Brooms & Baskets : December 7, 2025

Sunday, December 7th, 2025 from 9am-5pm (& break for lunch)

We will gather at Lutheridge Conference & Retreat Center in Arden, NC

*Instructors will remain on site until 6 pm for those who need to finish up projects and/or purchase materials to take home.

Join professional crafters Carleigh Fairchild & Emileigh Zola for a day of weaving in two different mediums: brooms & baskets!

We will begin the day altogether as a group, with an invitation to set intentions for our time together. You will spent half of the day with Carleigh making a ribbed basket and half of the day with Emileigh making a woven whisk broom. Both teachers bring opportunities for reflection, thoughtful crafting, presence, and joy in making.

 

You’ll love this workshop if..

• You want the hands-on experience of making your first basket or broom
• You like crafting and making things
• You want to learn fun and practical skills
• You’ve done some crafting but want to learn new skills
• You want to make gifts for the holiday season
• You want the experience of crafting in community!

 

Carleigh (she/her) has a deep love for the Earth. She gardens, keeps bees, wild harvests, processes animals, tans hides, weaves baskets, and finds joy in time spent around the fire.

As the founder of Human Nature Connection LLC, Carleigh feels called to help others remember that we can live in a collaborative and respectful relationship with the Earth. She joined the survival show ALONE to share that message with a wider audience and to explore the depth of her own connection to the land. Over 86 days in the wilds of Patagonia, she relied on her skills, intuition, and connection with the Earth—emerging with a deeper understanding of what it means to truly belong to the natural world. 

Carleigh first learned survival and earth skills as a teenager through kids’ camps at the Tracker School, founded by Tom Brown Jr. Over the last 25 years, basket weaving has become one of the skills she’s most deeply developed. It is more than a craft—it’s a practice of connection, a quiet dialogue with the nervous system, and in a chaotic world, a path back to self and stillness.

Living and teaching in Western North Carolina, Carleigh offers both online and in-person classes, often working with families, friends, and community groups. She loves weaving not just materials, but relationships—believing that a basket is never just a basket, but a symbol of creating containers that connect us to ourselves, each other, and the Earth.

Carleigh is also a NIASZIIH bodywork healer and a teacher at WildernessFusion, with a practice based in Asheville, NC, where her work continues to weave together body, earth, and spirit.

You can learn more about her offerings at humannatureconnection.com

Emileigh Zola has a passion for curating spaces of depth, connection, and inspiration. She is the founder of “Rhythm and Ritual”, where she empowers individuals to craft handmade brooms with mindfulness & intention.

Emileigh has been tying brooms for over a decade now and loves sharing her craft with others. She is a patient and inclusive teacher, really encouraging students to slow down and tap into their own unique creative expression.