Grace Helen Mowat and the Making of Cottage Craft.

Grace Helen Mowat (more affectionately called Nell) was a woman of perseverance and intellect. The great granddaughter of loyalists, Nell began a cottage industry of arts and crafts in 1911, in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick—an industry of the people. Her vision was to support farm and county life, seeing “art as a cash crop.” Purchasing wool from local sheep farmers, and distributing it to women in the county who created rugs, blankets, clothing, bags, and toys for purchase, Nell’s “smokeless factory of twenty square miles” produced beautiful and useful items. She was not afraid to try new things, experimenting with pottery made with clay from Charlotte County earth, as well as exploring how to produce linens woven from local flax. Anything was an option as long as the raw materials and crafts people were endemic to Charlotte County.

The themes of local materials, of quality versus quantity, of persistence through tough economic times, and of stories being told through art are as important today as they were when Nell began her venture. The recent rise in the popularity of knitting and other crafts, of folks wanting to live closer to what they eat and wear, make this book a significant read. Local historians interested in the arts and crafts movement will find the life story of Grace Helen Mowat, and stories from Charlotte County, to be worthwhile. Readers will be taken with Nell’s stubborn personality and wit as she brings the crafting industry to life.

This biography is well-edited, formed from a collection of correspondence of Grace Helen Mowat and the memories of people who knew her. Written by Diana Rees, the book was completed following her death by her husband, Ronald Rees.

Cottage Craft is still in business today in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, continuing to sell locally made products throughout the world.