De Hirsh Margules, Mother Ann Lighthouse, Eastern Point, Gloucester, 1946. Gouache on paper. Gift of Jean M. Horblit, 2002. [Acc. #2002.004.002]
Haptic & Hue: Community Makes a Nation: America’s Folly Cove Designers
by Jo Andrews | May 7, 2026
This episode of Haptic & Hue is about one group of people who designed and made craft textiles at a particular moment in America’s history. The Folly Cove Designers came from a little-known area of Massachusetts. They had no professional qualifications and they were taught around a kitchen table by one woman. For nearly thirty years in the mid-twentieth century, they formed a close creative and supportive network making work of the highest quality. Even today, over seventy years later, their story has a lot to tell us about how communities help individuals shine.
Notes
The place to go to see the best of the Folly Cove Designs and their story is the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts. https://www.capeannmuseum.org/
The collection can be found at https://old.capeannmuseum.org/collections/folly-cove-designers/
The Museum is temporarily closed for a refit but it will re-open in June.
The Museum is still actively searching for five missing designs to add to its collection of Folly Cove designs. If you think you have one or you want to know more, the details are on the landing page of their website.
To read or listen to the full podcast, click here.
