| July 14, 2000
Seattle Weaver Becomes Newest Partner in LinkUp Program A carload of cast-off blue jeans, a stack of outdated Alaska Airlines uniforms and a heap of worn bed linens and tablecloths. These are a few of the items used by weaver Susan Snover of Custom Handweaving to create luxurious handcrafted rag rugs. Snover is the newest partner in King County's LinkUp program launched this spring to encourage businesses and manufacturers to incorporate more recycled materials into their products. The program, sponsored by the King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials, offers free information resources, technical expertise and promotional assistance to eligible businesses - large or small -- throughout the Puget Sound area. LinkUp will help Snover find additional sources of surplus textile supplies and provide marketing support, as well. "We are excited about partnering with this creative artist," says Deborah Brockway, Executive Director of the commission. "Her woven items are not only beautiful and practical, they also use recycled materials in a responsible and innovative way." Snover, who began weaving 27 years ago, attributes her interest in using recycled fabrics to her Wisconsin roots. "Every year, my mother collected our family's worn-out clothing, prepared the rags and sent the material to the weavers to be made into rugs," she says. "This philosophy of 'make it and re-use it' is part of my heritage." Snover weaves 400 to 500 rugs a year for use in custom interior-design work as well as to sell at art fairs in the Seattle area. Most of her business is residential, but she has also woven upholstery for Canlis Restaurant and fabric that was photographed for a Nordstrom holiday catalog. Finding sources of quality discarded textiles takes persistence and ingenuity. Snover looks for fabrics that no longer fulfill their original purpose but whose colors, strength and integrity of material survive. Although she has developed solid relationships with such suppliers as futon makers, uniform manufacturers and even Oregon's Pendleton Mills, she felt she needed additional help in securing new reliable sources of textiles for reuse. King County's LinkUp program was the ideal solution. Seattle-based Custom Handweaving is the third business recruited to participate in the LinkUp program. The others are Recycled Plastics Marketing, Inc., Renton, Wash., and TriVitro Corporation, Kent, Wash. The program hopes to partner with six to 12 businesses during its start-up year. Approximately $235,000 in funds have been appropriated for the LinkUp program; $135,000 from King County and an additional $100,000 from the City of Seattle. Businesses that are interested in learning more about LinkUp and other programs sponsored by the King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials should contact Erv Sandlin at 206-296-0233 or visit http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/linkup/. - end -
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