Efforts to factor creativity, particularly the arts and crafts, into the Maine economy are not new. An effort to do just that occurred in the early 1900s, according to information at www.cranberryisles.com. The Web site posts the text of “Revival of Handicrafts in America” an article that appeared in a U.S. Bureau of Labor Bulletin. The article describes a cottage industry on Great Cranberry Island, where island women, the wives of fishermen, made hooked rugs featuring oriental designs.

Rug making on the island was modeled on the Abnakee Rug Industry organized in Tamworth, N.H., in 1897 by Helen Rickey Albee, who wanted to give profitable employment to local farm women.

Farm women knew how to hook rugs but lacked the sophistication of design that Albee wanted to produce. Her vision went far beyond the simple skill of cutting rags into strips to pull through burlap to make tight loops that formed inexpertly drawn, or commercially available, patterns.

Abnakee rugs were usually made-to-order and Albee’s design influences ranged from oriental to American Indian.

The women of Great Cranberry Island knew how to hook rugs and were motivated by the fact that money was not easy to come by. They wanted to raise funds for local church or community projects, including the building of a new wharf.

Summer residents Mrs. Seth Low and Miss Miriam P. Reynolds of Northeast Harbor, and several others who had summer homes in the area, provided financial support to get the rug-making venture going on Great Cranberry and to hire designers.

Work got under way in 1901 under the direction of designer Miss Amy Mali Hicks, whose design aesthetic grew out of the Arts and Crafts Movement in New York City. Hicks designed the rugs and gave lessons in dyeing and other processes involved in making the rugs.

Six rugs were made on Great Cranberry Island the first winter. By the second winter – rugs were not made during the summer months when the women had more than enough to occupy their time – 12 island women were employed making rugs.

Great Cranberry Island rugs were marked with “CR.” Design motifs included pine trees and other natural forms, and patterns from old samplers. The rugs were exhibited in New York City in 1903 and all were sold.

The women were paid according to task. Those who stenciled designs on rugs received 25 cents for each rug. The woman who dyed the fabric for the rugs got 6 cents per yard. Rug hookers got 40 cents for each square foot hooked, which took about three hours of work.

The rugs sold for $1.20 per square foot. The average selling price of a Great Cranberry Island hooked rug was $7-$32. Making large rugs proved to be a problem because the women’s houses were small.

Apparently, the U.S. Labor Bureau Bulletin account is about all that is known about the Great Cranberry Island rug-making venture.

To access the text of the U.S. Labor Bureau Bulletin article, go to www.cranberryisles.com.

Those who have information to share about Great Cranberry Island rugs should write: Hugh Dwelley, Islesford Historical Society, Islesford ME 04646, or e-mail hldwelley@aol.com.

Another creative economy effort surfaced in 1939 when Maine developed Maine Crafts, a handicraft program supported by tax dollars, the second state in the nation to establish such a program. It operated under the auspices of the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Development Commission. The program was discontinued in 1942 when Maine geared up for war work during World War II.

Snippets

. Needlework enthusiasts shouldn’t miss Rose Marasco’s art show, “Domestic Objects: Past and Presence,” at the University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor. Of particular interest are Marasco’s photographs of antique buttons, a needlecase and an antique quilt square. Her photographs resonate with the quiet beauty and dignity of what used to be known as “women’s work.” The show runs through Jan. 8. To learn more about the exhibit, call the museum at 561-3350.

. The Bangor Area Chapter of the American Sewing Guild will hold a sewing class at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Hampden Municipal Building. Lelo Hardy will teach how to make an embossed velvet Christmas stocking. The cost is $10 for members, $15 for others. Bring sewing machine, a half yard of velvet and sewing supplies.

. John Rohman and Julia Munsey, speaking on “The Creative Economy in Maine and Fabric Craftsman Inc.” will be guests at Tuesday Forum, noon Tuesday, Nov. 16, at Geaghan’s Roundhouse Restaurant, 570 Main St., Bangor. For more information, call Kelly at 262-5040, or Lainie at 478-0570.

. During its annual Christmas Bazaar and Quilt Show, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, All Souls Congregational Church, Oak Street, Bangor, will have more than 100 antique, vintage and new quilts on display.

Ardeana Hamlin welcomes suggestions. Call 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.