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The Rug Maker lives in Youngstown
STORY & PHOTOS
By KATIE RICKMAN
YOUNGSTOWN
For JoAnne Fajack, finding her life’s passion came through an unusual request and, since then, she hasn’t stopped pursuing it.
In 1977, JoAnne was approached by her friend, Dona Schuller, who had a problem and needed someone to fix it.
What needed to be fixed? A rug, destroyed by a mouse or some animal that had eaten through it.
When Dona asked JoAnne if she could help her, JoAnne quickly began researching and looking for a resolution and, from that day on, her hand-hooked wool rugs have been a hit.
JoAnne’s talent for hooking rugs has taken her work from New England to Germany.
She hand draws an outline on monks cloth that she specifically orders from New England — all her rug-making tools are from Dorr Co. in New England — and then she begins, working for weeks on projects.
JoAnne says the craft takes patience and the ability to visualize your end goal in order to hook a rug correctly because you have to stitch backward.
When you step into her Youngstown home, you’re greeted by the homey, antique-filled house that often resembles a Christmas scene.
JoAnne and her husband, Joseph, acknowledge that their preference for Christmas decor and antiques is a signature style for them.
“We love Christmas. It’s homey!” says JoAnne while organizing another craft that has drawn praise: her signature “sugar babies,” which are figures made of hand-molded aluminum foil or plastic foam, painted with various objects added as accessories.
JoAnne, who is 80, hasn’t slowed down much. In fact, while recovering from recent back surgery, she has continued to work diligently using her rug-making skills to keep moving.
Her work is featured locally at Country Glow Floral in Brookfield and also at Hampton Hill Mercantile in New Middletown.