Retired man hooked on rugs

Richard LaBarge's students like to joke that they're "hookers in Victory Mills." Of course, they're referring to hooking rugs.

Mr. LaBarge, a retired teacher and co-owner of Black Shutters Antiques outside of Schuylerville, has been teaching the art of rug hooking all over the country for nearly two decades, including classes attended by parishioners from his parish, Notre Dame-Visitation.

He says that antiques dealing and rug hooking are "intertwined" -- no pun intended -- because hooking rugs is an old American craft.

Going loopy

After he retired from teaching sixth grade in Colonie, Mr. LaBarge had little outlet for his creativity. Since he had always been attracted to folk art and country-themed antiques in his Black Shutters dealings, he decided to fill the "vacuum" in his life by learning rug hooking.

A casual interest soon became a passion. Mr. LaBarge learned to dye his own wools and amassed a huge storeroom of raw materials; Black Shutters co-owner George Kahnle drew designs for rugs, eventually creating four catalogues of options.

Rug hooking, Mr. LaBarge discovered, is "a very forgiving art. You don't need to be an excellent artist" to pull the tiny loops of wool through a cotton or linen backing, following a design drawn onto the fabric. Simpler rugs use more basic designs and larger pieces of wool; complex ones require more colors in tinier patches to create a complicated design.

Team effort

As he worked at his craft, Mr. LaBarge's increasing skills began to be recognized. After about seven years of hooking, he started teaching others the art and ended up with classes not just at his home in Victory Mills, but also in Vermont, Maryland and Virginia -- and even on the internet. In April, his work was featured in a show at Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

Rug hooking classes, he said, create a kind of camaraderie rarely seen elsewhere: "The best part is the friends you make along the way and being able to help people."

His students agree. Gray skies and pouring rain didn't stop ten of them from trekking to his home recently for a weekday-morning class. As the raucous group settled in with half-completed rugs on their laps and hooks in their hands, they teased one another about how long it takes to finish a rug.

Mr. LaBarge claims that a simple rug can be completed in three to six months, but some huge ones he's worked on have taken as long as four years. Binding the edges of a rug to finish it off is the most tedious part; student Sharon Conrick joked good-naturedly that "I have finished rugs; I have not bound my rugs."

Floored

The students got some coaching from Mr. LaBarge, who circulated among the group to compliment work and suggest colors. The teacher noted that rug hookers must have an eye for color; in fact, while many students are loath to put their finished work on the floor, he said that walking on a rug actually improves its color.

When one proud student arrived bearing a completed rug, the others clustered around her to exclaim over it. Mr. LaBarge told The Evangelist that the group would probably bring in treats the following week to celebrate.

"Every time a person finishes a rug, they bring a goodie in," he explained. "When three people finish at once, it looks like a Pillsbury bake-off!"

Storeroom

With classes to teach, a business to run and rugs to complete, Mr. LaBarge rarely has time to sell his work any more. His storerooms are filled with piles of rugs in every color of the rainbow.

Some pieces are reserved for special people: When his great-nephew got married at St. Joseph's parish in Greenfield Center recently, the happy couple stood on a rug made by Mr. LaBarge for the occasion.

"I love him. He's a good boy," the proud uncle boasted.

(For information on rug hooking, go to www.hookedonthecreek.com. Contact Richard LaBarge at [email protected]. There is a waiting list for his classes.)

Rug hooking, said Richard LaBarge, is a relaxing art because it can be done while listening to music. He recommends listening to audio books while hooking a rug, as well. "The process of doing it is very calming," he said, "and the end product is just wonderful!"

George Kahnle, co-owner of Black Shutters Antiques and creator of the designs for Mr. LaBarge's rugs, creates as many as 80 designs in a month. Most rug hookers want simple designs, he noted.

Because "they want a rug done as soon as possible, they're into primitives. They love animals, big florals." He does have some limits: He won't design Oriental rugs -- too many designs are already available -- and those who buy his catalogues "get what I like."

(11/13/03) [[In-content Ad]]