Christopher Granger Exploring his Way to the Top
When Christopher Granger isn’t sitting at his favorite coffee shop Foundation Grounds on Manchester or watching “Project Runway” at home on the couch with his life-partner Ben Granger, he is busy perfecting his craft and building his business. Granger began his business, Granger Home 10 years ago. He creates high-end hand woven fabrics out of materials that are all natural and has a great amount of passion for his art work. What makes Granger’s business unique from other weaving companies is that he uses recycled materials like stainless steel and the newest recycled objects, VHS tapes. He than takes the fabrics he produces and makes elegant one-of-a-kind scarves, neckties and handbags. The New York native holds a degree in mathematics but has found a way to take numbers to a more creative level. “I saw weaving and I said to myself, ‘that’s math with pretty yarn’,” Granger said. Granger’s inspirations for his textile creations come from traveling. Granger seems to find a little something he likes to bring to his work wherever he goes. Whether it is a color to use through the dying process or a specific texture that moves him he uses nature as his color-wheel. “I am very much a creature of geography. I become very tied into whatever land I am in,” Granger said. Granger’s newest addition to his business is using hand-woven fabrics that are created in Nicaragua and Myanmar. His traveling and connections with certain women’s groups in the two countries lead him to a great opportunity for a new addition to his business. Granger’s merchandise is available in boutiques throughout North America, particularly on the East Coast. In the St. Louis area he sells his merchandise strictly through art shows or through commission based orders. With the average scarf costing about $75 Granger’s designs keep customers coming back for more year after year. “I have a short attention span and scarves are short, quick and people are wearing them all year round now. It makes me very happy,” Granger said. While he is very much an environmental activist on the importance of the planet, Granger gives back to the community through donations to the Separation of Church and State and local food pantries. “I have a point of view. I love the planet and it’s the only one we’ve got,” said Granger. The Grangers are supporters of the fight for government recognition for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. “It’s not marriage that we are fighting for as a gay couple, I’m fighting for federal government recognition to civil contract. I’m married and nobody owns that word,” said Christopher Granger. Granger’s art is expressed through his soft sensual sexuality as a gay man. He describes himself as not just an artist but a gay artist. “I love fabric! Scarves are just little pieces of fabric that people have found useful and that is what I want to keep doing,” Granger said.