Diane phillips

Fiber Artist

Diane Phillips

Diane Phillips has been a fiber artist specializing in hooked rugs for over twenty years. All her work is done by hand, usually from fabrics she personally dyes for each project. Her endeavors also include hooked and sewn purses and totes, and other fiber arts. Diane has also been working in encaustic and cold wax painting. She recently wrote a book titled Loose Threads, pairing a short story about a fabric artist with details and templates on how to make many of the projects contained in the story. In the last year, she and artistic partner Gayle Torrey have created a line of rug hooked and sewn purses and totes called Bella Squared. Diane has taught beginning and advanced rug hooking workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her work has been showcased in exhibits, magazine articles and books. Along with her husband, Bruce Toder, Diane loves to travel and explore, always looking for new ideas and unique materials. They live in Fairport, NY with three former street dogs--now very contented lap dogs.

rug Hooking

tarot Card: the fool
26" x 40" $3500
ruth speaks for us
28" x 46" $4500
needing nothing
24" x 30" $1800
Fantasy Face #10
28" x 28" $2400
Tanner
12" x 13" NFS
Leo's welcome
30" x 36" NFS
archie
24" x 40" NFS
pimento
24" x 30" NFS

bella squared

In 2020, Diane Phillips and Gayle Torrey started a hand-made purse business. Gayle is a Vermonter, a farmer, a professional clothing maker and a committed recycler. Both Diane and Gayle have serious stashes of fabric and various accoutrements that enhance purses.

One of their first actions was to devise a delicious label. They chose Bella Squared because they both have dogs named Bella: one a Chihuahua Mix and one a Yellow Lab. Diane drew their label, which is a rendering of both Bellas.

Diane makes the hooked panels of the purses. She creates motifs and hand dyes the wools to complete each hooked panel. Each one is done by hand and is unique. Gayle determines the size, shape and design of the purse itself and sews it all together brilliantly.

blue dog
BIRD WITH BERRIES
perfect pears
Flower lady
Each Bella Squared purse or tote is unique and will never by repeated. Purses range in price from $250 to $450 based on size and complexity. Inventory, of course, varies due to the nature of the purses. Use the contact form below to request the current inventory and payment process.

loose threads

loose threads by diane phillips

"When a middle-aged woman leaves her known world, covertly and forever, one would expect a dramatic, explosive event to have occurred. Wouldn't it take a Niagara falls-sized catastrophe? A September 11, 2001 disaster? A Benedict Arnold betrayal, to cause such drastic action? But for Mary, there were no such happenings. Just a daily clawing of sameness, of disappointments, of unfair expectations, of unfounded assumptions--illuminating a life that did not seem like her own. Mary had to take flight."
96 Pages, retails for $28.00 + Tax. Contact Diane to order
Book Review by Davey De Graff
In a combination of fiction and how-to, Diane Phillips tells a charming story of an older woman who uses her creativity and resourcefulness to build a new life. A "maker" herself, Diane has included a detailed tutorial of the wonderful projects referred to in the narrative. The many beautiful photographs in this book are bound to tempt and inspire the readers to make the projects for themselves.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions please fill out the form below and we will answer you as soon as possible.
Contact
RugsDP@gmail.com
Copyright © 2022 Diane Phillips. All Rights Reserved.