so it’s no surprise that she placed second in Nextile’s Soy In Textile Design Challenge in March. A Master of Textiles student at Wilson College of Textiles, Stuffelbeam is interested in the technical aspect of fabric design. The challenge provides an opportunity for college students to use their creative skills to increase the sustainability of textiles.
Graduate work May 2022
Downtown Durham is fatigued but resilient. It resembles a city that is old and worn, but still sparkles in the interwoven hands of its community. Walking down Main Street, it could be easy to pass by this spunky storefront–thinking the chairs displayed behind the beaded curtains in the protruded windows hold perhaps an antique shop. But the glowing blue lights that read “Wine Bar” blink otherwise.
Graduate work November 2021
Katie O’Brien moved to California for college, hoping to learn about culture. Raised in her bubble of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, she headed to the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) to study anthropology and geology. After college, she tried out office jobs. “I realized I hated that,” said O’Brien, 27. “I didn't love sitting and doing the same thing every single day.” When O’Brien moved back to North Carolina, she discovered the easiest job to get on a whim was hosting in a restaurant. City Kitchen in Chapel Hill hired her on the spot.
On the edge of Tallahassee’s lively Midtown and lovely Lake Ella lies a self-described “Awesome Neighborhood.” Behold historic Levy Park.