Making good
CNY SCOUT
Tuft Love A traditional craft becomes trendy B Y B E C C A TA U R I S A N O
Part ancient handicraft, part modern art, the technique known as tufting is having a moment. Due to an increase of crafting during pandemic lockdowns, a surge in TikTok videos promoting the craze and a revival of maximalism in home decor, tufting is becoming more than a way to make colorful floor and wall coverings; it is a meditative form of self-expression. The art of tufting dates back to fourth century B.C. when nomadic tribes hand-tufted rugs in what is modern-day Iran. The craft got a serious upgrade in the 1930s when the mechanized tufting machine (also called a tufting gun) was developed by a carpet manufacturer in Dalton, Georgia. Despite this invention revolutionizing the tufting process, it did not emerge as a craft that people did at home recreationally until COVID. Online sales of tufting guns skyrocketed at the end of 2020 as pandemic boredom set in and the trend shows no signs of slowing down, with internet searches on tufting rising 41 percent over the past year. Working on the back of the piece so the design is reversed, artists use a tufting gun to shoot acrylic, wool or cotton yarn in and out of a fabric backing stretched over a wood frame. The tufted piece is then glued and finished; the end result is a fluffy, tactile creation that can be used as a rug, wall hanging or objet d’art. Two local artisans with distinct styles are leading the tufting renaissance in Central New York: Tiffany Seals of Tuft Talk and Renee Patterson of Tufty & Co. Tiffany Seals found tufting videos on TikTok during the early days of the COVID lockdown. An anesthesia technician at Crouse Hospital, she was looking for ways to stay busy when elective surgical procedures were paused. Seals picked up the technique quickly. With a tufting gun, Seals says, “you are painting with yarn onto a blank canvas.” In October 2021, Seals started Tuft Talk and began participating in vendor events like the NYS 88
CENTRAL NEW YORK MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
Clockwise from top, Kobe Bryant, Abstract Face, and Stove God Cooks, a local rap artist, by Tiffany Seals of Tuft Talk.