Driven by a deep passion to create unique textiles and chic designs, Candiss Cole-Footitt’s collections of elegant and durable wearable art pieces are timeless. All of her designs are made at her studio in Sedona, Arizona, with the help of a small dedicated staff, two handweavers, and her loving husband, Rodger Footitt, a master dyer and textile machinery inventor. The story of their inspiring partnership is featured in our Winter 2010/2011 issue on page 42 in the article by Laurie Fagen.

For much of Candiss’s successful thirty-five-year career, she handwove all of her own fabrics. As the business grew, her focus naturally turned more toward the design and production of her garments and the business demands of selling her collections in craft shows throughout the country. But she still revels in those rare times she can find to work on non-production one-of-a-kind pieces such as Moonshadows (2009). This luscious silk long coat was hand-dyed, handwoven, cut, and sewn into the garment, then hand-shiboried with sheep “castration” rings, pie weights, and shibori threads using a technique called kanoko shibori. The piece was then hand-gathered and stitched tightly until every area was touched, also known as nui shibori, which allows for greater control of the pattern.

The result of such careful, time-consuming labor is sheer magic. "I can create movement within my piece,” she says proudly, “and have total control over the way it lays."