One of the latest additions to downtown Great Barrington’s retail landscape, HART is equal parts gallery, shop, and classroom. In addition to displaying her handmade woven pillows, wall hangings, and lampshades, artist-owner Jamie Goldenberg stocks tools, materials, patterns, kits, and books for all kinds of textile crafts. The space has even become a maker space, as she hosts classes for people to learn new skills, build on existing competencies, and develop community with fellow textile enthusiasts.
Jamie is an artist of many mediums. She launched her career path in the arts as a photojournalist and photo editor for Orion Magazine shortly after graduating from Simon’s Rock with a degree in photography. Jamie admits that she’s always had a knack for creating. In her spare time, she dabbled in ceramics at IS183 and then switched to a more apartment-friendly craft of weaving. When taking breaks during her day job, instead of heading to the water cooler or scrolling the web, she started making things to keep her mind and hands active. In 2015, the self-taught textile designer was selected to be an artist-in-residence at the Textile Art Center in Gowanus, Brooklyn, where she now teaches classes. Through rigorous curriculum and mentorship, she refined her technique and soon thereafter began receiving commissions from interior designers for bespoke items and for site-specific projects full-time.
Jamie’s own style is influenced by the natural world; using natural fibers and plant-based dyes. One of her recent projects is a pine needle basket made between May 2019 – April 2020, that weaves together various plants according to the time of year, as influenced by the changes in Jamie’s own life. Another piece, a wall hanging, uses yarn that is dyed with native and invasive plants and tells a story of natural resilience–and her own.
HART offers classes for folks of all skill levels, including basic and advanced sewing, weaving, basket making, knitting, and felting. Jamie even offers a mending club on the first Thursday of every month from 7-9 pm. The pandemic challenged Jamie to modify her teaching style; Instead of being able to show people how to approach a task, she had to learn how to communicate directions more effectively for a virtual audience. For those who spend their days looking at a screen, the opportunity to join in community over a shared craft is a welcome activity. Jamie shares that the store has become a safe space for those drawn to fiber arts following a traumatic experience and that the group setting offers a therapeutic outlet for some.
Jamie returned to the Berkshires by way of New York and she’s glad to be back. Her pivot to retail was the unintended consequence of the pandemic and has been more successful than she could have imagined. With two young children at home, her business demanded a creative and functional space outside of the home as well as additional income streams to weather the pandemic. While she continues to adjust to retail life, she’s looking forward to new opportunities presented by the local economy, like the forthcoming digital BerkShares. She concludes: “The Berkshires are a place with so much pride. There’s less competition and more community support that you don’t often see elsewhere. People care about each other and that makes the Berkshires a perfect place to have a business.”
