Deanne has been rug hooking seriously since 1990 but almost immediately caught the attention of private galleries, the Nova Scotia Art Bank, the Nova Scotia Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Nfld and Labrador and she's even got her work at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Read her story at the bottom of her main page and her interview here:
Deanne Fitzpatrick
1-800-328-7756
Amherst Nova Scotia Canada
I think as a rug hooker, artists and business person my biggest
dream for myself is to remain authentic and honest about what I
do. I want to make rugs that express what I believe or feel at a
given time. I want to make rugs that I feel like making. I
really do not want to succumb to trends or ideas that I do not
embrace inside myself.
Over the past twenty years I have created
kits patterns and designs, and written four books about rug
hooking but the real thing that has driven all of this is my
desire to make my own one of a kind hooked rugs. It is in my
original designs that I find inspiration for everything else
that goes on in the studio. So trying to be true to myself as an
artist has become the most important accomplishment for me.
Every time I have strayed away from this and focused too much on
making money, or having my work better known I have felt a bit
compromised, almost as if I was not being myself. So making art
is the back bone of my business, but it is also the back bone of
me, and remains important to me. 
At the studio we try to be as honest, and
authentic as we can, and we have learned that people love the
truth, and can easily accept seeing it, or hearing it like it
is. We are a working studio so if you drop in we might be in a
mess, or have a kit half made but we are glad to have you there.
For years I ran it out of my house and after we moved the studio
to town, one of the things I wanted to keep was that homey
feeling in our space. We try to make it welcoming and
comfortable. There is always a good chair to sit in, and if we
are busy you can make yourself a cup of tea. Hospitality is
important to me.
Another place where I try to tell the
truth the way I see it is on my blog on my website. The blog is
a place where I write what goes on in my life, my art, my studio
and my community. I try to update it daily and that update could
be about anything, from a recipe to a story to information
about a new product or a workshop. It is a place where I go to
tell you about what is going on in the studio, but it is also a
place where I go to express myself. That means you might find
anything there.
Over the past twenty two years I have
grown my business from a trunk in my front room. I did it a
little bit at a time, investing what I made back into my
business as well as into my own life. It has been a blessing
really to have had that opportunity. I love the women who work
along side me. They make it possible for so much to get done
around here.
I want to continue to write, and create
but mostly I want to make rugs that are unmistakebly art because I
think in doing that I will remain authentic, and really that is
the backbone of a good creative person and artist. We can run a
business and make a living doing what we do, but we have to
remain true to ourselves and to our art.