Textile Artist and Weaver
Impact: Creating textiles that bring warmth, beauty, and the value of human making into living and working spaces
Design and produce handwoven textiles, tapestries, and fibre art using floor looms, tapestry looms, and hand-weaving techniques. Develop original designs for fashion, interior textiles, and gallery exhibition; dye yarns using natural and synthetic dye processes; and undertake commissions for interior designers, architects, and collectors. Teach weaving and textile workshops; sell work through galleries, craft fairs, and online platforms; and collaborate with fashion and textile designers on handwoven fabric collections.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 20% Team / 80% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 10-20% travel to fairs and exhibitions
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 38-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Low
At a glance
- Median salary
- $36,000
- Entry-level
- $18,000 - $28,000
- Senior
- $60,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 5% (slow fashion and handmade textiles market growing)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- High
- Salary growth potential
- High -- 100-230% growth from studio assistant to established textile artist with gallery representation
- Typical student debt
- $10,000 - $35,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Floor loom weaving (4-shaft and 8-shaft)
- Tapestry weaving
- Natural dyeing (mordant processes)
- Yarn spinning and preparation
- Textile design (Photoshop/Illustrator)
- Fibre art installation
Soft skills
- Artistic vision
- Patience
- Colour theory
- Business acumen
- Teaching ability
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Certificate or Vocational Training
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5-8 years
- Years to senior
- 10-20 years
- Career switching
- Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
- Fashion Designer
- Textile Designer
Where you can go from here
- Tapestry Artist
- Textile Design Educator
Typical progression
- Studio Assistant
- Weaver
- Established Textile Artist
- Gallery-Represented Artist / Workshop Teacher
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 8% -- handwoven textiles are defined by their human origin; industrial weaving is already automated
- AI disruption risk
- Very Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 8.5/10
- Meaning
- 9/10
- Work-life balance
- 7.5/10
- Prestige
- 6.5/10
- Social perception
- High