Rachel Valette

Available at the Alberta Craft Gallery - Edmonton & Calgary

"My childhood was spent growing up on an orchard in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of Australia. As we were pretty isolated, we had to rely on our own entertainment and resources most of the time. If I complained of being bored, my Mum's first response was to 'go outside' or 'make something!'

The feelings of curiosity and delight that came with creating something with my own two hands, whether crafting or baking, are still evident today.

My Mum has been my most influential teacher, mentor and now my biggest supporter. She introduced me to knitting, cross-stitch and sewing at a young age. Throughout High School, I studied Textile Design and invested in my own sewing machine in my late 20's. A gift of a Patternmaking textbook from my husband encouraged my creativity.

As my own family grew, so did my love of creating clothes and costumes, décor for my home and crafting gifts for my friends and family.

Crafting the Harvest started in 2017 when a friend encouraged me to try my hand at making Cotton Rope Baskets. I quickly fell in love with the creative process of forming a piece of rope into a functional and beautiful vessel.

Making one led to another, and I have been exploring design, shapes, size and colour ever since. Starting off, I didn't realize how my craft could grow organically from simple shapes into a form of expression and art.

I started exhibiting at markets, set up an online platform for selling and now have my pieces in selected retail stores within Alberta."