Grace Helen Mowat and the Making of Cottage Craft

Cottage Craft has long held a strong reputation for its fine wool, dyed to the palette of the local landscape, and the fine craftsmanship of the women who weave and knit its quality materials. Behind Cottage Craft is the story of a woman of vision and remarkable resolve. Grace Helen Mowat looked upon traditional rural crafts -- knitting, weaving, and rug hooking -- as cash crops for the farm women of Charlotte County, New Brunswick. In 1911, unmarried and with limited means, she commissioned a handful of women to make rugs according to her designs. The Arts and Crafts movement was in full swing -- the rugs sold quickly and Cottage Craft grew into a home-grown business from its base in St. Andrews. Since then, Cottage Craft has continued to grow and, now, three generations later, it attracts customers the world over.