Where Livelihoods Are Woven

Shop Gives Disabled 'A Sense of Pride'

Some say weaving is a dying art, but ask people in the Spinaweb shop nestled in Occoquan's historic district, and they will tell you otherwise.

Because to them the task of turning yarn into fabric is their trade, their way of life and their livelihood.

"I've been working here a long time and love it because I love crafts and doing things with my hands," said Prince William County resident Becky Smith, who has worked at the shop 26 years. "This is the best place to work."

Smith is one of eight intellectually disabled people who work at Spinaweb. Perched behind large looms, the employees spend their days weaving such things as christening outfits, sweaters, placemats, blankets and scarves that are later sold to customers around the world. Supported partially by the county, the store was almost a casualty of the recent budget cuts. But after an outcry from the community, county supervisors reinstated $40,000 to keep the program afloat.

"I'm so impressed at what they do, and there is no way I could even try to do something like that," said Prince William resident Linda Utting, whose daughter Amanda works at Spinaweb. "Their process is a little different than yours or mine, but they understand each other and work extremely hard to do a good job."

Spinaweb opened almost three decades ago when Woodbridge resident Erna Gilker offered to share the art of weaving with residents, many of whom were intellectually disabled, at an adult activity center.

It was a hit.

When a storefront opened on Commerce Street in Occoquan, Gilker said she decided to try making weaving more than a hobby. With the help of individual donations, the Spinaweb shop officially opened in 1982.

"Erna believed in people with disabilities at a time when not many did," said Karen Smith, executive director of the Associated for Retarded Citizens of Greater Prince William, which budgets $186,000 a year for the program. "We want to make sure people with disabilities are treated with respect, and we want to encourage them to have a work life like ours."

Each day, the workers are picked up from their homes by an ARC bus and brought to the shop. Although Gilker designs the products and does the final inspection, she leaves everything else -- including loading the looms and counting out yarn -- to her tiny staff, which on most days, hates to leave when its six-hour shift is complete.

"I like it here because of my friends, my boss and I get paid," 49-year-old Debbie Crespo said as she counted out yarn, a task that involves looping the material meticulously through a mazelike device. "Working is good because it gives me something to do."

Utting said Spinaweb has also given her daughter Amanda, 26, something to do. Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome almost 10 years ago, Amanda could not hold many jobs, Utting said. This, however, has been the exception.