Craft Around the Country

Silver River Weaves Again

After a devastating flood, the North Carolina chair caning institution returns in a new space.

By Robert Alan Grand
February 23, 2026

Digital Only

Furniture

Wood

Free To Read

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Brandy Clements and Dave Klingler pose with chairs from the Silver River Center for Chair Caning’s museum in Weaverville, North Carolina.

Before Hurricane Helene violently tore through western North Carolina and destroyed Silver River Center for Chair Caning’s longtime home in Asheville’s River Arts District in September 2024, owners and artists Brandy Clements and Dave Klingler hated it when visitors referred to their passion as a lost art. “We pushed against that for a long time,” Clements says. “But then we saw how quickly it could literally get washed away.”

Clements and Klingler founded the one-of-a-kind school and museum 15 years ago to showcase and teach the craft of seatweaving, from restoring heirloom chairs with rattan in traditional patterns to revitalizing stools with colorful cotton Shaker tape. Clements, a fourth-generation seatweaver, and Klingler, a woodworker, went all-in on the endeavor, ardent about passing down the pursuit. They became self-described “chair nerds” in the process.

The year before the storm found Clements and Klingler back to pre-pandemic levels of business. The couple was teaching classes at craft schools around the Southeast, rehabilitating chairs for several private clients, and hosting students for classes in the shop from as far away as Finland, Jamaica, and Tasmania, all while putting the final touches on what would become their first instructional book, The Woven Chair, building off the success of their popular and comprehensive YouTube channel.

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Clements and Klingler's enthusiasm for chair caning manifests through a T-shirt that welcomes visitors into the fold of chair nerdery.

Then Helene hit, bringing everything to a halt. “It was four or five days before we could get into our studio,” Clements says. “We didn’t have cell service, so we couldn’t call anyone to coordinate anything. It was like, ‘We’ll show up today and see what happens.’”

Silver River’s space was on the second floor and had been spared from some of the more severe damage, but there were many questions in those first few days. How would they clean up their space in CURVE Studios, and what would happen to it? Which historic objects or new creations—like a settee by contemporary maker Gabe Strand of Green Cove Craft—would survive? Would Clements and Klingler’s enthusiasm and drive endure? “We were thinking, ‘Is this our time to quit?’” says Clements.

What followed was overwhelming generosity from their local friends, online community, and craft school partners in the form of volunteer labor, financial donations, or simply offering quiet time in an open woodshop.

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Chairs are everywhere in Silver River's new Weaverville storefront.

“It took almost a year to reopen in their new home, but Clements and Klingler have returned with gusto.”

But the central spark that helped them rekindle their passion and find the motivation to move forward came from lauded chairmaker Curtis Buchanan. “Curtis has quit teaching, but he pulled us into his studio for craft as therapy,” Klingler says, noting how the two spent weeks learning how to make Windsor chairs from green wood and a few hand tools. “He wasn’t trying to convince us one way or the other” about reopening the Center, Klingler says. “It helped us rethink what we were doing and why.”

They managed to salvage most of their wares from the old studio and move them into storage units while figuring out the next steps. And a chance connection with Angie and DJ Lamoree of 5 Little Monkeys Quilt & Sew in Weaverville, a small town about 10 minutes from downtown Asheville, proved fortuitous. The Lamorees, whose online shop was growing rapidly, offered to move their entire business to the second floor of their downtown storefront, making room for Silver River to occupy 1,200 square feet on the ground level. A full-window façade faces North Main Street.

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

A wall of chairs.

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Clements teaches 7-year-old Forest Banzer how to weave a seat during an after-school private lesson.
Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Forest pulls cord during his private seat-weaving lesson.

It took almost a year to reopen in their new home, but Clements and Klingler have returned with gusto. They’re primarily focusing on education, ensuring that caning and seatweaving don’t truly become the “lost art” that prior visitors had labeled it.

The pair recently started offering sliding-scale classes for locals and visitors alike. In August, they will lead a traditional craft mentorship at the John C. Campbell Folk School, and they’ll teach at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in November. The Woven Chair, published last fall by Nashville’s Blue Hills Press, has received a warm and widespread reception. Clements and Klingler sign every copy sold through their online shop, and they note that the book has already reached readers on five continents.

While rebuilding and recovering from Helene has presented significant challenges—and prompted some deep soul-searching—the couple is excited about the possibilities this next chapter will bring. There’s also a lot to love about their new home, from the robust craft community to the town’s evocative name. “I mean, now we’re in Weaverville,” Clements says. “How perfect is that?”

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Clements and Klingler's new book The Woven Chair was published by Blue Hills Press in 2025.

Photo by Robert Alan Grand

Clements and Klingler's dog Pippa lounges on a settee at the Silver River Center for Chair Caning.

Robert Alan Grand is a writer and photographer based in Asheville, North Carolina. He received the 2025 Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant to cover contemporary art in southern and central Appalachia.

Learn more about Silver River Center for Chair Caning online.

Website

This article was made possible with support from the Windgate Foundation.

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