SAN ANTONIO — Cord by cord, Stephanie Koithan weaves the beginnings of her fiber art.
“I kind of get into almost like a trance. It’s repetitive motion and you get into a groove. I’ll put on some really good music and get into this zen moment," Habitat Hammocks, owner, Stephanie Koithan said.
Weaving the cotton cord has become an outlet for Koithan.
“During the pandemic, I actually got back to weaving as a form of therapy, and as a way to reconnect with my roots,” Koithan said.
For Koithan weaving again was like riding a bike.
“I grew up watching my mom at the loom, so it’s very much a part of me," Koithan said “It’s a rare skill, it’s an ancient weaving technique that isn’t very well known. I figured why not tap into this again."
Her mom taught her the craft and how to run a business.
“As soon as I could talk, I had been selling them for her, so I grew up in the hammock business,” Koithan said.
So it was only natural for Koithan to start her own small business, Habitat Hammocks.
“I kind of wanted to use my hammocks to tap into that, and enable people to really make their space a little sanctuary,” Koithan said.
Her business helps others to enhance their oasis.
“One of the beautiful things about making hammocks is it’s a way to generate peace both for myself when I weave it, but also for the person who gets to take it home and enjoys it," Koithan said.
“It really is a unifying moment for my identity," Koithan said. “It’s been really wonderful when something that you are doing is such a part of you, and such a part of your story, to have people be into it and to say yes I love that. To get that feedback about something so personal is wonderful."
You can check out Habitat Hammocks at the King William Fair, on April 9 and 10.
If you would rather shop online, Habitat Hammocks is also offering a limited-time promo code - just use ‘MadeInSA’ at checkout on habitathammocks.com to get 15% off your order.
For other pop-ups and markets be sure to check out their social media pages.