Philly artist redefines ‘handmade’ with tech-driven rug-making to ease physical strain

The art of rug making is extremely physically demanding, requiring hands-on work that can take a toll on the body. 

Local rug maker Tim Eads learned to tuft rugs six and half years ago with a handheld machine, but now he suffers from carpal tunnel and can’t do it as much. So, a few years ago, his company bought a CNC machine, which removes physical limitations while tufting, he said. The machine makes the craft more accessible to people who can’t or don’t want to tuft by hand.  

“We just love the act of it,” he said. “We love technology, we think it’s here to stay. And for people that have tufted for a long time, it really destroys your body.” 

Computer numerical control (CNC) machines follow instructions from computer software to cut and create their products. They can be used for a variety of mediums, like wood carving or ice sculpting. For Eads, it automates the tufting process when making rugs.

Eads is the cofounder and CEO of West Philly-based rug-making company Tuft the World. He and his wife Tiernan Alexander founded Tuft the World in 2018, selling rug tufting supplies like cutting machines, yarn, fabric and frames to people globally and teaching local workshops. 

Tuft the World saw a lot of business during the pandemic because people were stuck at home looking for craft projects. The company was so successful that it had the resources to expand into a second space at the Bok Building in South Philly. 

The CNC lifts some manual burden but keeps creative integrity

Tuft the World’s CNC machine is 16 feet tall and 24 feet wide and makes 10-foot by 13-foot rugs. The company has been using the machine for a little over a year. 

The machine creates more consistency and stretches the fabric, according to Eads. Users can control the density of the tufts and spacing between rows, but it requires some manual work. 

Eads changes the yarn colors and the machine head that controls the height and type of tuft. The machine will stop and notify him when the color needs to be changed and how long that color will be used, he said. 

Users upload an image into a computer-aided design software specifically designed for rug making. The software breaks down the design into blocks of color and toolpaths, or code-based movement instructions for the machine. It also keeps track of data about the rug, like how many tufts it has. 

The machine isn’t perfect, though. Sometimes it will rip a hole in the tufting cloth halfway through the process, forcing them to start over, Eads said. 

“We actually call it our baby,” he said. “Because when it’s in a really good mood, it’s like everything is great and when it’s not, it’s just like any CNC machine, it is the absolute worst.”

‘Handmade’ can look a lot of different ways 

Makers within the rug tufting space often disagree about which methods are considered handmade. 

Whenever Eads posts about the CNC machine on social media, people leave comments about how using the machine removes the artistry, he said. 

There are three levels of rug tufting. The most basic handmade method uses a metal or wooden tool that the artist controls to manually tie each tuft. The next level up uses a handheld machine that creates the tufts. Both of these methods require the artist to draw their design on the piece of fabric. 

The handheld machine requires the user to control the speed and spacing. It takes years to perfect that technique, Eads said. 

The CNC machine automates most of the process by doing all of the tuft work itself. But artists still have to go in and clean up the rug before it’s finished. 

It creates more accessibility in the rug-making world by reducing some of the physical demands, according to Eads. Using it also opens opportunities to work with artists who don’t want to tuft. 

“So many people say there needs to be some kind of pain in art creation,” Eads said. “I just don’t agree with that at all. It has nothing to do with the physical capability of the artist whether or not that end result is valid or not.”